Texas Is Rethinking Its Tough Prostitution Laws
Texas' prostitution penalties focus on prison time, not treatment. The state may be revising the law to focus on rehabilitation, saving the state thousands a year and helping those convicted.
October 10, 2012
Texas Is Rethinking Its Tough Prostitution LawsAfter ten years of crowded prisons and increased incarceration costs, the state of Texas is reconsidering its 2001 decision to send those charged with prostitution to prison after multiple convictions. Instead, the state may pursue sentencing that provides treatment, not jail time.
Current Texas Prostitution Laws Include Prison Time
In 2001, Texas legislators voted to send people convicted of prostitution with three or more convictions to state prison or jail. The law was passed in an effort to reduce prostitution on the state's streets and at truck stops. Currently, a first-time offense is a Class B misdemeanor and a second or third offense is a Class A misdemeanor. If an individual is convicted three times, any subsequent charge is a felony that carries time in state prison or jail.
Currently, there are 350 individuals serving time for convictions of prostitution due to the 2001 law. Some are also serving time for drug or theft convictions related to the prostitution charges. Houston leads the state with 123 incarcerated people convicted of prostitution. Texas pays $18,538 every year to house each of these incarcerated individuals.
Texas Prostitution Law Needs Reform
Due to budget constraints and the questionable success of these tough laws, Texas is now reconsidering its decision to imprison people convicted of prostitution. Unfortunately, the criminalized behavior is often a revolving door. Many times, individuals turn to prostitution to feed drug habits. In these cases, rehabilitation is often more effective than jail time.
Some individuals incarcerated for prostitution have access to rehabilitation programs in prison. These programs provide drug abuse treatment, job training, group therapy, life skills coaching and even help finding housing after individuals have served their time. These types of programs help these individuals leave this line of work and find more stable work and housing.
Treatment not only helps those convicted of prostitution, it also reduces state costs. Rehabilitation programs often cost only $4,300 per person per year, a savings of over $14,000 compared to the cost of incarceration.
In addition to rehabilitation programs, some in Texas have proposed establishing state prostitution courts similar to the state's drug courts. These types of courts would focus on rehabilitation and help those charged with prostitution avoid jail time.
Over the last ten years, incarceration has done little to help those accused of prostitution. Individuals must receive the treatment and life skills that will help them escape their circumstances, not jail time. Hopefully, Texas will reform its current prostitution laws so they focus on rehabilitation, not incarceration. If you have been charged with prostitution and are facing time in prison, contact an experienced Texas criminal defense lawyer.
Article provided by Law Offices of Jed Silverman
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