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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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Houston ICE Shooting
ICE agent who shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston identified
The federal government has withheld his identification, even as major state and local law enforcement agencies across the country typically identify officers involved in shootings on the job soon after the incident.
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Criminal Justice
Appeals court rejects finding that Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is innocent
A district judge found Lucio “actually innocent” in 2024 and ruled the state had suppressed evidence in her death penalty case.
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Courts
Crystal Mason prevails in fight over illegal voting conviction
The court ruling means the Fort Worth woman will not have to serve a five-year sentence for casting a provisional vote in 2016 while on supervised release.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes second man convicted of triple murder in rural town
Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey was convicted in 2007 of killing three Edna residents. Ramey’s codefendant was put to death last week.
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Criminal Justice
Federal judge orders Texas to air condition all prisons by the end of 2029
High temperatures violate the Constitution’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment, the judge ruled. Texas will appeal.
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Hill Country floods
Texas Rangers pursuing criminal investigation of Camp Mystic, court documents show
In an affidavit, the Rangers said they believe camp leaders committed multiple crimes including manslaughter in connection with the deaths of 27 campers and counselors in the July 2025 flood.
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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.
