Hospitals don’t have authority to detain people in mental crisis who voluntarily enter their facilities. Advocates for reform say that is one of many holes in the state’s nearly 30-year-old mental health code.
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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Trouble in Mind
Andre Thomas: Services Scarce for Troubled Youth
During his troubled adolescence, lawyers for death row inmate Andre Thomas say he never received the mental health care he needed. In Texas, there are few mechanisms to diagnose and treat youths who suffer from mental illness.
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Trouble in Mind
Andre Thomas: The Mentally Ill, From Asylums to Jails
Texas has a long and unhappy history when it comes to mental health care. From the days of state-run asylums to underfunded local mental health services, those who have mental illness have faced daunting challenges finding care.
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Criminal Justice
Groups File Federal Complaint Over Bryan ISD Discipline Policies
Texas Appleseed and the Brazos County branch of the NAACP have filed a federal complaint against Bryan ISD, saying the school district’s reliance on ticketing as a form of discipline “disproportionately harms” black students.
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Criminal Justice
Prison Employee Union Calls for Pay Raise
A union representing Texas prison employees is calling on the Legislature to consider a pay raise for correctional officers, citing a rise in drilling jobs that can be more lucrative than prison jobs.
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Criminal Justice
Lawmakers and Judge Push for Legal Aid Funding
A Texas Supreme Court Justice and several lawmakers are pushing to raise the amount of money that can be given by the attorney general’s office to indigent legal aid services groups.
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
Trouble In Mind: A Timeline
This timeline provides an in-depth look at some of the key moments in the case of Andre Thomas, a mentally ill death row inmate who began exhibiting signs of mental illness as a boy and committed a brutal triple murder in 2004. Blind because he pulled out both of his eyes while behind bars, Thomas awaits a federal court’s decision on whether he is sane enough to be executed.
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Criminal Justice
Meth Seizures Increase on Texas-Mexico Border
For the second consecutive year, seizures of methamphetamine in the Laredo customs district — the country’s busiest land port — climbed significantly.
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Trouble in Mind
Andre Thomas: Where Mental Health and Criminal Justice Collide
The case of death row inmate Andre Thomas offers a lens through which to examine the effects of a long underfunded mental health system and raises important questions about how Texas punishes the mentally ill.
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Criminal Justice
Cruz Talks Guns, Deflects Hagel Accusations
Calling President Obama’s recent gun control initiatives “cynical” and “wrong,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said on Tuesday that lawmakers “should focus our efforts on deterring and punishing violent criminals.”
