Shaquanda Cotton, the 15-year-old girl from Paris, Texas who was serving an indeterminate sentence of up to 7 years for shoving a hall monitor at school, was released this weekend by the Texas Youth Commission after spending a year behind bars for the offense. The Chicago Tribune, which brought her story to national attention, reports her release here in a story by its reporter Howard Witt. My previous post about her case is here.
The Tribune story notes the curious fact that the Texas Youth Commission, the agency which runs the state's juvenile justice and detention system, is itself being run by a specially-appointed conservator because of allegations that prison officials coerced incarcerated children into having sex. It also notes that prison officials extended her sentence because they found contraband in her cell -- an extra pair of socks. Meanwhile, the federal Department of Education is looking into charges that the Paris school district imposes harsher discipline on blacks than on whites.
The TYC's conservator, Jay Kimbrough, is apparently a man of action: the Texas senate confirmed his appointment on Thursday, reviewed her case Friday morning, and ordered her released Friday afternoon. Hurrah!