Texas executes Wesley Ruiz despite ongoing fight over state’s use of old lethal injection drugs
Ruiz was convicted in the 2007 shooting death of Dallas police Senior Cpl. Mark Nix after a high-speed chase. Full Story
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![Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
“We are humans back here”: As Texas hunger strike wanes, prisoners speak out against solitary confinement
After 21 days, the last of many Texas prisoners to consistently refuse food ended his hunger strike. In letters to The Texas Tribune, two prisoners spoke out on the dire solitary confinement conditions that led them to starve themselves. Full Story
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![Telford prison in New Boston.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: The fight against solitary confinement in Texas
In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Jolie about a hunger strike in Texas prisons and a lawsuit seeking to reform the use of solitary confinement on death row. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
In a Texas federal courtroom, families of those killed in Boeing 737 MAX crashes finally have their voices heard
The airplane manufacturer was accused of fraud for misleading federal regulators about the safety of its jets, but stayed out of court by making a deal with prosecutors. Victims’ families say they were cut out of the process. Full Story
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![An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at Boeing facilities at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, September 16, 2019.]()
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Texas death row prisoners spend decades in solitary confinement. A lawsuit wants to end that “cruel” treatment.
Men sentenced to death in Texas are held in isolation until their execution dates, with little human contact, medical care or legal help, according to a lawsuit filed to improve treatment of the condemned. Full Story
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![The Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, TX.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
After fumbled Uvalde shooting response, Texas senator wants to make it easier to sue law enforcement officers
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat, introduced a package of legislation that includes a bill that would end qualified immunity, which shields government officials from liability for constitutional violations. Full Story
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![Families of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting gather to attend a presser held by state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, where he introduced four new bills that will address qualified immunity for police officers, allow victims to sue the State of Texas, repeal the protection of the Lawful Commerce in Arms act, and create a permanent compensation fund for victims of school gun violence, at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 24, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Accused El Paso shooter will plead guilty to federal hate crime charges
The expected plea, announced by the accused shooter’s lawyer, comes after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table last week. Full Story
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![Guillermo and Yvonne González, right, release 23 doves during a memorial service on the third anniversary of the Walmart mass shooting that left 23 dead, at Ponder Park in El Paso on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Yvonne González’s parents, Maribel Hernandez and Leo Campos, were killed inside the Walmart.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
After 10 days, dozens of Texas prisoners remain on hunger strike protesting solitary confinement practices
Although the number of men refusing food has steadily declined, 38 are still starving themselves to protest Texas policies that often keep prisoners in isolation for years or even decades. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
After alleged sexual assault of two children living in state care, another foster shelter closes
Two girls in the care of Child Protective Services were allegedly sexually assaulted in October after sneaking out of a facility run by the state agency. Advocates say it’s a symptom of the Texas foster care systems’ problems. Full Story
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![Heart Galleries, portraits of adoptable children, on display at the Child Protective Services office at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
A year after FBI raids Henry Cuellar’s home, no arrests and no answers
One year later, there have been no arrests or charges filed related to the case. Cuellar maintains that he was never the target of the investigation and will ultimately be cleared of wrongdoing. Full Story
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![Sandi Villarreal, deputy editor for digital at Texas Monthly, moderates a panel with US Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and former speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 24, 2022 in Austin, TX.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas teens embark on an idealistic quest to shut down the state’s last five youth prisons
Spurred by reports of inhumane conditions at Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities, Austin-area teenagers are lobbying the Legislature to reform the system. Full Story
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![Members of the Finish the 5 Coalition visit the Texas State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 in Austin, TX. The members gathered at the south gate and spoke before entering the capitol to try and meet with lawmakers to discuss closing the 5 remaining youth prisons in the state. (Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Feds won’t seek death penalty against alleged El Paso Walmart gunman
The federal government has largely avoided pursuing the death penalty under President Biden. Full Story
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![A memorial at the Walmart where a gunman opened fire on shoppers on August 4, 2019, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices
Prisoners have refused food to protest practices that have kept more than 500 people in isolation for more than a decade. Full Story
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![The Gurney Unit prison, operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Tennessee Colony, in 2016.]()
Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune -
The fringe ideology of “constitutional sheriffs” is attracting believers within Texas law enforcement
Some 50 Texas sheriffs and numerous elected officials have attended trainings on the unsupported notion that sheriffs can single-handedly overrule state and federal law. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which offered state peace officers credit for the seminars, is now investigating. Full Story
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![From left: Michigan Sheriff Dar Leaf sits next to Coryell Co. Sheriff Scott Williams during a news conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 12, 2022.]()
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Questions about validity of shaken baby syndrome not enough to give Texas death row inmate new trial, court rules
Robert Roberson was sentenced to death for killing his 2-year-old daughter. Experts have since backtracked on the science used in part to win his conviction. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson seeks a new trial for the 2003 conviction of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in Palestine, Texas on August 14, 2018.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde DA gets initial state police report on school shooting but doesn’t expect full investigation for months
The preliminary report has not been made public by either the district attorney’s office or the state. The Texas Rangers are conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting at Robb Elementary. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety, Steve McCraw listens to a speaker at a Public Safety Commission Meeting in Austin on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. During public testimony, families of the victims of the Robb Elementary Shooting in Uvalde called for DPS Director Steve McCraw to resign.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas executes Robert Fratta after high courts reject challenges to expired lethal injection drugs
Fratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers unsuccessfully challenged Texas’ routine of extending the expiration dates of its lethal drugs, a practice begun when many pharmacies began refusing to provide doses for executions. Full Story
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![The view of Texas' execution chamber from a witness viewing room.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
U.S. Supreme Court tells Texas to reconsider executing man convicted with faulty DNA evidence
Areli Escobar was sentenced to death in 2011 for an Austin murder, but even prosecutors now agree his conviction relied heavily on faulty DNA testing by the discredited Travis County crime lab. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas prisoners launching hunger strike to protest state’s harsh solitary confinement practices
Hundreds of prisoners may participate in the protest beginning Tuesday, the first day of the state’s legislative session. Texas often keeps prisoners in solitary confinement for years or decades. Full Story
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![Telford prison in New Boston on March 21, 2018]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Watch: After the Uvalde shooting, one Texas school district increases focus on mental health
Round Rock ISD is thought to be among the first school districts in Texas where social workers and police officers work directly with one another to provide mental health support to students. Full Story
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![The Robb Elementary School memorial for the victims of the Uvalde mass school shooting on June 15, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune