Inmates in the Texas prison system are being placed in Administrative segrgegation for being members or even suspected members of gangs and while this is not supose to be punitive the inmates are being placed in a lower time earning class and are having 15 days a month good time removed from their sentences.
Now inmates who are under the "old" law and are eligible for mandatory supervision have an expected relelase date and by TDC taking 15 days a month from them creats a liberty interest.
moreover, no laws or policies are in effect that state being a member of one of these organizations is a crime or a violation of prison policy in fact the Supreme court stated in the N.A.A.C.P. v. Alabam that regardless of how offensive society finds the organizations we as members of this country have the right under the first Amend. to belong.
OK, further, under Malachi v. Thaler the courts ruled that the only way an inmate can be placed in a lower time earning class and/or have good time removed from them is if they have comitted a disciplinary infraction.
If the case Durham v. TDC that was filed in Lufkin in 2002 would have been pursued TDC would have to release thousands of inmates.
I need some input on this issue. thanks

TDC doesn't lock up ALL gang members, or even suspected gang members, in Seg. They do, however, lock up CONFIRMED members of CERTAIN gangs, i.e., Texas Syndicate, Mexican Mafia, ABT, Aryan Circle, etc. There are only a few select gangs that cause confirmed members to be Segged. And, if a gang member is confirmed and put in Seg, he will not necessarily lose his time-earning status simply by virtue of his membership. For example, if a lieutenant in the TS is CONFIRMED, the key word being CONFIRMED, as a gang member, he will be put into Seg. However, if he joined the gang his first or second trip down and now he's on a subsequent trip to the pen and has a clean disciplinary record, the fact that he's a gang member is not in and of itself a disciplinary violation (he is not being disciplined for joining a gang 15 years ago, during another confinement). He is being Segged only to keep him from being active with his criminal, violence-oriented, corrupt organization. Don't try to make people feel sorry for a man who is a member of a band of thugs who will and have killed innocent people for trivial things like "disrespecting" them.
And, if a gangster is Segged for being confirmed in one of the few organizations that TDC does automatically seg such members for, and his disciplinary record is clear, he is not given additional time to do anyway.
Plus, good time is a privilege, not a right. If he was sentenced to a certain term of years for breaking the law, where is the mandate for him to demand good time and be let loose earlier? If he is sure enough, a member of one of the "STG"s identified by TDC, then the best place for him is in Ad Seg. He doesn't need to be in general population planning and/or carrying out hits, dealing drugs, extorting weaker inmates, etc. And don't try to pawn off on me any suggestion that gang members are misunderstood members of a social group like the Lions or Rotarians, either. Of the 8 STG's, any one of their members are capable, even expected to carry out the criminal enterprises of their gang or be punished, severely. And, you should know, that if that member can't be reached for punishment, then you or his children or his mother or his sister or grandfather are exposed to sanctions.
I direct you to the prosecutions of Anibal Canales and William Speer for the murder of Texas Mafia enemy Gary Dickerson -- a punishment for being a snitch on the TM. Both of those killers are on death row now for their loyalty to the gang. Also, see the case of Gilbert Urbano and Noe Beltran, regarding the killing of an enemy of the Texas Syndicate; or check out the Robideaux killing at the Eastham unit -- another TM-sanctioned hit. Plus, there's the murder of James Wilson and William Smith and many others that have been carried out by gang members at the orders of their superiors.
Maybe your loved one shouldn't have joined the gang to start with -- I don't feel law-abiding people should have to do anything to make his life easier. Now, if you and your family are suffering hardship because he's in the penitentiary -- HE, not society or the criminal justice system or TDC, failed you.

A.P., I read a stmt from a recent parolee who claimed that inmates are using cell phones from ad seg to direct gang activity out side the walls. Can this be so?

Yes. We are working over 100 incidents of inmates possessing cell phones, from death row to the trusty camps. One gang member was found with a cell phone and $300 cash hidden inside his door. On death row an inmate was taking pictures with his cellphone...fences, cellblock, perimeter, etc. and sending the photos to the freeworld. Wonder what he was planning?

I guess if someone has got nothing but time to watch, wait, plan and evaluate guards and facilities for weakness he runs a better than zero chance of succeeding; if not escape then in possessing contraband.