Freed after a decade on Texas death row for a murder he says he didn’t commit, Alfred Dewayne Brown thinks he’s entitled to compensation from the state, but Comptroller Glenn Hegar is saying no.
Johnathan Silver
Johnathan Silver reported on the state’s criminal justice system for the Tribune from 2015 to 2017. Previously, Johnathan was a Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Buster Haas intern and staff reporter at the Victoria Advocate. A Fort Worth native, Johnathan graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington with bachelor’s degrees in political science and criminal justice – and a graduation mug from The Shorthorn, the campus student newspaper.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Audit: DPS Overpaid Vendor, Needs to Work on Security
The Texas Department of Public Safety improperly monitored how its employees use gas payment cards and should better ensure personal information from background checks is secure, state auditors said in a report released Thursday.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Appeals Court: Texas Restrictions on Inmates’ Beards Violates Federal Law
A New Orleans-based appeals court says the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s restrictions on beard lengths and religious head garments for inmates violate federal law.
Posted inState Government
Sikh Group: Bomb Threat Arrest Was Profiling
A Sikh advocacy group wants criminal charges to be filed against three people who restrained two fellow Greyhound bus passengers in Amarillo and called 911 to report them as terrorists.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Bernie Tiede’s Attorneys Say They’ll Seek New Trial
After being sentenced to life in prison a second time, convicted murderer Bernie Tiede wants another do-over. An East Texas jury sentenced Tiede to 99 years or life in prison in the killing of wealthy Carthage widow Marjorie Nugent.
Posted inState Government
Ken Paxton Clarifies He’s Not Being Audited
Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton offered rare commentary Saturday on his legal issues during a Tarrant County tea party meeting, according to an audio recording obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Posted inState Government
Jury Sentences Bernie Tiede to 99 Years or Life
An East Texas jury on Friday night sentenced convicted murderer Bernie Tiede to 99 years or life in prison for the 1996 killing of Carthage woman Marjorie Nugent.
Posted inState Government
Bernie Tiede’s Fate Will Soon Rest With Jury
Several witnesses doted on convicted murderer Bernie Tiede and others shared stories about victim Marjorie Nugent’s temperament as an East Texas jury heard some of the final testimony Thursday in a trial to determine whether Tiede will return to prison.
Posted inState Government
Bernie Tiede Supporters Make Pitch for Leniency
Convicted murderer Bernie Tiede may have gunned down his victim, tossed her in a freezer and gone on with his life, but the brutal act in 1996 was an anomaly, his supporters said in court Wednesday.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Petition Seeks Ban on Sex Offender Pen Pals
Lori Williams was searching online last year when she found a plea apparently written by a Texas prison inmate looking for pen pals to write him in prison. The accompanying photo was of the man who assaulted her at knifepoint.
