http://www.chron. com/disp/ story.mpl/ ap/tx/5862040. html

June 28, 2008, 4:43PM Grand juries opt against charges in prison cases © 2008 The Associated Press

EDINBURG, Texas — Grand juries in Hidalgo County have opted against indictments in several cases of alleged criminal abuse at Evins Regional Juvenile Center, two years after investigators uncovered systemic civil rights violations at the facility.

Of the eight cases of alleged staff-on-youth violence considered by grand jurors in the past year, none have resulted in criminal indictments, The (McAllen) Monitor reported in a story for its Sunday editions.

At the same time, the panels have green-lighted cases against nearly all the inmates accused of breaking the law, according to statistics provided by the Texas Youth Commission, the agency charged with overseeing Evins and the state's other youth prisons.

"We may have just reached a point where people think these teens aren't in prison because they sang too loud in the choir," TYC Inspector General Bruce Toney said. "But we have to remember they can be victims too."

Drawing conclusions from statistics can be tricky, investigators said. One case may be backed up by strong video evidence, while another may rely on circumstantial statements. Some situations could be clear violations of the law, while others might be more open to interpretation.

Inmate riots and repeated allegations of abuse drew U.S. Department of Justice investigators to Evins in 2006.

Youths reported incidents in which guards bound them, threw them face- down into flower gardens, used their bodies as battering rams to open doors and hit them against concrete poles. The guards have said they did what was needed to protect themselves and other youths from harm.

But federal investigators saw it differently.

"Certain conditions at Evins violate the constitutional rights of the youth residents," their final report said. "In particular, we find that children confined (there) are not adequately protected from harm."

Since then, state legislators have overhauled the prison and its parent agency to address safety concerns. Lawmakers created the independent Office of the Inspector General to review youth reports and designated a special prosecution unit to try criminal cases stemming from them.

Since June 2007, the TYC's special prosecution unit has presented eight Evins-related staff-on-youth cases from agency investigators seeking charges ranging from official oppression to aggravated assault. In every case, grand jurors chose not to indict.

The prosecution unit would not release specific details of the no- bill cases, citing the confidentiality of inmates and staff. TYC investigators continue to review new evidence in many of the cases in hopes of a second chance at indictment.