criminal justice

TribYear: (Some of) Our Best Stories of 2011

By Ross Ramsey Dec. 31, 2011

In the spirit of TribWeek and TribMonth, we present TribYear. Ten of our best stories of 2011. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
10 Most-Viewed Data Apps of 2011: Salaries, Prisons, Public Schools

By Ryan Murphy Dec. 29, 2011

As it has since the Trib's launch in 2009, data continued to reign supreme on the site in 2011. Today, we take a look at the 10 most-visited data apps since Jan. 1. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
10 Most-Viewed Videos of 2011: Rick Perry, Alex Jones, Lance Armstrong

By Todd Wiseman, Justin Dehn, Thanh Tan and Jay Root Dec. 28, 2011

As we prepare to ring in the new year, we take a look back at some of our most-viewed videos of 2011. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
Murder Cases Put "Junk Science" in the Spotlight

By Brandi Grissom Dec. 26, 2011

Michael Morton's tragic wrongful conviction for his wife's murder 25 years ago illustrates the best and worst of science in the courtroom, a judge said on Monday. Full Story

Credit: Callie Richmond
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith Dec. 24, 2011

Aaronson on Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund, Aguliar on the DOJ's Joe Arpaio problem, Galbraith on the uncertainty about Texas' electric grid, Grissom and Schwartz of The New York Times on the latest in the Michael Morton case, Hamilton on the first leg of Perry's Iowa bus tour, Murphy and McLain unveil our new campaign finance database, Ramsey et al. go live with the first round of our 2012 election brackets, Root on a GOP rival's queries about Perry's pension play, M. Smith contrasts the various school finance lawsuits and Tan, Dehn and Murphy on a shortage of mental health professionals: The best of our best content from December 19-23, 2011. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
On the Records: Texas Has Largest Population Growth

By Becca Aaronson Dec. 21, 2011

The Lone Star State is getting bigger. Texas had the largest population growth of any state between April 2010 and July 2011, according to figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Full Story

Credit: Justyna Furmanczyk
Updated: Morton Seeks Inquiry of Former Prosecutor

By Brandi Grissom, The Texas Tribune, and John Schwartz, The New York Times Dec. 19, 2011

When Michael Morton is officially cleared of wrongful murder charges on Monday, his lawyers will try to do something unprecedented: They will ask for a special inquiry into former prosecutor Ken Anderson's role in his conviction. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Justin Dehn / Callie Richmond
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey Dec. 17, 2011

Root's scoop on Rick Perry's working retirement, Aaronson maps poverty in Texas, Aguilar on a voting rights warning shot from the U.S. Attorney General, Galbraith on the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking operations, Grissom on the drop in executions, Hamilton and M. Smith on UT-Austin President Bill Powers' rough year, Murphy and Tan and Dehn on the shortage of psychiatrists and Ramshaw on the federal refusal to exclude operators like Planned Parenthood from family planning programs: The best of our best content from December 12 to 16, 2011. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
Dallas Fed President: Indecision Stymies Economy

By Becca Aaronson Dec. 16, 2011

The engine is primed to rev up the national economy, but businesses aren’t putting the pedal to the metal, Richard W. Fisher, the president and CEO of the Dallas Federal Reserve, said today. Full Story

Credit: Todd Wiseman
Executions, Death Sentences Drop in Texas, Nation

By Brandi Grissom Dec. 15, 2011

Leading a national downward trend in the use of the death penalty, Texas has executed just 13 prisoners so far in 2011, the lowest number in more than a decade. And juries meted out only eight new death sentences. Full Story
Jana Duty: The Texas Tribune Interview

By Brandi Grissom Dec. 14, 2011

The Williamson County attorney on how the Michael Morton case inspired her to run against Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, and her concerns that his office could still allow the same mistakes. Full Story

Credit: Justin Dehn
On the Records: What Are Federal Lawmakers Saying?

By Becca Aaronson Dec. 13, 2011

The Sunlight Foundation released an update to the interactive Capitol Words on Monday. The application allows users to search and compare words spoken by federal legislators using data from the Congressional Record. Full Story
On the Records: Texas Exonerations

By Ryan Murphy Dec. 12, 2011

Texas ranks third in the number of exonerations in the United States since 1989, according to data compiled by Mother Jones. Take a look at how Texas compares to other states across the nation with this map. Full Story
El Paso is Tops Again on Low-Crime Cities List

By Susannah Jacob Dec. 8, 2011

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

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
New Youth Agency Taking Shape as Two Close

By Brandi Grissom Dec. 8, 2011

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
It's "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Vote" at Election Time

By Ross Ramsey Dec. 5, 2011

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

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Video: Dogs' Evidence Stands as Woman Waits in Prison

By Justin Dehn Dec. 4, 2011

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
Dogs' Evidence Stands as Woman Waits in Prison

By Brandi Grissom Dec. 4, 2011

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
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith Dec. 3, 2011

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

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
Hoping to Reform Justice System, Groups Look to Sunset Review

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Dec. 2, 2011

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

Credit: Dave Nakayama