Judge Elsa Alcala of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is a zealous opinion writer and critic of death penalty law. But after seven years on the bench, she's stepping down. Here are the three Republicans who are vying for her seat.

Texas death row inmates lost at the U.S. Supreme Court when the high court denied their petition to challenge the state's execution protocol.

Gov. Greg Abbott spared the life of a death row inmate less than an hour before his scheduled execution. 

For the first time since 2009, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted to recommend a lesser sentence for a death row inmate. 

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice released information Thursday night on the state's execution drug inventory. The department had stalled release of the records, which show that the expiration date of four doses was changed from January to November. See more details here. 

The Texas Department of Public Safety has reversed a controversial decision to lay off more than 100 older troopers employed under an agency program that allowed them to retire and then be rehired in order to collect retirement benefits and a salary.

Earlier this month, defense lawyers claimed Texas was botching its executions with old drugs. Now, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has stalled the release of information on how many lethal doses the state has and when they expire.

A federal appellate court on Wednesday mostly upheld a ruling claiming that Harris County’s bail practices unfairly discriminate against poor misdemeanor defendants.

State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, went almost two years without filing any campaign or personal financial reports, racking up more than $50,000 in fines. He still hasn't paid anything and it's unclear whether any state agency has the power to make him.

Inmates at the Pack Unit prison outside College Station argued in federal court that they should be housed in a maximum of 88 degrees. On Friday, the state agreed to bring air conditioning to the facility.

Four former and current Texas Juvenile Justice Department employees were arrested Thursday as part of a Texas Rangers investigation into alleged misconduct at state-run youth lockups. Another suspect remains at large. 

The Dallas man who killed his two daughters in 2001 was executed Thursday night. It was the third execution in Texas and the nation this year.

Gov. Greg Abbott has made his latest move in shaking up leadership at the scandal-plagued Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

William Rayford, a 64-year-old death row inmate convicted in the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, was put to death Tuesday night in the second execution of the year in Texas and the nation.

Gov. Greg Abbott has replaced the board chairman of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. The governor has played a key role in an agency shake-up amid a sexual abuse scandal and staffing shortages.