Shaquanda Cotton - Early Release

Early Release

After spending over a year behind bars, Cotton was released on April 1, 2007, as her case received national attention from civil-rights advocates and media outlets. "I feel like I have a second chance," she said, "I'm going to be a better person now. I'm a good person, but I want to be a better person."

School officials, the Paris district attorney and the judge have all strongly denied that race played a role in the prosecution and sentencing of Cotton. But her case has coincided with an ongoing investigation of the Paris school district by the U.S. Department of Education, which is examining allegations that the district systemically discriminates against African-American students by disciplining them more frequently and more harshly than caucasians.

The special conservator now in charge of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), Jay Kimbrough (who is charged with overhauling the TYC due to a spreading sex scandal involving prison officials who allegedly coerced sex from inmates) decided that Shaquanda merited immediate release. Kimbrough claims his decision was not based on the circumstances of the teenager's prosecution and sentence, but rather on the arbitrary way in which her indeterminate sentence had been extended by prison authorities. Authorities penalized her because she was found with "contraband" in her cell—i.e., an extra pair of socks. However, the day before she was released Cotton was listed as having reached level 2 out of 4 on two important TYC release criteria: behavior and correctional therapy, which means having an extra pair of socks (which is distributed by TYC) can prevent a juvenile from reaching their level's goals.

Cotton was the first of an estimated 400 juveniles across the state whom Kimbrough ordered released from custody. According to authorities, those youths have all also satisfied their minimum sentences and committed no serious violations while in custody.

Cotton was featured in a two-page spread in the September 2007 issue of Seventeen magazine.

Cotton and her mother were invited to be guests on the Montel Williams Show to discuss her plight. The show aired October 2, 2007.

On October 30, 2007, a documentary by Julian O'Halloran BBC News File On Four featuring Cotton was aired.