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• Gov. Greg Abbott wants to raise the stakes for protesters during a divisive Texas election

  by Jolie McCullough and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff Updated: Sept. 24, 2020

  Abbott's campaign event came after a majority of likely Texas voters in a recent poll said that law and order is a bigger issue than the pandemic. Yet they were also more likely to say that racism in the criminal justice system is a larger problem than riots in American cities. Full Story 

• As part of revived federal death penalty, Christopher Vialva executed for Texas double murder

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: Sept. 24, 2020

  Vialva was the seventh man executed in the federal execution chamber this year after a 17-year hiatus of the federal death penalty. Texas, meanwhile, is expected to have a comparatively low number of state executions this year because of the pandemic. Full Story 

• Dallas City Council increases police budget overall, but reallocates $7 million from overtime budget

  by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Jolie McCullough Updated: Sept. 24, 2020

  Much of the overtime cuts were reallocated for other purposes in the department, including more than $3.8 million to hire nearly 100 civilian workers. Other new spending will go toward addressing root causes of crime and improving street lighting. Full Story 

• Texas court tosses death sentence in police killing due to intellectual disability

  by Jolie McCullough Sept. 16, 2020

  The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals resentenced Juan Lizcano to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is at least the sixth death row inmate whose sentence was reduced after the U.S. Supreme Court slammed Texas' methods for determining intellectual disability. Full Story 

• How Gov. Greg Abbott made Austin’s police budget cuts a top campaign issue for candidates running in November

  by Jolie McCullough and Cassandra Pollock Updated: Sept. 10, 2020

  The Republican governor isn't on the November ballot. But he has come out hard against efforts to shift city money away from policing, echoing a national debate on policing and crime during a tumultuous election season. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott calls on all Texas candidates to sign pledge against police budget cuts

  by Jolie McCullough Sept. 9, 2020

  The pledge is the governor's latest political move in an election season consumed by debates on policing reforms and funding. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott considering legislation to put Austin police under state control after budget cut

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: Sept. 3, 2020

  If passed, the legislative proposal could consolidate Austin's police department under the Texas Department of Public Safety. Full Story 

• Report: Harris County’s bail reforms let more people out of jail before trial without raising risk of reoffending

  by Jolie McCullough Sept. 3, 2020

  Texas' most populous county changed its bail practices for misdemeanor defendants last year after a lengthy lawsuit challenging cash bail. Full Story 

• As Hurricane Laura heads for Southeast Texas, officials scramble to evacuate and shelter people during a pandemic

  by Jolie McCullough and Juan Pablo Garnham Updated: Aug. 26, 2020

  The storm is now a Category 4 hurricane whose dangerous winds and storm surge could cause damage along a large swath of the Gulf Coast and Southeast Texas. Full Story 

• Texas put hundreds of hours into finding and arresting police brutality protesters. Lawyers call it a “witch hunt."

  by Jolie McCullough Aug. 21, 2020

  Two days of unruly protests at the Texas Capitol in May left graffiti on the historic building and cuts and bruises on state police officers. Since then, the Texas Department of Public Safety has spent the summer naming and arresting suspects, the majority of whom are accused of misdemeanors. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott, other Texas leaders want to freeze property tax revenues for cities that cut police budgets

  by Juan Pablo Garnham and Jolie McCullough Updated: Aug. 18, 2020

  The state's three top elected leaders also fiercely criticized the Austin officials who plan to cut up to one-third of their police department's budget, largely through reorganizing divisions out from under law enforcement. Full Story 

• The only Texas prison reporting zero coronavirus cases is where inmates make soap. But that’s not what’s credited with protecting it.

  by Jolie McCullough Aug. 7, 2020

  Of more than 100 Texas prison units, the Roach Unit's apparent ability to avoid the virus has been attributed to a remote location and a warden who strictly enforces precautionary measures. Full Story 

• U.S. Army sergeant who shot Austin protester Garrett Foster posted tweets about retaliating against demonstrators

  by Jolie McCullough and Meena Venkataramanan Updated: Aug. 1, 2020

  Daniel Perry has come forward as the shooter of Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old armed demonstrator who was killed while protesting police brutality in Austin last Saturday. Full Story 

• The coronavirus is keeping Texas prisoners who've been approved for parole behind bars

  by Jolie McCullough July 23, 2020

  Thousands of parole-approved prisoners remain locked up during the public health crisis. The coronavirus has delayed pre-release programs and kept people set to go home inside infected prisons. Full Story 

• Thousands of Texas prisoners still have the coronavirus. More than 25% of inmates at four units are infected.

  by Jolie McCullough July 14, 2020

  At one prison, more than 750 inmates were actively infected with the coronavirus Monday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story 

• Texas executes Billy Wardlow, who was 18 when he killed a man. Experts argued that's too young for a death sentence.

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: July 8, 2020

  Wardlow had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that he was too young to get the Texas death penalty. His execution was the first in Texas to proceed during the pandemic as the coronavirus rages across the state. Full Story 

• He was supposed to be in prison less than a year. Instead, he died after catching the coronavirus.

  by Jolie McCullough July 7, 2020

  At least 84 Texas state prisoners have died after contracting the coronavirus, including men who were serving short sentences or set to soon go home. As the death count rose, advocates unsuccessfully called on the governor and parole board for early release. Full Story 

• Texans across the state march to demand justice for Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén

  by Miguel Gutierrez Jr. and Jolie McCullough July 6, 2020

  Guillén, a 20-year-old Army specialist, went missing in April from the Central Texas Army post. Remains found last week were confirmed to be hers, her family said. Her disappearance sparked protests against the military for its handling of sexual harassment allegations. Full Story 

• Austin police will no longer cite or arrest people for possessing small amounts of marijuana

  by Jolie McCullough July 2, 2020

  The police chief announced the policy change Thursday, more than a year after the Texas Legislature legalized hemp and complicated marijuana prosecution throughout the state. Full Story 

• Watch: Texas' police use-of-force tactics scrutinized after George Floyd protests

  by Todd Wiseman, Jeremiah Rhodes and Jolie McCullough July 2, 2020

  The Texas Tribune spoke to criminologists, policy makers and advocates to hear their perspectives on what the current moment means for Texas and what happens next. Full Story