According to a news report, there are over 350 women serving prison sentences for prostitution in Texas as of 2012. Most of the prostitutes were from Dallas and Houston.
State officials were considering changing the law that makes prostitution a felony due to the cost of incarceration. The cost to house a convict in a state prison for one year is $18,538, according to state officials. To have the convict enter a community-based program costs the state about $4,300 a year.
Officials have stated that the law making prostitution a felony has probably not sent any customers to prison.
Source: Mike Ward, “Texas rethinks law making repeat prostitution a felony,” Austin American-Statesman, August 25, 2012.
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