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Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
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Criminal Justice
Harris County to spend $3M on community safety programs leaders say have driven down crime
One domestic violence care advocate said the county’s program that provides money to survivors to pay for basic needs could be a model for the rest of the state.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes inmate convicted of triple murder in rural town
LeJames Norman became the fifth inmate put to death by the state this year after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. His codefendant is scheduled for execution next week.
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Criminal Justice
Texas prisons seek $298 million for air conditioning. That’s a fraction of what’s needed.
It would cost $1.5 billion to fully cool all prisons, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice estimates.
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Houston ICE Shooting
Brother of migrant shot by ICE agent in Houston released from detention
Victor Salgado, the brother of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot by ICE agents, is the third witness to be released from detention.
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Houston ICE Shooting
Prosecutor will take Houston ICE shooting case to grand jury
Sean Teare said feds still aren’t cooperating with his investigation. A separate federal filing claims DPS provided the tip ICE agents were pursuing.
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Politics
Lawmakers added $1 to Texans’ car insurance policies. That money paid for thousands of Flock cameras.
The higher fee, meant to combat catalytic converter theft, provided millions to expand the Flock network across Texas. Some lawmakers say that wasn’t the intent.
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Criminal Justice
Flock cameras face growing backlash across Texas counties, but getting rid of them is complicated
Some government officials said they understand the community’s anger, but warn that many of these contracts fall outside their jurisdiction.
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Criminal Justice
Can Austin break the costly cycle of homelessness, jail and crisis? A new program aims to do that.
Austin’s No Wrong Door initiative targets a costly cycle of homelessness and arrests by connecting people with long-term support.
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Criminal Justice
Fifth Circuit reaffirms death row inmate Brittany Holberg’s conviction
A three-judge panel of the court had reversed Holberg’s sentence in 2025, but Friday’s split decision will keep the district court’s decision to affirm her conviction.
