Use of Texas Inmates to Train Tracking Dogs to Be Probed

The head of the state criminal justice board has appointed a special panel to investigate the use of inmates in manhunts used to train tracking dogs.

Charles Terrell, chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, appointed a three-member subcommittee this week in the wake of reports that his vice chairman, Jerry Hodge of Amarillo, and two bear-hunting friends participated in such an exercise at the Ellis 2 Unit in Huntsville last year.

After the exercise, Hodge presented his friends with jackets that had “The Ultimate Hunt” printed on the back.

Reports of Hodge’s action prompted the Texas Civil Liberties Union last week to call for the resignation of Hodge and one of his friends, Glenn McMennamy, a Texas human services board member. Critics say the practice is demeaning and dangerous.

“Both public concern and the media’s attention to this subject warrant a serious review of the institutional division’s practices,” Terrell said, although noting that he has received no complaints about such practices during his tenure.

“The board has spent the last several years addressing many serious problems and correcting them,” he added. “They are not unwilling to look at and re-examine departmental policies for any weaknesses needing correction.”

Terrell said that, as the training practice is being reviewed to ensure that there is no abuse of inmates, “it should be remembered that these dogs are not only used to find escaped inmates but are also used to help countless law-enforcement agencies in Texas and other states to find and apprehend dangerous and violent offenders, as well as to help locate missing children.”

Prisoners began wearing padded gear on the training exercises after two inmates won $14,000 in a settlement with the state for injuries suffered when working with the animals. Four other inmates seriously injured by dogs have sued the prison system.