Faith leaders and jurors from the original trial launched a public campaign to reconsider recanted testimony in Cantu’s case. Texas courts declined.
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
Former DA investigator faces federal heroin trafficking and money laundering charges
A federal jury convicted Alex Kassem of Houston after hearing evidence that the former county employee transported heroin across Texas and Louisiana in a marked police car.
Posted in
Immigration
Ken Paxton sues to revoke an El Paso nonprofit’s state registration after it didn’t immediately hand over client records
Annunciation House, a network of shelters that serves migrants, sought relief from the attorney general’s demand to immediately release information about its clients. Paxton accused the religious group of smuggling humans across the southern border.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Paxton’s push to oust incumbents puts spotlight on Court of Criminal Appeals primaries
The attorney general has tried to supplant eight Republican judges on the court after they rejected his efforts to unilaterally prosecute voter fraud. The judges are now pushing back.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Despite mounting doubts about his guilt, Ivan Cantu running out of time to avoid Texas’ death chamber
Convicted of killing his cousin and his cousin’s fiancée, the death row inmate hopes recanted testimony and other new details spur a review of his case.
Posted in
LGBTQ+ Texans
Texas Supreme Court hears legal challenge to ban on gender-transition care for kids
A fight over allowing transgender children to access puberty blockers and hormone therapies could hinge on justices’ interpretation of parental rights.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas man arrested after threatening House Speaker Dade Phelan
Texas Department of Public Safety arrested Daniel Troy Leblanc earlier this month after the Orange County resident made “terroristic threats” on social media.
Posted in
2024 Texas Elections
John Cornyn endorses Donald Trump for president
Cornyn’s endorsement comes one week after his colleague, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, also backed the former president.
Posted in
Politics
U.S. Supreme Court says Texas can’t block federal agents from the border
The high court’s order effectively maintains long-running precedent that the federal government — not individual states — has authority to enforce border security.
Posted in
2024 Texas Elections
Ted Cruz endorses Donald Trump for president
The Republican U.S. senator threw his support behind the former president during a Fox News appearance.
