Texas inmate Syed Rabbani taken off death row after original appeal was left pending for decades
A prosecutor called delays in Rabbani’s long-standing appeal “a due process disaster.” Full Story
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![Joshua Reiss, a division chief with the Harris County District Attorney's Office, at right, hands Judge Lori Chambers Gray a copy of Syed Rabbani’s original trail transcript during a hearing for Rabbani at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Houston. Rabbani was issued the death sentence in 1988 after a jury found Rabbani guilty of killing a fellow Bangladeshi immigrant, 28-year-old Mohammed Hasan, at a Houston convenience store. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing)]()
Credit: Antranik Tavitian/Houston Landing -
Texas’ top criminal court halts William Speer’s execution hours before he was scheduled to die
Speer has been on death row for decades after strangling another inmate at a Texas prison. The victim’s sister and faith leaders have both called on the parole board to halt the execution. Full Story
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![Interior of Death Chamber in Texas.]()
Credit: Jenevieve Robbins/Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Texas inmate killed by cellmate during a statewide prison lockdown
The killing of inmate Billy Chemirmir in the Coffield Unit occurred during a statewide lockdown of prisons, promoted by a rise in inmate homicides. A day before the lockdown, another incident at the same prison resulted in the firings of seven correctional officers and the resignations of another six. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
Texas prison system issues statewide lockdown to combat illegal drugs, inmate violence
The state has canceled all visits to Texas prison inmates until a comprehensive search of all 100 correctional facilities for contraband has been completed. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
As the death toll in stifling Texas prisons climbs, congressional Democrats ask for investigation
Most Texas prisons lack air conditioning. At least 41 prisoners have died of heart-related or undetermined causes since the unrelenting heat wave began. Full Story
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![A thermometer is pictured inside a mock prison cell during a "Beat the Heat" awareness event at the Capitol on March 12, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
A prison guard says she was forced to stay at her post during labor pains. Texas is fighting compensation for her stillbirth.
The seven-months-pregnant officer reported contraction-like pains at work, but said she wasn’t allowed to leave for hours. The anti-abortion state is fighting her lawsuit, in part by saying her fetus didn’t clearly have rights. Full Story
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![Prisoners work outdoors at the Dr. Lane Murray Unit, a women's prison that's part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Facing sex discrimination claims, Texas begins jailing migrant women under border crackdown
Operation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws. Full Story
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![Asylum seekers who have just crossed the border are led by a National Guard troop to be apprehended by Customs and Border Protection in Roma on Aug. 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisons
Several lawmakers supported a call for Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back immediately to approve air conditioning for prisons, which the Legislature declined to do during its regular session. Full Story
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![Tona Southards, whose 36-year-old son died in a Texas prison during the June 2023 heat wave, falls to her knees as she leads a prayer circle outside the Texas Capitol on July 18. Southards and other prison rights advocates called for Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session to install air conditioning in Texas prisons.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
Investigation finds no fraud by Texas prison contractor that was paid despite cutting inmate therapy services
Management & Training Corporation had been accused of defrauding the state by charging for services it didn’t provide and directing prisoners to falsify paperwork about their treatment. Full Story
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Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state seldom acknowledges heat as a cause of death
Since a heat wave gripped Texas, at least nine inmates, including two men in their 30s, have died of heart attacks or unknown causes in prisons lacking air conditioning. It’s been 11 years since the state last classified a death as heat-related. Full Story
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![Mountain View prison in Gatesville on September 19, 2019]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Facing youth prison crisis, Texas lawmakers opt to build new facilities and funnel more kids to adult system
For more than a decade, Texas has been trying to slim down its youth prison system, which has been plagued by years of abuse scandals. This Legislature is reversing that course. Full Story
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![Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
Despite budget surplus, Texas Legislature makes little money available for prison air conditioning
Stifling heat has killed inmates and exacerbated employee turnover in Texas prisons. But funding for air conditioning was whittled down in the draft budget released Thursday. Full Story
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![The Byrd Unit in Huntsville, TX, on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas imprisoned Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. when he was 11, purportedly for his own good. Five years later, he returned home in a casket.
“They didn’t try to fix the brokenness,” his mother says. “They just broke him more.” Full Story
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![Long time friend Robin Anderson, left, stands alongside mother Amnisty Freelen and her husband Aarin Freelen, during a funeral service for their son Joshua Keith Beasley Jr., 17, on April 1, 2023 at the McCrury Cemetery in Bogota, Texas.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
“A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisons
Moving the most violent and troubled youths to adult prison makes it easier to help others in juvenile facilities, some prosecutors and lawmakers say. Youth justice advocates say Texas is giving up on the children who most need help. Full Story
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![Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
Seven Texas prison employees face dismissal over 16-year-old inmate’s suicide
Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. had been transferred from a Texas youth facility to an adult prison despite a long history of suicidal behavior. Five guards and two supervisors allegedly failed to check on him. Full Story
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![From left: Friends Mario Lozano, 18, Jose Quijada, 18, wearing a shirt with the image of Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. and Joshua's brother Malachi Davis, 20, during Joshua's funeral on April 1, 2023 at McCrury Cemetery (CQ) in Bogota, Texas.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House budgets $545 million for prison air conditioning. The Senate hasn’t offered anything.
Sweltering heat has killed inmates, driven away prison workers and cost taxpayers millions in lawsuits. The House budget would provide air conditioning for 46 prisons, but it’s unclear if the Senate will sign on. Full Story
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![Inmates walk down a hallway at Brazoria County's Darrington prison in July 2017.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough / The Texas Tribune -
Aging state vehicle fleet fuels tens of millions in new money requests by agencies
Many state-owned vehicles are aging past the standards for replacement. Early budget drafts signal that lawmakers are considering funding some $237.6 million in requests for new ones. Full Story
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![Sec. of State Jane Nelson stands beside a 25-year-old Ford Ranger with over 30,000 miles on it, the agency’s only vehicle since 1998, on Feb. 8, 2023. "She's a grand old dame, but it's time for her to retire," Nelson said.]()
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Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas’ attorneys apply for clemency, citing mental illness
At issue is whether Thomas, who gouged out his eyes after confessing to the 2004 murders of his estranged wife, their son and her daughter, is competent to be executed in April. Full Story
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![The view of Texas' execution chamber from a witness viewing room.]()
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Texas executes Wesley Ruiz despite ongoing fight over state’s use of old lethal injection drugs
Ruiz was convicted in the 2007 shooting death of Dallas police Senior Cpl. Mark Nix after a high-speed chase. Full Story
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![Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.]()
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“We are humans back here”: As Texas hunger strike wanes, prisoners speak out against solitary confinement
After 21 days, the last of many Texas prisoners to consistently refuse food ended his hunger strike. In letters to The Texas Tribune, two prisoners spoke out on the dire solitary confinement conditions that led them to starve themselves. Full Story
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![Telford prison in New Boston.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune
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