Latest Contributions

• Preacher: Sandra Bland Did Not Attack Trooper

  By Sophia Bollag and Terri Langford July 20, 2015

  A Baltimore pastor on Monday said video taken from a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper's dashboard camera shows Sandra Bland did not attack the officer. Full Story 

• Waller County DA: Bland's Death Won't Be "Swept Under the Rug"

  By Matthew Watkins, Terri Langford and Sophia Bollag July 17, 2015

  As Waller County authorities vowed on Friday to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of Sandra Bland, who was found hanged at the county jail, the Texas Department of Public Safety moved forward on a separate inquiry into how arrest procedures were violated in the case. Full Story 

• TDCJ Correctional Officer Beaten With "Pry Tool"

  By Terri Langford July 16, 2015

  A Texas correctional officer killed while escorting a prisoner to his cell was beaten to death with a two-foot pry bar, a tool guards carry to unlock the small meal tray openings in a cell door, the Tribune has confirmed. Full Story 

• Rookie Prison Guard is Killed Escorting Violent Inmate

  By Terri Langford July 15, 2015

  A rookie Texas Department of Criminal Justice guard was beaten to death Wednesday at a northeast Texas prison as he was escorting an inmate, one with an extensive history of attempted escapes and previous beatings of prison personnel, from a day room to a cell. Full Story 

• Schools, Courts Worry About New Truancy Law

  By Terri Langford July 12, 2015

  Juvenile justice advocates applauded when the Texas Legislature decided this year that repeated school truancy will no longer be a crime. But school and court officials worry they are losing tools that have actually worked at keeping kids in school. Full Story 

• TDCJ Official: Supreme Court's Ruling Won't Impact Texas Executions

  By Terri Langford June 29, 2015

  A U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday that upheld the use of an execution drug used in Oklahoma will not change how death row inmates in Texas are executed, according to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman. Full Story 

• Court's Ban of Death Penalty Lawyer Will Stand

  By Terri Langford June 26, 2015

  The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled it has no authority or jurisdiction to intervene in its sister court's ban of prominent death penalty lawyer David Dow. Full Story 

• Prosecutors Take Pot Into Their Own Hands

  By Terri Langford June 20, 2015

  Texas lawmakers may be reluctant to ease up on punishing small-time pot smokers, but local prosecutors across the state are increasingly looking for ways to keep two-bit toking cases from clogging court dockets. Full Story 

• Court: Texas AG Can't Intervene in Same-Sex Couple's Divorce

  By Terri Langford and Alexa Ura June 19, 2015

  As Texas waits on the U.S. Supreme Court to rule, the state highest civil court ruled Friday that the Texas attorney general's office tried too late to stop a divorce between a couple married in Massachusetts. Full Story 

• When Home is a Post Office Box

  By Terri Langford June 18, 2015

  The home address listed on a Texas driver's license used to be one of the best tools police had to track people down, serve warrants or notify next-of-kin when someone died. But no more in this job-hopping, mobile culture. Full Story