The latest criminal justice news from The Texas Tribune.
As Mexico plans to deploy federal forces to a border state to quell a rash of violence there, U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela says a U.S. endorsement will help the strategy succeed. But analysts have some serious concerns about the strategy. Full Story
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Last year, lawmakers told the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to close a facility, and the agency drew up plans to shutter its aging Corsicana detention center. Now, lawmakers are keeping it open at a cost of $100,000 a month. Full Story
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A federal appeals court halted the Texas execution of Robert James Campbell just hours before he was to be put to death Tuesday based on questions about whether the 41-year-old inmate is mentally disabled. Full Story
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Filmmaker Richard Linklater always thought life in prison was too harsh for Bernie Tiede, the East Texas mortician who murdered his 81-year-old companion. Now — in large part because of Linklater's film on him — Tiede is no longer behind bars. Full Story
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At our May 8 TribLive conversation, state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general in 2014, laid out the case against his rival in the May 27 runoff, state Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney. Full Story
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Full video of my May 8 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general in 2014. Full Story
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A Catholic philanthropic organization has thrown its support behind a mining company and one of its employees who are being sued after three undocumented immigrants were killed during an incursion onto private property in Brooks County. Full Story
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Defense lawyers say that information about the drug Texas uses in executions – pentobarbital — is shrouded in secrecy. And they worry a dearth of information could lead to cruel and unusual executions. Full Story
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Nearly two decades after Bernie Tiede shot 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent and tucked her body in a deep freezer, a judge has released him on bond. The filmmaker Richard Linklater will house Tiede in his Austin garage apartment. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Public Safety is not horsing around with its new mounted patrol unit for the state Capitol complex. Formally introduced Tuesday morning, it includes three donated horses and four trained state troopers. Full Story
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A controversial strip club fee that lawmakers approved in 2007 is still winding its way through the courts, but Comptroller Susan Combs is pressing the clubs to pay six years' worth of “pole taxes.” Full Story
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While confiscations of illicit cellphones in prisons have dropped, a Tribune investigation found that few inmates or correctional officers face legal consequences for smuggling the devices. Full Story
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Texas Department of Criminal Justice is storing dozens of vials of the drug used in Tuesday’s botched execution in Oklahoma, raising concerns about the state’s secretive lethal injection process. Full Story
A $3 million jury award to a North Texas family who claimed that nearby oil drilling operations caused severe health ailments has spurred fears of more lawsuits. Full Story
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A panel of experts on Tuesday urged lawmakers to use more technology to improve community supervision of parolees, a change they argued would save money and reduce recidivism. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday morning that federal limits on the effects of air pollution across state boundaries are legal, striking down a challenge from Texas and a number of other states and industry coalitions. Full Story
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A state lawmaker wants to know if it’s legal to have taxpayers foot the bill for the $450-an-hour attorney hired to defend Gov. Rick Perry in a grand jury investigation. Full Story
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Gun rights advocates have taken to carrying their weapons into the streets, drawing criticism from gun control supporters who say that such methods are unnecessarily provocative. Full Story
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Juan Salaz, who slipped through an open Texas prison cell door 17 years ago, was returned to Houston from Mexico by the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday morning, the agency said. Full Story
U.S. Border Patrol agents say the illegal traffic on public and private land in the Rio Grande Valley has triggered the need for additional resources in the region. In response, an influx of agents from California, Arizona and Laredo have arrived in the area. Full Story
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