The latest criminal justice news from The Texas Tribune.
El Paso has the lowest crime rate of American cities with populations over 500,000, according to rankings assembled by the CQ Press and released earlier today. This is the second year in a row the border city has topped the list. Full Story
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With the closure of two previous youth agencies, lawmakers and advocates hope to see cost savings and better results out of the new Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Full Story
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Voters choose dozens of important state officials without knowing a thing about them. So they rely on other cues — like political affiliations, pleasing names and who knows what else. Full Story
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The dog-sniffing evidence that led to the conviction of her father for conspiring to commit murder was unreliable enough for him to be released from prison. So why is his daughter, Megan Winfrey, serving a life sentence for the same crime based largely on the same evidence? Full Story
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If the dog-sniffing evidence that led to the conviction of her father for conspiring to commit murder was unreliable enough for him to be released from prison, why is Megan Winfrey still serving a life sentence for the same crime based largely on the same evidence? Full Story
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Aaronson maps the growth of poverty in Texas, Aguilar on the suicide of an illegal immigrant, Galbraith on the prospect of more rolling blackouts, Grissom on a prosecutor's memory lapse, Hamilton on the prospect of public universities undergoing a sunset review, Murphy's latest awesome redistricting interactive, Ramsey on a stumbling start to the 2012 election season, Root on Rick Perry's latest populist tirade, M. Smith on the boom in for-profit teacher certification programs and Tan on the fight against cervical cancer in ... Africa: The best of our best content from November 28 to December 2, 2011. Full Story
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The Legislature will soon begin the so-called sunset review process for the Department of Criminal Justice and the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The review, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, has already attracted the attention of advocacy groups looking to change the state's criminal justice system. Full Story
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In this episode of Weekend Insider, Claire Cardona explains the rise in the state's need for foster care, and Brandi Grissom introduces us to a family accused of murder. Full Story
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Judge Ken Anderson, the former prosecutor who saw to the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton, said during a marathon deposition that he remembered few of the details from the 25-year-old case and that he did nothing wrong. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court turned back a challenge to the state's primary business tax, saying it doesn't violate a constitutional ban on personal income taxes. Full Story
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A coalition of lawyers today filed grievances with the State Bar of Texas against former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson, his former assistant Mike Davis and current District Attorney John Bradley. Full Story
The Garland Republican pleaded guilty in court Tuesday to felony abuse-of-office charges after illegally pocketing state travel money. The humbled legislator agreed to five years probation and said he was thankful that the issue was finally resolved. Full Story
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In this episode of Weekend Insider, we introduce you to two influential Texans: John Bradley, the Williamson County District Attorney, and Michael Sorrell, the president of Paul Quinn College. Full Story
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Ramshaw and Root on the debate that dominated the nation's political news, Tan and Ramshaw on how it will affect Rick Perry's campaign, Philpott on what "oops" might mean for Perry in South Carolina, Root on what it means in Iowa, Dehn with the latest Weekend Insider video, Galbraith on the split fates of water-related constitutional amendments, Grissom on an arrest in a 1986 murder case, Hamilton on UT-Arlington's efforts to control tuition costs and M. Smith, Murphy and Gerdau on West Texas schools raising money with wind farms: The best of our best content from November 7 to 11, 2011. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals took some heat off of Gov. Rick Perry when it issued a stay of execution for Hank Skinner this week. And the governor has avoided any link to another case involving two of his appointees and a botched murder prosecution in Williamson County. Full Story
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Williamson County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Foster holds a press conference Wednesday after the arrest of Mark Alan Norwood, a suspect whose DNA has been linked to the 1986 murder of Christine Morton and the 1988 murder of Debra Masters Baker. Full Story
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Mark Alan Norwood, a 57-year-old Bastrop resident, was arrested today and charged with the 1986 murder of Christine Morton. Michael Morton, her husband, was exonerated of her murder last month after spending nearly 25 years in prison. Full Story
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On this week's TribCast, Ross, Reeve, Brandi, and Jay review the latest criminal justice headlines, consider the difference between news and gossip in light of the latest Herman Cain developments, and explain what's going on with redistricting. Full Story
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Mike Davis, a former assistant district attorney in Williamson County, pointed the finger for any alleged wrongdoing that led to the conviction of Michael Morton directly at his former boss, Ken Anderson. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn confronted U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday about allegations of a Texas-based gun-walking operation similar to the controversial Fast and Furious operation in Arizona. Full Story
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