The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
Amy Lynn Cowling's death is just the most recent at the Gregg County Jail in Longview. Interviews and public documents reveal a troubled facility, where the staff turnover rate is unusually high and inmates report shoddy medical care. Full Story
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Amy Lynn Cowling died on Dec. 29, 2010 in the Gregg County Jail. Her family is outraged over the treatment she received there, but jail officials say Cowling's unfortunate death was not their fault. Full Story
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How did the candidates on the ballot last year compare in their political spending on advertising, polling and staff? Use our interactive bubble chart to explore category data released recently by the Texas Ethics Commission. Full Story
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He was an Army veteran and a Houston security guard who had never been arrested until February 2002, when a fight with his wife sent Timothy Adams into a suicidal spiral. During a stand-off with police, Adams fatally shot his 19-month-old son twice in the chest — landing him a spot on death row. Full Story
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Under the proposed legislation, teens caught "sexting" could face up to a Class A Misdemeanor. Parents could also face penalties. Full Story
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"Sexting" — sending or receiving pornographic images via cell phones — should be a criminal offense for teenagers, say Attorney General Greg Abbott and Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin. Full Story
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Before prison officials administer the lethal cocktail of drugs used to carry out executions, the condemned may say their final piece. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice keeps a record of these last statements. Full Story
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Texas has enough supplies of a key drug to carry out only two more executions. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is exploring its options, including what other states are doing. But the drug alternatives are limited and would most likely still leave Texas reliant on nations that oppose the death penalty. Full Story
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The short answer is yes — and no. It's still around, and would work if it was plugged in. But it can't be used for executions in Texas anymore. Full Story
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Slashing funds for community-based mental health care will hurt taxpayers and degrade the quality of life for thousands of mentally ill Texans and their families, Harris County Jail officials told Texas budget writers today in written testimony for the Senate Finance Committee. Full Story
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Criminal justice in Texas got a fourfold performance review from the Legislative Budget Board today. From incarceration projections to the cost per bed for prisoners, the board broke down the state's public safety performance in cold, hard numbers. Full Story
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The Trib staff on the sweeping cuts in the proposed House budget, Grissom on what's lost and not found at the Department of Public Safety, Galbraith on the wind power conundrum, Hamilton on higher ed's pessimistic budget outlook, Stiles and Swicegood debut an incredibly useful bill tracker app, Ramsey interviews Rick Perry on the cusp of his second decade as governor, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist's quest for asylum in the U.S., Ramshaw on life expectancy along the border, M. Smith on the obstacles school districts face in laying off teachers and yours truly talks gambling and the Rainy Day Fund with state Rep. Jim Pitts: The best of our best from January 17 to 21, 2011. Full Story
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Texas officials have enough execution drugs to carry out the death sentences of two inmates scheduled for lethal injection in February. But they will have to find another sodium thiopental supplier or a different drug to use after March. Full Story
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Members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission expressed concerns today about the progress — or lack thereof — in the case of convicted arsonist Cameron Todd Willingham before ending a yet another meeting without a decision about the evidence that was used to send the Corsicana man to the death chamber in 2004. Full Story
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A sizable chunk of the state's general revenue — $635 million — in 2010 came from the mixed beverage tax. Texans drank 1.1 gallons of distilled spirits (liquor) each in 2010, which at 1.5 ounces a shot equals 94 mixed drinks a year. Check out our interactive map to see where Texans are going out for drinks. Full Story
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The Texas judicial system can do a better job handling the cases of kids in long-term foster care, according to a study released today by Texas Appleseed. Full Story
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Texas innocence clinics escaped unscathed from the first round of budget cut recommendations, but at the Capitol today, advocates said they aren't safe yet. Full Story
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On Friday, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, appeared on Fox and Friends to talk about why he believes, in the wake of the Tucson shootings, that members of Congress should be allowed to carry guns in Washington, D.C. Full Story
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When Andrew Cuomo took office as governor of New York earlier this month, he ordered the removal of the security barricades limiting access to his state’s Capitol. “This Capitol has become a physical metaphor for the isolation and alienation of our people,” he said in his inauguration speech. He could easily have been talking about Texas. Full Story
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The Sunset Advisory Commission today unanimously recommended consolidating the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission into one single youth justice division. Full Story
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