Crystal Mason's ballot was never counted. Will she still serve five years in prison for illegally voting?
Her lawyers say if her sentence stands, it could discourage low-information voters from going to the polls at all. Full Story
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![Crystal Mason spoke about being accused of voter fraud and her upcoming court case on Sept. 9 2019 in Fort Worth.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
3D-printed gun designer Cody Wilson gets probation in child sexual assault case
Wilson pleaded guilty to injury of a child and will be required to register as a sex offender. Full Story
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![Cody Wilson, gun maker and founder of Defense Distributed, a Texas-based company developing and publishing open source gun designs for 3D printing and manufacture. Wilson shows The Liberator, a 3D printed plastic gun made several years ago.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge orders Galveston County to have defense lawyers at bail-setting hearings
Galveston County, like Harris and Dallas, was sued for bail practices that lawyers and judges have said discriminate against poor criminal defendants. Full Story
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![Inmates in the Harris County Jail in 2011.]()
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"We failed as an agency": Texas prison officials admit violating court order on air conditioned units for inmates
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Bryan Collier was questioned in court for about two hours for not complying with a court order to keep some Texas prisoners in air conditioned housing. Full Story
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![Prison staff and inmates move through the Darrington Unit's main hallway on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.]()
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Texas executes Mark Soliz for a 2010 Johnson County slaying. He said fetal alcohol disorder should have excluded him from death.
Soliz and another man were convicted in the shooting death of a Johnson County woman during a robbery in her home. His lawyers pushed to stop his execution, saying fetal alcohol spectrum disorder should be treated like an intellectual disability. Full Story
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![Mark Soliz is sentenced to be executed for murdering Nancy Hatch Weatherly in 2010.]()
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“The stakes could not be higher”: Judge threatens to lock up Texas prison officials over air conditioning violation
A federal judge was visibly frustrated Friday as he suggested that putting state officials in uncooled cells might be the only way to get their attention after they broke a settlement agreement to keep some inmates in air conditioning. Full Story
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![Inmates shuffle past fans in the Darrington prison's main hallway on a hot July day.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough / The Texas Tribune -
Lawyers say the Texas judge who presided over this Jewish death row inmate's trial later called him anti-Semitic slurs
Lawyers for Randy Halprin, a member of the "Texas Seven," are requesting a stay of his execution amid allegations that the judge who handled his case made racist and anti-Semitic comments during his time on the bench. Full Story
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![Randy Halprin, then 23, one of the "Texas Seven" prison escapees, is led out of the Teller County Courthouse after a extradition hearing in Cripple Creek, Colorado on Jan. 26, 2001.]()
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A judge told Texas to put some inmates in air conditioning. Lawyers say prison officials are violating that order.
In a motion Thursday, the prisoners' lawyers asked the judge to hold prison officials in contempt and issue fines. They also accused the agency of hiding multiple instances of noncompliance with the court order. Full Story
![Prison staff and inmates move through the Darrington Unit's main hallway on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
Texas executes Billy Crutsinger in Fort Worth slayings of two elderly women
Crutsinger had pushed to stop his execution based on claims of bad lawyering during his trial and in the appellate process. Full Story
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![Billy Crutsinger.]()
Credit: Jenevieve Robbins -
After mass shooting, Odessa’s mayor is "mad as hell" but helping his city cope
David Turner says residents are still in shock. He’s unsure of the solution but is troubled that the gunman was able to obtain a firearm even after failing a background check. Full Story
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![Odessa Mayor David Turner, far right, speaks at a vigil at the University of Texas Permian Basin on Sept. 1, 2019. The Odessa community came together at The University of Texas to pay respect to the victims who were shot and injured in the recent mass shooting.]()
Credit: Colin Murphey/San Angelo Standard-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK -
Greg Abbott backs “expedited executions” for mass shooters after Odessa shooting
The governor tweeted Monday night that Texas is “working on a legislative package” and that “expedited executions for mass murderers would be a nice addition.” Full Story
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![From left: State Sens. Jane Nelson, Larry Taylor and state Rep. Greg Bonnen look on as Gov. Greg Abbott talks about bills he's signed to improve school safety and provide greater mental health resources to students, in Austin on June 6, 2019.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Odessa shooter failed gun background check, Gov. Greg Abbott says
Abbott's tweet doesn't reveal the reason the Odessa man failed the background check or how he obtained the gun used in the mass shooting. Police say the gunman and his company both called 911 shortly before the rampage. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott along with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, hold the first meeting of the Texas Safety Commission at the Texas Capitol August 22, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
After West Texas shooting, Texas House Rep. says "NO" to gun restrictions
Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, has received a wave of reactions — and criticism — following his tweets reacting to Saturday's Permian Basin shooting. Full Story
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![State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, speaks with a colleague on the House floor during the House School Finance plan deliberation on April 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Death toll in Midland-Odessa mass shooting climbs to eight, including the shooter
Officials say the shooting began with a traffic stop in which the gunman shot a state trooper. Police say the gunman acted alone and was shot to death outside a crowded movie theater. Full Story
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![From left: Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerkeand Gov. Greg Abbot take questions from reporters at a press conference on the University of Texas Permian Basin campus in Odessa on Sunday, September 1, 2019, one day after a mass shooting.]()
Credit: Colin Murphey/ San Angelo Standard-Times/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
For those with autism and other disabilities, new law could prevent miscommunication with police
“The officer will know prior to approaching the vehicle that this person might have a challenge speaking with him," says Jennifer Allen, whose son is the namesake of the Samuel Allen Law. Full Story
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![A Dallas police car on patrol.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill for The Texas Tribune -
Brass knuckles and other self-defense items will be legal in Texas starting Sept. 1
House Bill 446, authored by state Rep. Joe Moody, lifts a ban on brass knuckles and similar self-defense items. Full Story
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TribCast: Behind the new Texas laws that take effect Sept. 1
On this week’s TribCast, Emily talks to Ross, Alexa, Alex and Neena about the biggest new state laws taking effect Sept. 1, a crisis facing indigent defense in Texas, the new Texas secretary of state and the latest from the presidential campaign trail. Full Story
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!["Red" Godwin pours a beer behind the bar at Zilker Brewery in Austin on June 26, 2019. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the "Beer To Go Bill" which will allow consumers to bring home beer they buy at breweries. The bill is set to go in effect in September.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas executed Larry Swearingen for a 1998 Texas slaying. His lawyer says bad science got him on death row.
Swearingen consistently maintained his innocence in the strangling death of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter. Texas prosecutors, however, had no doubt he was her killer. Full Story
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![Larry Swearingen.]()
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How judicial conflicts of interest are denying poor Texans their right to an effective lawyer
For decades, Texans who can’t afford a lawyer have gotten caught in a criminal justice system that’s crippled by inadequate funding and overloaded attorneys. A growing body of caseload data — and a recent lawsuit — point to an even more fundamental hazard: the unchecked power of Texas judges. Full Story
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After losing his wife in a mass shooting, he invited El Pasoans to her funeral. Hundreds showed up.
The line outside the funeral stretched several blocks. “I think our community lost something and this is our community grieving together," said local state Rep. Joe Moody. Full Story
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![Over 500 floral were sent to Margie Reckard s funeral at La Paz Faith Center in El Paso, Texas Friday, August, 16, 2019 from all over the world. Without much family and friends in town, Basco invited the public to his wife s funeral and El Paso showed up in droves. His wife was one of the 22 killed in the Walmart mass shooting on August, 3. 19 El Paso Margie Reckard FuneralOver 500 floral were sent to Margie ReckardaTMs funeral at La Paz Faith Center in El Paso, Texas Friday, August, 16, 2019 from all over the world. Without much family and friends in town, Basco invited the public to his wifeaTMs funeral and El Paso showed up in droves. His wife was one of the 22 killed in the Walmart mass shooting on August, 3.]()
Credit: Mark Lambie /USA TODAY NETWORK