The latest criminal justice news from The Texas Tribune.
The police chief announced the policy change Thursday, more than a year after the Texas Legislature legalized hemp and complicated marijuana prosecution throughout the state. Full Story
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The Texas Tribune spoke to criminologists, policy makers and advocates to hear their perspectives on what the current moment means for Texas and what happens next. Full Story
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The agency will use the same self-administered, oral tests used to conduct mass testing in Texas' adult prison facilities. Full Story
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In the weekend edition of The Brief podcast, Tiffany Bunton — an officer whose uncle died in the back of a squad car two years ago — discusses the national moment of reckoning around police violence and misconduct. Full Story
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LGBTQ Texans are getting back to Pride’s protest roots while standing alongside Black and brown people in their community, who are still fighting for equality on two fronts. Full Story
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Paxton, a Republican, was indicted in 2015 on felony securities fraud charges, but the case has yet to go to trial as side battles persist over the venue where he will be tried and the amount the special prosecutors will be paid. Full Story
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During a Houston policing roundtable organized by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, several local leaders emphasized the need for social services funding. Full Story
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The shooting has sparked more questions about use of force and what many experts call the failed promise of police body cameras. Full Story
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City Manager Spencer Cronk said Manley assured him that he is committed to making reforms in the police department. City Council members had asked for Manley to resign. Full Story
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As protests erupted in major Texas cities, local officials announced policy changes to reform policing. Advocates doubt the quickly cast votes and signed orders will have a real effect. Full Story
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The two Democrats vying to replace him this fall say he doesn't understand the concept. Full Story
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Young people with little experience in activism are propelling a series of protests in East Texas, a region known for its history of violence against black people. Full Story
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Lawmakers took input from constituents during the first in a seres of virtual town halls scheduled this week. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice halted intake from county jails in April as the coronavirus began rapidly spreading in state and local lockups. The virus is still pervasive within the prison system. Full Story
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Gutierrez has long fought for DNA testing he says could prove his innocence in a 1998 Brownsville murder and home robbery. But the high court's ruling centered on Texas prison officials' recent decision to keep religious advisers out of the execution room. Full Story
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In a 6-3 opinion, the justices said Terence Andrus had ineffective assistance from his lawyer and that it was unclear if the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals properly considered whether that could have affected his sentence. Full Story
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In 2019, Williamson County sheriff's deputies held down Ambler and stunned him four times before his body went limp. He died at a hospital about an hour later. Full Story
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The demonstrations against police brutality that have swept through Texas haven't been confined to its largest cities. Texas Tribune photographers documented marches in smaller cities and towns across the state. Here are some of their images. Full Story
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Some Texas cities are eyeing cuts to police department budgets to fund social services like housing assistance, mental health services and job training. Full Story
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The moves came after the department was criticized for how it responded to police brutality protesters and as residents continue calling for the police chief's resignation. Full Story
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