The latest criminal justice news from The Texas Tribune.
Public outcries over shootings of unarmed people are often especially pronounced, underpinned with the inference that police should seldom find it necessary to unleash lethal force on unarmed civilians. Full Story
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When police shoot a mentally ill person, calls inevitably follow for providing officers more training in how to de-escalate situations and deal with mental health issues. Full Story
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Policymakers and the public have begun to question with renewed fervor whether police shoot at minorities at a disproportionate rate, whether it’s possible to tell how often and what can be done about it. Full Story
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With the likely election of a new Democratic sheriff in November, Austin is poised to become the first true “sanctuary city” in GOP-ruled Texas if Travis County stops cooperating with federal immigration policies. Full Story
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Waller County over its ban on guns at its courthouse. The suit, filed Monday afternoon in district court in Travis County, centers on a provision of Texas' new open carry law. Full Story
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New disclosures in the capital murder case involving a U.S. Border Patrol agent point to the central role allegedly played by the agent's younger brother, described in court papers as a Gulf Cartel “commander.” Full Story
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The Texas Tribune spent nearly a year collecting data from the state’s largest cities on every incident in which police officers pulled the trigger between 2010 and 2015. Here's a look at what we found. Full Story
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Police officers in Texas unholstered their guns and fired at suspects in at least 656 incidents between 2010 and 2015, but that total is undoubtedly incomplete. There is so little reliable, consistent information on police shootings in Texas that the public, lawmakers and police officials are largely flying blind. Full Story
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The Texas Tribune wants to see what your college campus looks like now that campus carry is legal in Texas. Are there any visible changes? Or is it business as usual? Full Story
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A federal judge has denied three University of Texas at Austin professors’ initial attempt to keep guns out of their classrooms under the state’s campus carry law. Full Story
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Only 15 voter fraud cases have been prosecuted by the attorney general's office between the 2012 primary election and July. Eleven of those are cases in which “politiqueras” collect and mail ballots for elderly voters. Full Story
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Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a voter ID law in 2011 that required individuals to present a state-issued photo ID at the polls. But the majority of voter fraud convictions in the state involve mail-in ballots. Full Story
Private companies will lose their contracts to operate five federal prisons in Texas under a U.S. Department of Justice plan announced Thursday to phase out private management of federal lockups nationwide. Full Story
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Despite their concerns about voting integrity, Texas officials are so far silent about a possible fleet of partisan election observers Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is urging to the polls. Full Story
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On Thursday, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice presented a legislative appropriations request to its governing board that offered $28 million in cuts. Officials added that they would seek an exemption from further cuts. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has disciplined four employees in connection with an inmate's murder of French Robertson Unit correctional officer Mari Johnson in July. Full Story
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Undocumented immigrants in Texas are taking a glass-half-full approach as a 2012 initiative that has benefited hundreds of thousands of immigrants marks its four-year anniversary. But will that optimism last after the November election? Full Story
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A state appeals court has struck down a plastic bag ban in Laredo in a high-profile fight over local control that could ultimately impact similar laws in other Texas cities. Full Story
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State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, a staunch conservative, is trying to stop the upcoming execution of Jeff Wood, who was sentenced to death even though he killed no one. Full Story
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After more than 50 years of tension, normalizing relations between the United States and Cuba is going to take a while, and businesses eager to trade with the island nation best be patient, officials say. Full Story
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