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.

Many prosecutors say the way Gov. Greg Abbott and lawmakers redefined marijuana requires new lab testing to prove it’s different from recently legalized hemp. The situation has created a patchwork of consequences for people caught with pot.

The new law changed the definition of marijuana, and prosecutors and crime labs say they don't have the resources to test if a substance is legal hemp or marijuana.

The state's two-year budget provided $84 million to increase salaries for correctional officers and other prison employees as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice faces nearly 4,000 empty guard positions.

A Texas Tribune study analyzed 560 cases from four Texas counties to shine a light on how the controversial practice of civil asset forfeiture is used by law enforcement.

Negotiators in the House and Senate couldn't come to an agreement on a bill addressing how Texas handles capital murder defendants who may be intellectually disabled. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing people with intellectual disabilities amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Texas has been fighting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ban on the state's attempted import of lethal injection drugs. But the Justice Department says federal law doesn't give the FDA oversight.

The prison system's existing doses were all set to expire before the state's five currently scheduled executions. See our updated lethal drug tracker for the latest movement in the state's supply.

The bill was one of several bail reform measures filed after federal court rulings, jail deaths and a state trooper's murder drew attention to Texas' pretrial jailing practices. A late addition to limit who could be released from jail at no cost was removed by lawmakers Friday.

Under the measure, defendants who have active psychotic symptoms of certain mental illnesses at the time of the crime would be ineligible for capital punishment. The bill now heads to the more conservative Senate.

Johnson was convicted in the 2007 murders of Maria Aparece and Huy Ngo in Harris County, a crime he committed at 18. He was set for execution Thursday before a court ruled that his new lawyer should have more time to look into federal appellate issues.

King and two other white men were convicted in the brutal East Texas murder of Byrd, who was black. King was the second man executed for the crime; another man is serving a life sentence.

Prisoners who volunteered for a mental health diversion program say promises of therapy and time out of their cells weren't fulfilled. And Texas prison officials aren't regularly tracking success rates — even as they ask lawmakers to fund an expansion of the program.