The latest criminal justice news from The Texas Tribune.
Reform advocates argue that a bill banning "snitch" testimony would help prevent wrongful convictions. But critics of the measure say that current rules protect defendants and that eliminating such testimony could tie prosecutors’ hands. Full Story
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The Senate Committee on Open Government heard testimony Monday surrounding the Texas Public Information Act. Among the discussions was one focused on reducing “frivolous and overly burdensome” requests. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry has named Jeff Boyd, his chief of staff, as his choice to replace Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright, who resigned from the state's highest civil court earlier this year. Full Story
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Could wrongful convictions for sexual assault be the next frontier for Texas junk science cases? Advocates for four San Antonio women accused of sexually assaulting two young girls 15 years ago say their case could open the door. Full Story
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Megan Winfrey has watched as her father and brother were released from jail because the dog-scent evidence used in the murder case against them was deemed faulty. But she remains in prison, awaiting a ruling on her plea for acquittal. Full Story
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Preston Hughes was executed Thursday night for the fatal 1988 stabbing of two youths in Houston. Hughes was the second Texas inmate executed in two days. Full Story
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A woman who has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against administrators with the Llano County Jail says they neglected her son, who died last year. An attorney for the administrators has said they have done nothing wrong. Full Story
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A law passed last year allows licensed employees to keep concealed handguns in their vehicles while on employer property, and the employer cannot use the penal code to circumvent the law, according to an opinion from the attorney general's office Monday. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the case of Carlos Trevino, who contends that the high court's decision last year's to guarantee effective habeas representation should apply in Texas as it does elsewhere. Full Story
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For a second time — and likely the last — the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Michelle Gaines, who suffered debilitating injuries in a 2006 car accident. Full Story
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Preston Hughes III, who faces a Nov. 15 execution date, trusts several advocates without legal training more than his court-appointed attorney. The conflict between advocates and attorneys is not unusual in death penalty cases. Full Story
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s ruling that banning the purchase of handguns by people younger than 21 does not infringe on those individuals' constitutional privileges. Full Story
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The surviving relatives of Cameron Todd Willingham have sent an application for pardon, hoping to clear his name eight years after his execution for a 1991 fire that killed his three young children. Full Story
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A Texas Criminal Justice Coalition report says girls in the juvenile justice system don't get adequate counseling for past trauma. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department, however, takes issue with some of the report's conclusions. Full Story
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The Supreme Court of Texas has dismissed a challenge by Nestle Inc. and two other businesses targeting the state’s franchise tax. The court said that the tax squares with the Texas and U.S. constitutions. Full Story
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County juvenile probation agencies produce better results for less money than state youth lockups, according to a report by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. The report also says counties need more funds and oversight. Full Story
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Among the state’s biggest cities, several Dallas-area suburbs tallied the highest rate of requests to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott last year to keep government information secret, according to a Center for Public Integrity investigation. Full Story
At the 2012 Texas Tribune Festival, I interviewed famed defense attorney Rusty Hardin about his appointment as the special prosecutor in the Michael Morton case and his work on behalf of one of his most famous and most controversial clients: Roger Clemens. Full Story
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In this excerpt from Jan Reid's Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards, the author looks at events that sharpened Texans' desire for more liberal gun laws and put them at odds with their governor. Full Story
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A group of civil libertarians led by a University of Texas law student wants to teach people how to use 3-D printing technologies to make their own guns at home. But the buzzed-about project has drawn the attention of federal law enforcement. Full Story
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