Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds released from jail
The Missouri City Democrat has won re-election several times since his 2015 conviction on misdemeanor charges for illegally soliciting clients. Full Story
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![Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, during a House Environmental Regulations Committee meeting on April 16, 2013.]()
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How law enforcement can seize Texans' cash and property — without filing criminal charges
Police use asset forfeiture to seize cash, cars and other property that they suspect is part of criminal activity. As our December story explains, they don't have to get a conviction, but property owners have to prove they're not a criminal. Full Story
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This Texas program sinks thousands of citizens into debt to pay for trauma centers
"I hate the program," said one lawmaker; another said it's created a "permanent underclass." So why is the much-maligned Driver Responsibility Program still around? As our August story points out, lawmakers haven't yet figured out another funding source for the trauma centers that the DPR helps support. Full Story
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![A driver license reclamation clinic held in Austin on June 22, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
In fiery filing, Ken Paxton prosecutors ask Texas court to undo "patently absurd result" in pay case
The state's highest criminal court must reconsider a November decision to ensure its proceedings "appear fair to all who observe them," prosecutors argued. Full Story
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![Special prosecutors Brian Wice, left, and Kent Schaffer enter the Collin County Courthouse during a pre-trial motion hearing for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, in McKinney.]()
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What does race have to do with the death penalty in Texas?
More than 72 percent of those on death row in Texas are people of color. Studies show race plays a role in the state's harshest punishment. Full Story
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![The execution chamber seen from one of two witness viewing rooms at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Huntsville Unit.]()
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Criminal justice overhaul passes U.S. House, heads to Trump for signature
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, pushed the bill, which was inspired in part by reforms made in the Lone Star State. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30. 2018.]()
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What ideas are Texas lawmakers exploring to keep schools safe?
The national debate came home to Texas again this year when a 17-year-old opened fire at Santa Fe High School, killing 10 and wounding several others. Full Story
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Murder conviction thrown out for Steven Mark Chaney
The Court of Criminal Appeals said Steven Mark Chaney's conviction was based partly on faulty science. Full Story
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Cornyn's push for federal prison reform helps First Step Act clear U.S. Senate
The bill, which calls for an overhaul in how prisoners are treated and prepared for release, has wide bipartisan backing. It is expected to pass the U.S. House and garner President Trump's signature. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, at the 2017 Texas Tribune Festival.]()
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Texas sees uptick in executions, death sentences in 2018
The state put to death 13 men this year. That's more than half the total number of people executed in the entire country: 25. Still, the death row population — both here and nationwide — is at a historic low. Full Story
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![The clock nears 6 p.m. at the "Walls" unit in Huntsville, where Texas executes its prisoners, on Jan. 26, 2017.]()
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TribCast: Beto for President?
On this week’s TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Shannon and Edgar about the Beto O'Rourke and Julián Castro presidential buzz, civil asset forfeiture in Texas and politicians wining and dining in Texas universities’ football suites. Full Story
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![Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso.]()
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Is “revenge porn” protected free speech? Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to weigh in.
A state appeals court ruled Texas' "revenge porn" law unconstitutional. Now, the state's highest criminal court will decide. Full Story
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Convicted murderer Alvin Braziel executed for killing Mesquite man and raping his wife
Braziel's attorneys failed to secure a delay in the execution after last-minute argument that prosecutorial conduct tainted his trail. He was the 13th and final inmate Texas put to death this year. Full Story
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![Alvin Braziel was sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of Doug and Lora White on a Mesquite jogging trail.]()
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Report highlights the trauma that thousands of Texas families have experienced with incarceration
Researchers reviewed prison data and surveyed more than 4,000 adults this summer to determine how incarceration affects family members of prisoners. Full Story
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![Jaden opens his gift bag from his father Jason Jackson. Volunteers collect and organize age appropriate items that fathers then put into gift bags the day before the Day with Dad.]()
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Texas police made more than $50 million in 2017 from seizing people’s property. Not everyone was guilty of a crime.
Law enforcement leaders say civil asset forfeiture is a necessary tool for fighting crime, but several lawmakers see it as a violation of Americans’ civil liberties. Texas legislators are poised to take up the issue once again in 2019. Full Story
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South Texas DA will seek death penalty against Border Patrol agent accused of "serial killing spree"
Juan David Ortiz, an intelligence supervisor for the Border Patrol, was arrested in the pre-dawn hours Sept. 15 after local and state law enforcement say he allegedly murdered four Laredo-area sex workers. Full Story
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![Border Patrol officer Juan David Ortiz, accused of murdering four people and abducting a fifth.]()
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Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturns death sentence for inmate Kenneth Wayne Thomas
Thomas' conviction stands, but he is entitled to a new punishment hearing based on modern standards for assessing intellectual disabilities, the court ruled. Full Story
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![Exterior of the Texas Supreme court building in Austin on Oct. 17, 2018.]()
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Ken Paxton prosecutors to seek rehearing in pay decision
The court ruled Nov. 21 that six-figure payments for the prosecutors' work were outside legal limits. Full Story
![Special prosecutors Brian Wice, left, and Kent Schaffer enter the Collin County Courthouse during a pre-trial motion hearing for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, in McKinney.]()
Credit: Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News -
Texas executes Joseph Garcia, one of the "Texas Seven" prison escapees
Garcia was executed Tuesday night. He was the fourth of the "Texas Seven" inmates executed after the group escaped the Connally Unit in 2000 and killed Irving Police Officer Aubrey Hawkins during a Christmas Eve robbery. Full Story
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![Joseph Garcia was sentenced to death of the murder of Irving Police officer Aubrey Hawkins on Dec. 24, 2000.]()
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Trump administration looks to Texas as it pushes a criminal justice reform bill
Prominent Texans in Washington are pushing for a criminal justice reform bill, and lawmakers are looking to the state as an example of how reform works. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion with state leaders (including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton) on prison reform in Bedminster, New Jersey on August 9, 2018.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria