In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler.
William Melhado
William Melhado was an Austin-based general assignment reporter until 2024. He originally joined the Tribune in 2022 as a Poynter-Koch fellow. Before his time at the Tribune, William worked as a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, an alt-weekly newspaper in New Mexico, and he also worked as an educator for five years at a public high school in the Bronx, New York and at international schools in Tanzania and Nepal. A native of Boulder, Colorado, William graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and earned a master’s in secondary science education at CUNY Lehman College.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas criminal appeals court takes man off death row over intellectual disability
Since Randall Mays was sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of two sheriff’s deputies, his lawyers have argued his intellectual disability exempts him from execution.
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Politics
Montgomery County directs citizen board to review, and potentially remove, library books
The county north of Houston adopted the guidelines amid a growing number of book bans in school districts and a new state law that supporters claim protects children from inappropriate material.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Feds arrest five men accused of smuggling illegally purchased guns to cartels in Mexico
The men were charged with two criminal offenses, including straw purchasing of firearms, created by the 2022 bipartisan gun safety bill authored by Sen. John Cornyn.
Posted in
Demographics
How plans for a West Texas drag show turned into a war over the First Amendment
In the staunchly conservative Panhandle, LGBTQ+ Texans say political and legal battles overlook their humanity.
Posted in
Courts
U.S. Supreme Court hears Texas case on politically motivated arrests
Former Castle Hills Council Member Sylvia Gonzalez sued the city after police arrested her for tampering with government records, which she said was in retaliation for her criticism of the city manager.
Posted in
Demographics
U.S. Supreme Court declines to intervene in lawsuit over West Texas A&M drag shows
The decision means university President Walter Wendler could cancel an on-campus drag show next week. He canceled a previous show last year.
Posted in
Politics
A petition to recall Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson fails
The former Democratic state lawmaker announced he was switching party affiliations last year — prompting the recall by community activist Davante Peters.
Posted in
2024 Texas Elections
Ken Paxton successfully ousts three Republican criminal appeal court judges
Three incumbent judges with nearly a century of criminal law experience fell victim to Paxton’s political revenge tour after they ruled against the attorney general in a 2021 voter fraud case.
Posted in
2024 Texas Elections
Two law enforcement officials criticized in DOJ report for Uvalde response advance in reelection efforts
Sheriff Ruben Nolasco and Uvalde County Constable Emmanuel Zamora were named in the Justice Department’s blistering criticism of responding officers in its January report.
