TDCJ, which estimates climate control will cost $1.5 billion, said the federal judge’s order imposes “chaos and confusion” on the country’s largest prison system.
Texas Department Of Criminal Justice
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Graphics and data reporting
Use our updated database to see what state employees in Texas are paid, as of October 2026
The Texas Tribune’s database of state employees’ compensation has been updated to include salaries as of October 1.
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Criminal Justice
Ex-Dallas police officer who killed Black man in apartment she mistook as her own gets parole
Amber Guyger’s fatal shooting of Bothman Jean in 2018 drew attention due to its strange circumstances and because it was one in a string of shootings of Black men by white officers.
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Criminal Justice
Federal judge orders Texas to air condition all prisons by the end of 2029
High temperatures violate the Constitution’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment, the judge ruled. Texas will appeal.
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Criminal Justice
Texas prisons seek $298 million for air conditioning. That’s a fraction of what’s needed.
It would cost $1.5 billion to fully cool all prisons, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice estimates.
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Graphics and data reporting
Use our database to see what state employees in Texas are paid, as of July 2026
The Texas Tribune’s database of state employees’ compensation has been updated to include salaries as of July 1.
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Criminal Justice
Judge recommends medical parole for inmate who had been on Texas death row for 47 years
Clarence Curtis Jordan, who is intellectually disabled and had no legal representation for decades, was resentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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Criminal Justice
Texas prisoners face new book ban after hundreds test positive for synthetic drugs
Inmates say the policy unfairly punishes them — and note that prison staff also bring in contraband.
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Use our database to see what state employees in Texas are paid, as of April 2026
The Texas Tribune’s database of state employees’ compensation has been updated to include salaries as of April. 1.
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State Government
TDCJ official confirms in trial testimony that it could cost $1.5 billion to fully cool Texas prisons
Current and former heads of Texas’ prison system defended asking for lesser amounts to air-condition facilities during a federal trial on extreme heat in TDCJ facilities.
