Texas Legislative Black Caucus unveils the George Floyd Act to ban chokeholds and limit police use of force
In a press conference featuring Floyd's brother, the lawmakers said they hope their bill wins the support of Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus at a press conference supporting the CROWN Act in Houston on Feb. 6, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Austin City Council cuts police department budget by one-third, mainly through reorganizing some duties out from law enforcement oversight
Gov. Greg Abbott said Austin officials' vote “puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk" — and vowed that the Texas Department of Public Safety will "stand in the gap." Full Story
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![Police look on demonstrators gathered outside Austin Police headquarters for another night of protest against police violenc…]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats see a winning formula in Kamala Harris. Will she bring suburban women and Black voters to the polls?
State Democrats see her as someone who can excite key voting groups but who won’t alienate more moderate voters. Full Story
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![Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Texas Southern University in Houston …]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants judge recused from his criminal case, promising further delays in years-old prosecution
Paxton was indicted for felony securities fraud in July 2015 but has yet to go to trial as attorneys duke out side battles over venue and prosecutor pay. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to delegates at the Texas Republican Convention in San Antonio on June 15, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
The only Texas prison reporting zero coronavirus cases is where inmates make soap. But that’s not what’s credited with protecting it.
Of more than 100 Texas prison units, the Roach Unit's apparent ability to avoid the virus has been attributed to a remote location and a warden who strictly enforces precautionary measures. Full Story
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![Inmates at the Central Unit used to make thousands of pounds of soap at this factory. Amid budget cuts, the unit closed in 2…]()
Credit: Justin Dehn/The Texas Tribune -
Inside the Trump campaign’s effort — and struggle — to win over Black voters in Texas
The Trump campaign has held events across the country to chip away at his broad unpopularity with Black voters and flip the narrative that he is hostile to people of color. Full Story
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![Frederick Douglass Republicans Engagement Strategy creator KCarl Smith speaks at a Black Voices for Trump event, a nationwid…]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Texas Legislature can meet for up to 140 days. The pandemic raises a question: Should it?
The Legislature starts its next regular session in January and can meet for up to 140 days. That gives lawmakers time to consider more than 6,000 bills. During a pandemic, they might want to do a lot less. Full Story
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![Texas State Capitol on Jan. 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
“Forgiveness isn’t given lightly”: El Pasoans balance healing with anger a year after Walmart massacre
An undercurrent of fear and anger remains in the Texas city one year after a gunman confessed to targeting Hispanic people in one of the state's deadliest mass shootings. Full Story
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![El Paso Firme and Border Network for Human Rights march down Sunmount Dr. towards the original Walmart on August, 3, 2020. A…]()
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El Pasoans remember victims of the Walmart shooting one year later
A year after the mass shooting in El Paso, where 23 people were killed at a Walmart in what was the worst attack on Latinos in modern U.S. history, we sent Tribune photographers to document a city still in mourning. Full Story
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![Isaiah Vale places flowers at a memorial honoring the victims of the Walmart shooting at Ponder Park in El Paso.]()
Credit: Joel Angel Juárez for The Texas Tribune -
Austin protesters clash with police in the wake of Garrett Foster's death
Saturday marked another night of demonstrations against police brutality in Austin, but tensions were heightened because of last week's shooting death of Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old protester, by a man who has not been charged. Full Story
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![Armed protesters guard the memorial to Garrett Foster, who was shot and killed during a protest against police brutality in …]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for the Texas Tribune -
Who should prosecute the El Paso Walmart shooting suspect? A year after the massacre, local and federal prosecutors still face hard decisions
The incoming El Paso district attorney is going to inherit the biggest case in the city's history. But the federal government is pursuing its own charges, and the new DA is weighing whether to pursue the county's case. Full Story
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![Hundreds mourn for the victims and their family outside the El Paso Walmart where a mass murderer killed 22 people.]()
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For Austin officials investigating Garrett Foster’s death, a key question may be which party acted in self-defense
Comments by police officials have raised concerns about whether the department is biased against the 28-year-old man who was killed, activists and an Austin City Council member say. Full Story
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![People gather for a vigil in honor of Garrett Foster on July 27, 2020 in Austin.]()
Credit: Marshall Tridick for the Texas Tribune -
Austin police release footage showing the killing of Mike Ramos
The release of the video comes two days after armed protester Garrett Foster was shot and killed by an unnamed, armed driver while protesting police brutality in Austin. Full Story
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![Protesters gather outside the Austin Police Department headquarter to protest its funding after the releasing footage showin…]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
The coronavirus is keeping Texas prisoners who've been approved for parole behind bars
Thousands of parole-approved prisoners remain locked up during the public health crisis. The coronavirus has delayed pre-release programs and kept people set to go home inside infected prisons. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
Travis County DA will not take Javier Ambler, Michael Ramos cases to grand jury before leaving office this year
District Attorney Margaret Moore was originally slated to present both cases to a special grand jury in August. Full Story
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![Michael Ramos (left) and Javier Ambler.]()
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Analysis: All eyes are on Texas headed into the 2020 presidential election
With Tuesday's midsummer primary runoffs complete, the ballots are set for the November general election — the third major event in a year already reshaped by pandemic and recession. Full Story
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![Voters, wearing masks and spread six feet apart, line up outside the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center in Houston to vote i…]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Thousands of Texas prisoners still have the coronavirus. More than 25% of inmates at four units are infected.
At one prison, more than 750 inmates were actively infected with the coronavirus Monday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story
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![Mark W. Michael men's prison located in unincorporated Anderson County.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
As Fort Worth voters preserve more than $85 million for police, activists vow to lobby City Hall for spending changes
Tuesday's election comes after nationwide calls to defund police departments have gained traction in Texas as Americans demand reforms in how law enforcement officers do their jobs. Full Story
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![Fort Worth Police vehicle.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill for The Texas Tribune -
Texas executes Billy Wardlow, who was 18 when he killed a man. Experts argued that's too young for a death sentence.
Wardlow had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that he was too young to get the Texas death penalty. His execution was the first in Texas to proceed during the pandemic as the coronavirus rages across the state. Full Story
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![Interior of execution chamber.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
He was supposed to be in prison less than a year. Instead, he died after catching the coronavirus.
At least 84 Texas state prisoners have died after contracting the coronavirus, including men who were serving short sentences or set to soon go home. As the death count rose, advocates unsuccessfully called on the governor and parole board for early release. Full Story
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![James Allen Smith, 73, died after contracting the coronavirus in a Texas prison. He was only supposed to be in prison for a …]()
Credit: Courtesy of Jami Smith Hanchey