The latest criminal justice news from The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has decided to end operations at two privately run Texas prison facilities — the Dawson State Jail in Dallas and the Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility — on Aug. 31. Full Story
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The special session's agenda now includes the hot-button issue of abortion — which is sure to spark partisan warfare. Gov. Rick Perry also ordered the Legislature to take up a measure dealing with sentences for 17-year-olds convicted of capital felonies. Full Story
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The 2014-15 budget plan for the Texas Department of Public Safety doesn't include money for big-ticket items like gunboats or planes, but it does include money for troopers’ raises and retains funding for the agency’s fusion center. Full Story
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The Rio Grande Regional Water Authority has hired a PR firm to help urge the federal government to mandate that Mexico deliver water to the U.S. under a decades-old treaty. Legal experts say such conflicts would continue if the treaty isn't amended. Full Story
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Civil rights groups and ethicists allege that 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones violated judicial codes of conduct during a February speech in which she reportedly said some minority groups are "predisposed to crime." Full Story
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The immigration reform bill slated to go before the U.S. Senate next week is full of loopholes that fail to secure the border or address legal immigration, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz wrote in a letter to his colleagues on Tuesday. Full Story
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Megan Winfrey spent six years behind bars before she was acquitted of murder. Now, she is hoping to help solve the mystery of who brutally killed school janitor Murray Burr in 2004. Full Story
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Megan Winfrey spent six years — nearly all of the 25-year-old's adult life — behind bars before she was acquitted of murder. She faces the colossal challenge of starting her life without compensation for the years she lost in prison. Full Story
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The number of naturalized citizens in Texas is on the rise, as is the purchasing power and economic output of the state's native-born and immigrant Hispanic and Asian populations, according to an Immigration Policy Center report. Full Story
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Lawmakers raced to get several bills passed before the 83rd Legislature's regular session ended. And with Monday's announcement of a special session, their work isn't done. Here's a look at the deals reached and the measures that fell short in the regular session. Full Story
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Legislators are planning to give the Texas Forensic Science Commission authority to review many more labs and types of forensic analysis and to double the agency’s budget, hoping it will become a national model. Full Story
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Many self-proclaimed gun enthusiasts in the Texas House aren't ready to expand their own gun rights if they can't do the same for their constituents. Full Story
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This session, the Texas Association of Business put a focus on legislation related to criminal justice, as it advocated for bills aimed at helping ex-offenders get jobs. Here's a look at legislation that the group backed. Full Story
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Texas is showing how unique it is when it comes to matters of immigration. Statistics say it has more undocumented immigrants in detention centers than any other state. And organizers of a virtual march for immigration reform say the state is the perfect spot to host related events. Full Story
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UPDATED: The Texas House allowed the clock to run out Tuesday night on Senate Bill 11, an initiative that would have created a drug testing regimen for some welfare benefits. Full Story
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UPDATED: The House on Tuesday tentatively approved a bill that would require a now-defunct legislative oversight committee to hire a third party to review solitary confinement conditions in Texas prisons and juvenile lockups. Full Story
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The Texas House gave early approval on Tuesday to a requirement that the Department of Public Safety perform DNA testing on all biological evidence prior to the start of cases that involve the death penalty. Full Story
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Police would have new authority to take firearms away from Texans who are in a mental crisis under a bill the House approved on Tuesday that is now headed to Gov. Rick Perry's desk. Full Story
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The House on Monday approved Senate Bill 1185 by Sen. Joan Huffman, which would create a pilot program that connects mentally ill inmates with social, clinical, housing and welfare services during the first weeks after the person's release from jail. Full Story
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A battle over legislation that would create an innocence commission to review wrongful conviction has turned personal — and potentially deadly for a handful of bills authored by state Sen. Joan Huffman. Full Story
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