Galveston County, like Harris and Dallas, was sued for bail practices that lawyers and judges have said discriminate against poor criminal defendants.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Bryan Collier was questioned in court for about two hours for not complying with a court order to keep some Texas prisoners in air conditioned housing.

Soliz and another man were convicted in the shooting death of a Johnson County woman during a robbery in her home. His lawyers pushed to stop his execution, saying fetal alcohol spectrum disorder should be treated like an intellectual disability.

A federal judge was visibly frustrated Friday as he suggested that putting state officials in uncooled cells might be the only way to get their attention after they broke a settlement agreement to keep some inmates in air conditioning.

In a motion Thursday, the prisoners' lawyers asked the judge to hold prison officials in contempt and issue fines. They also accused the agency of hiding multiple instances of noncompliance with the court order.

Crutsinger had pushed to stop his execution based on claims of bad lawyering during his trial and in the appellate process.

The governor tweeted Monday night that Texas is “working on a legislative package” and that “expedited executions for mass murderers would be a nice addition.”

The white suspect in the racist massacre told El Paso police he bought the gun from Romania and picked it up at a Dallas-area store. Experts say guns imported from overseas are often cheaper than those from the U.S.

Swearingen consistently maintained his innocence in the strangling death of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter. Texas prosecutors, however, had no doubt he was her killer.

In his recent appeals, Johnson has claimed he is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty. He was convicted of a double murder in Harris County that took place in 2006.

A white gunman killed 22 Hispanic shoppers at an El Paso Walmart Saturday and injured more than two dozen more. Abbott and President Donald Trump were quick to highlight mental health issues.

Police say the gunman legally purchased the weapon he used in the shooting that left 20 people dead and more than two dozen wounded at an El Paso Walmart.

A memo obtained by The Texas Tribune instructs DPS officers to cite and release suspects in misdemeanor marijuana cases "as appropriate." Officials said the goal is to continue enforcement even though some prosecutors aren't taking new pot cases.

Commissioners approved a settlement aiming to end yearslong litigation over Harris County's misdemeanor bail system. Similar lawsuits in Dallas and other Texas cities also target how bail is set for people charged with felonies.

John Jones was arrested Tuesday in Travis County. He is accused of raping a woman at a party July 20.

Crime labs repeatedly told lawmakers and budget officials that they couldn't distinguish between hemp and marijuana without new testing resources. The issue got almost no attention.

The federal death penalty hasn't been carried out since 2003. Now the U.S. attorney general wants to adopt the method used in Texas executions to put five men to death.

Prosecutors and crime lab scientists were scrambling to find a solution after a change in the state's definition of marijuana imperiled criminal cases.

A law legalizing hemp changed the definition of marijuana, causing district attorneys across the state to drop low-level possession cases and stop accepting new ones.

The new Criminal Justice Reform Caucus in the Texas House will set its sights on changes in 2021.