The 11th annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty will begin Saturday at 2 p.m. on the south steps of the Capitol in Austin.
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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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Keller Case Not Over Yet
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct isn’t giving up on its attempt to reprimand Sharon Keller — in an unexpected move today, it appealed a court’s dismissal of its sanction against Keller, the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals.
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Criminal Justice
Sharon Keller: The TT Interview
The soft-spoken and — until now — media-shy presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals sat down with The Texas Tribune last week to talk about capital punishment in Texas, what she was doing on the afternoon she closed her office at 5 p.m. to a last-minute death row appeal, the flaws in the way the state sanctions judges, what it’s like to be known as Sharon “Killer” Keller and the “ridiculous” idea that she doesn’t care about defendants or indigent defense.
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Criminal Justice
An Interview with Sharon Keller
The soft-spoken and — until now — media-shy presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals sat down with The Texas Tribune last week to talk about capital punishment in Texas, what she was doing on the afternoon she closed her office at 5 p.m. to a last-minute death row appeal, the flaws in the way the state sanctions judges, what it’s like to be known as Sharon “Killer” Keller and the “ridiculous” idea that she doesn’t care about defendants or indigent defense.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Perry By 10 in New UT/TT Poll
Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, Bill White by 10 points — 50 percent to 40 percent — in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Libertarian Kathie Glass has the support of 8 percent of respondents; Deb Shafto of the Green Party gets 2 percent. In the last UT/TT poll, conducted in early September, Perry led by 6 points, 39 percent to 33 percent. In a red state in a red year, GOP incumbents in other statewide races are beating their Democratic opponents by between 13 points and 20 points, the new poll found.
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Criminal Justice
“Pay Now or Pay Later”
Mentally ill offenders and nonviolent criminals are crowding local jails to the point that the facilities could become health hazards and counties are struggling with the cost of housing and caring for the burgeoning population, according to a new report from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
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Criminal Justice
Adrian Garcia: The TT Interview
The first Hispanic sheriff in Harris County history on growing up as a child of legal immigrants, how his mom helped change his liberal views about illegal immigration and whether Houston is a sanctuary city.
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Criminal Justice
2010: Prosecutors Passed on TRS Charges
Travis County prosecutors who reviewed allegations of irregularities at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas decided months ago not to pursue the case.
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Criminal Justice
Data App: Even More Salaries
This week we added more than 20 new public agencies to The Texas Tribune’s government employee salary database. The application now features payroll data on more than 620,000 employees from 88 school districts, cities, community colleges, universities, state agencies and transit authorities.
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Criminal Justice
Rob Owen: The TT Interview
Texas Tribune interview with Rob Owen, lawyer for Hank Skinner and co-director of the University of Texas School of Law Capital Punishment Center