About cjconsultant.com

Terry Pelz, is a former corporate officer for a private corrections company and a former Texas prison warden. He founded cjconsultant.com in 1998. He is a nationally recognized authority on prison gangs and has testified numerous times in state and federal court on the subject.

Mr. Pelz knows jails and prisons...

Mr. Pelz knows private sector corrections...

Mr. Pelz knows street and prison gangs...

An article by Michael Berryhill, a freelance reporter, appeared in the New Republic in 1999 regarding the Texas prison system. Mr. Pelz allowed Mr. Berryhill to interview him after his expert witness testimony in the Lawrence Russell Brewer (Jasper dragging death) trial. Mr. Pelz was pleased to have provided Mr. Berryhill valuable insight into the operations of the prison system and the inmate subculture.

Mr. Pelz also provided author Joyce King valuable insight into her riveting story of the James Bryd (Jasper, Texas dragging death murder) story. You can find her book, Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas, and Terry Pelz's interviews with her, at Amazon.com and local bookstores.

Most prison and jail policies are well written but are oftentimes, not followed. Poor training of correctional staff is observed by many to be a major problem. Other major problem areas of jails and prisons are:

  • excessive use of force 

  • official misconduct

  • access to medical treatment

  • physical and psychological mistreatment

  • wrongful death

  • suicide

  • bribery

  • victimization by other offenders

  • gang coercion, among other life threatening ordeals

  • inadequate training programs

  • discipline procedures

  • supervision and management 

If your client is an inmate in prison or jail, publicly or privately operated, we should talk. What about privately operated jails and prisons? Are they safe or are they just about the bottom line?

It must be said that many claims of abuse or deliberate indifference are frivolous. Those that are not need to be carefully investigated. Let me help you sort through the facts for an honest opinion.

If you are representing a client in a criminal case or representing an inmate or inmates in a 42 USC Sec.1983 civil action and you have questions regarding the conditions in jails or prisons, please contact me.


Newspaper articles with quotes from Terry Pelz and Dr. Beth Pelz

Now available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Terry Pelz and Dr. Beth Pelz teamed-up to produce a comprehensive supplement on criminal justice in Texas. The very latest information on police, courts, juvenile, and adult corrections.