Defense lawyers say that information about the drug Texas uses in executions – pentobarbital — is shrouded in secrecy. And they worry a dearth of information could lead to cruel and unusual executions.
Terri Langford
Terri Langford is the Tribune's health services reporter based in Austin. Langford is a veteran journalist, having worked at the Florida Times Union, The Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, WNYC, Honolulu Civil Beat and Texas Standard/KUT. Langford has a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin. She has covered various city and state agencies, criminal justice and health and human services for the Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Associated Press, WNYC and Texas Standard at KUT.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Comptroller to Strip Clubs: Time to Pay Up
A controversial strip club fee that lawmakers approved in 2007 is still winding its way through the courts, but Comptroller Susan Combs is pressing the clubs to pay six years’ worth of “pole taxes.”
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TDCJ Has Supply of the Drug Used in Botched Oklahoma Execution
Texas Department of Criminal Justice is storing dozens of vials of the drug used in Tuesday’s botched execution in Oklahoma, raising concerns about the state’s secretive lethal injection process.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Lawmaker Wants AG Opinion on Governor’s Legal Bill
A state lawmaker wants to know if it’s legal to have taxpayers foot the bill for the $450-an-hour attorney hired to defend Gov. Rick Perry in a grand jury investigation.
Posted in
Health care
After Years of Reform, Lawsuit Rattles an Agency Still Facing Challenges
Like most child welfare agencies nationwide, Texas Child Protective Services has had its share of problems. Officials say reforms have made clear improvements, but the agency still faces problems.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
At Large Since 1997, Fugitive is Returned to Texas
Juan Salaz, who slipped through an open Texas prison cell door 17 years ago, was returned to Houston from Mexico by the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday morning, the agency said.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Sex Offender Agency’s Presiding Board Member Quits
Amid heated controversy over the placement of dangerous sex offenders, the presiding member of a board that oversees an agency that manages civilly committed violent sex offenders resigned on Tuesday.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Third Chief in a Month to Be Named at Juvenile Justice Department
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department on Thursday is set to name its third leader in a month at a meeting of the board that oversees the agency.
Posted in
State Government
Sources: Perry Offered to Restore Vetoed Funding if DA Resigned
Sources say that after Gov. Rick Perry vetoed funding for the agency that prosecutes public corruption cases, his emissaries worked to swap Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg’s resignation for restoration of the money.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Lawmakers to Examine Rehab of Mentally Ill, Addicted Inmates
Lawmakers on Tuesday will examine ways to reduce recidivism among prisoners with mental illness and substance addiction.