AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Touring the Texas Prison Museum
Former "Walls Unit" warden Jim Willett narrates a photographic tour of the Texas Prison Museum, where he is the executive director. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-03-25_at_5.43.30_PM.png)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller -
Looking Back on a Life as a Death House Warden
Jim Willett had not intended to spend the better part of his adult life working in Texas’ sprawling prison system. But the business student turned prison guard worked 30 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and oversaw 89 executions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_TexasPrisonMuseum_CBM15.jpg)
![Jim Willett is the director of the Texas Prison Museum and was a warden at the Walls Unit who oversaw 89 executions by lethal injection. He sits in a replica cell within the museum.]()
-
Report: Hundreds of Youths in Adult Prisons
Judges across the state, and particularly in Harris County, are sending youth offenders to adult prisons even when they have few prior offenses, according to a study by a University of Texas criminal justice expert. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/JuvenilesCriminalJustice.jpg)
![Juveniles in the Adult Criminal Justice System report by Michele Deitch]()
Credit: Illustration by Jacob Villanueva -
Brewpub Bill Gets Boost With Compromise
A bill that would give brewpubs more flexibility to sell their ales has been given a boost by a compromise with an influential beer lobby. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-BeerBrewery-JV098.jpg)
![Tim Stevens pours an Agave Wit at Uncle Billy's Brew & Que.]()
Credit: Jacob Villanueva -
Texplainer: Who Would Be Allowed to Carry on Campus?
Those with a concealed handgun license, which currently means they must be 21 years old. Though it won't necessarily be that way forever, which raises another question: When it comes to gun safety, does age matter? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HandgunsAtFiringRange.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News -
The Week in Texas Politics Recap: March 14 to March 18
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TxTrib_Capitol_MS_2.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Plan to Merge Agencies Worries Safety Officials
A money-saving proposal to combine state agencies that oversee police and firefighter training and local jail operations has public safety officials statewide worried about their future. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_Police_MS_2.jpg)
![Left to right: Officer Mario Martinez, Sergeant R. Richman and officer L. Lyons on duty.]()
Credit: Muliadi Soenaryo -
Lawmakers Get an Earful About Campus Carry
Supporters and opponents of allowing concealed handguns on college campuses packed a House committee room today where a number of bills that would allow it were being discussed. Full Story
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News -
Senate Approves Eyewitness ID Reform
The Texas Senate unanimously approved a bill today that would revamp eyewitness identification policies used by law enforcement agencies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/tim.cole_3.jpg)
![Timothy Cole]()
Credit: Illustration by Courtesy of the Cole family -
Texas Decides on Substitute Execution Drug
Cleve Foster will be the first Texas inmate to receive the anesthetic drug pentobarbital — instead of sodium thiopental — in the three-drug cocktail that will be used in his execution on April 5. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/needles_lethalinjection.jpg)
![Hypodermic needles.]()
-
TribLive: Joe Straus on Campus Carry
At our TribLive conversation last Thursday, Speaker Joe Straus talked about proposed legislation that would legalize concealed carry on college campuses in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/134724951_200_2.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
"Loser Pays" Bills Filed in the House and Senate
In advance of today's bill filing deadline, lawmakers have introduced two bills that would require losing parties to pay attorneys' fees in a variety of civil lawsuits. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/GavelLawbook001.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Texas' Next Tort Reform Battle: "Loser Pays"
Advocates say requiring the losing parties in litigation to pay their opponents’ legal fees is the cure for courts choked with the costs of “junk” lawsuits. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_BrandonCreighton_BD_1.jpg)
![Texas State Representative Brandon Creighton, who chairs the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty, during a press conference on the Tenth Amendment.]()
Credit: Marjorie Cotera -
Shay Bilchik: The TT Interview
The director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown Public Policy Institute on the factors Texas lawmakers should consider as they seek to make budget cuts while continuing the reforms they started in 2007. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Shay.jpg)
![Shay Bilchik, director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University Public Policy Institute]()
Credit: Justin Dehn -
Shay Bilchik: The TT Interview
The director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown Public Policy Institute on the factors Texas lawmakers should consider as they seek to make budget cuts while continuing the reforms they started in 2007. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-03-10_at_11.09.20_AM.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Brandi Grissom -
Execution Set for April, but State Out of Key Drug
The next execution is scheduled to take place April 5 — less than a month from now — but the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not yet decided which drug it will use to replace sodium thiopental, one of three used in the state's execution protocol. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/syringes0001.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
On State Website, Calls for Vigilante Justice
Texans advocating extreme solutions to secure the border — including land mines and booby traps on Texas farmland along the Rio Grande — have a new forum to share their views: a website operated by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ProtectYourTexasBorderd.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
New Juvenile Justice Agency May Save $150 Million
Abolishing the state's two existing juvenile justice agencies and creating one new department to prevent crime and treat and punish young offenders could save Texas up to $150 million, lawmakers said today. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/whitmire-madden002.jpg)
![State reps. Jerry Madden and John Whitmire.]()
Credit: Governing -
State Would Require Jails to Pay for Inspections
To keep critical jail inspections going even as they cut funding to the agency that provides them, lawmakers are proposing that the counties pay for them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_jail_CalebBryantMiller29.JPG)
![Inspectors testing the emergency ventilation of the unit for fire code compliance tests at Dallas County Jail.]()
Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller -
Texplainer: Can a Judge Still Serve After Losing an Election?
Ever wonder what a defeated judge is doing up on the bench? Texplainer's got your answer. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/gavel.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()