Our primary night scoreboard and liveblog, Aguilar on runoff strategy, Root and Batheja on Round two of Dewhurst vs. Cruz, M. Smith on how public education candidates fared, Ramshaw on what surprised pundits and pollsters, Galbraith on concerns over our electric grid, Aaronson on which government entities have access to your personal info, Grissom with the latest on the Hank Skinner case, Ramsey on Hispanic Republicans and part three of Tan’s family planning series: The best of our best content from May 28 to June 1, 2012.
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
House Departures Take a Bite Out of Criminal Justice
For years they’ve been the Butch and Sundance of Texas criminal justice policy. Republican state Rep. Jerry Madden and Democrat state Sen. John Whitmire have helped lead a sea change in the adult and juvenile prison systems. But the team is breaking up.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Director of Troubled Youth Agency to Retire
After nearly fours years leading the state’s juvenile justice agency, Cherie Townsend announced on Tuesday that she will retire next month, following reports of increasing violence at Texas’ youth lockups.
Posted in
University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
UT/TT Poll: Texans Stand Behind Death Penalty
Texans favor the death penalty, even with the alternative of life without parole. They are also nominally in favor of abortion rights and are more likely than not to favor medically assisted suicide for terminal patients.
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Demographics, Immigration, Public Education
Interactive: Political Action Committees’ Candidate Endorsements
Endorsements stack up, so we’ve prepared a big spreadsheet to show you who is getting the political support of some prominent interest groups, trade groups and political action committees.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas Among Top 3 States in Total Exonerations
Researchers at two law schools Monday released an unprecedented listing of all the exoneration cases from the last 23 years. Only two states had more exonerations than Texas, according to the report.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
James Liebman: The TT Interview
The Columbia University law professor on the in-depth investigation his team conducted that they believe revealed that Carlos DeLuna did not commit the murder for which he was executed in 1989.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Updated: Judge Again Denies Motion to Move 30-Year-Old Murder Case
An administrative judge has again denied Kerry Max Cook’s request to move his case out of Smith County, a decision the former death row inmate worries will doom his fight to legally prove his innocence.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Court Stays Execution of Mentally Ill Inmate
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday stayed the execution of a severely mentally ill inmate convicted of a 1989 robbery and murder at a Fort Worth Steak and Ale restaurant.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Death Sentence Reviews Leave Unsettled Issues
Defense lawyers argue that judges in Harris County — ordered to review a psychologist’s work in two death penalty cases — are simply rubber-stamping the conclusions of the psychologist, who was reprimanded last year.