Lawmakers this year approved a bill requiring DNA testing in death penalty cases. Some prosecutors worry more testing could simply delay a guilty defendant’s inevitable conviction. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series.
Courts
Stay up to date on Texas courts with in-depth coverage of major rulings, judicial elections, criminal justice, and the judges shaping state law from The Texas Tribune.
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31 Days, 31 Ways (2013)
More Hospitals to Collect Sexual Assault Evidence
All Texas hospitals with emergency rooms will soon be required to have staff trained in at least basic collection of forensic evidence from sexual assault victims. This story is part of our monthlong 31 Days, 31 Ways series.
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Criminal Justice
Ian Brownlee: The TT Interview
The U.S. consul general in Ciudad Juárez on whether the war in Juárez is over, what the U.S. is doing to help and what the next few months in the border city will be like leading up to the shift in power from one administration to another.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Officials Troubled by Drug Lord’s Release
U.S. officials on Friday called infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero’s release from a Mexican prison deeply troubling, and said they would continue to seek justice over his connection to the 1985 slaying of a DEA agent.
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Criminal Justice
Video: Penalties to Rise for Fatal Hit-and-Run Accidents
Failing to stop and render aid in a fatal accident will become a second-degree felony, increasing the punishment to up to 20 years in prison. The new law will make the punishment for a fatal hit-and-run accident equivalent to that for intoxicated manslaughter.
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31 Days, 31 Ways (2013)
Extra Cash Means New Equipment for 911 System
Lawmakers have increased the Commission on State Emergency Services’ budget by 33 percent. That will help update its 911 system, which serves 224 of Texas’ 254 counties. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series.
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Criminal Justice
Whooping Crane Case Poised to Have Impact on State’s Water Supplies
A federal appeals court will hear arguments Thursday in a lawsuit over whooping cranes that could have major implications for Texas water supplies and for natural resource planning across the United States.
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Criminal Justice
Video: Texas Closes Two Privately Run Jails
For only the second time in the state’s history, Texas lawmakers are closing inmate facilities to reduce bed capacity as the state’s prison population continues to drop.
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31 Days, 31 Ways (2013)
Proxy Marriage Limits End Inmate Weddings
A new constraint on proxy marriage in Texas — a measure intended to prevent fraud — will have a secondary effect: It will end prison inmates’ ability to tie the knot. This story is part of our month-long 31 Days, 31 Ways series.
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Criminal Justice
Complaint: Legislator Illegally Released Inmate’s Disciplinary Record
The Travis County district attorney’s office’s Public Integrity Unit is reviewing evidence that suggests a state lawmaker illegally released an inmate’s disciplinary file to a victims’ rights advocate in an effort to prevent a high-profile convicted murderer’s release from prison.