Guns on Campus Bill Heads to Senate Floor
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee today approved a controversial bill that would allow students to carry concealed handguns on college campuses. Full Story
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Lawyers Allege Texas Executes Prisoners With Illegally Obtained Drugs
Lawyers for two Texas death row inmates today asked state and federal law enforcement to investigate whether prison officials illegally obtained death penalty drugs the state used in nearly all of its 466 executions. Full Story
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U.S. Offers $5 Million Reward in ICE Murder Case
The U.S. government announced today it is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information that leads to the arrest and possible conviction of the assailants who murdered a U.S. federal agent in Mexico last month. Full Story
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Death Row Inmates Sue Over Lethal Injection Drug
Two death row inmates sued the state today, arguing that the decision to use a new lethal injection drug was made too secretly and too hastily. Full Story
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Capitol Access Pass Moving Right Along
For those who frequent the Texas Capitol but don’t feel like sacrificing the time it takes to get a concealed handgun license, there may soon be a special pass allowing them to bypass the building’s metal detectors at Capitol entrances. Full Story
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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
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![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.]()
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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![Left to right: Officer Mario Martinez, Sergeant R. Richman and officer L. Lyons on duty.]()
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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
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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
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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
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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
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"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
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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
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![Texas State Representative Brandon Creighton, who chairs the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty, during a press conference on the Tenth Amendment.]()
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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
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![Shay Bilchik, director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University Public Policy Institute]()
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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
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Credit: Brandi Grissom