The removal of the death penalty as an option could lead to a quick guilty plea and life sentence, as happened with federal charges in 2023.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
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Criminal Justice
Forgotten in jail without a lawyer: how a Texas town fails poor defendants
People in Maverick County spend months in jail waiting to be charged with minor crimes. Some are simply lost in the system
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Criminal Justice
Olvidados en la cárcel sin abogado: Así le falla un pueblo de Texas a los acusados pobres
En el condado de Maverick, las autoridades pueden tardar meses en informar a los fiscales de una detención, mientras los acusados esperan en la cárcel. Rara vez se asignan abogados a quien los solicita.
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Criminal Justice
Texas prison staff falsified temperatures records, investigation finds
Two-thirds of the state’s roughly 100 jails and prisons in Texas are not fully air conditioned in inmate housing areas.
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Criminal Justice
Two men convicted in the smuggling deaths of 53 immigrants in San Antonio
The 2022 tragedy was the nation’s deadliest smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Criminal Justice
Texas lawmakers are pushing harsher criminal penalties while prison and jail populations soar
Proposed legislation includes increased penalties for retail theft, car burglaries and forgery, among others.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Legislature considers paying much more for school safety
Texas law requires an armed officer at each school. Districts are asking lawmakers to pay the full yearly cost, which they say is $100 per student.
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Criminal Justice
Stay granted for Texas death row inmate two days before scheduled execution
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did not clarify why it halted the execution of David Wood in its order granting the stay.
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Criminal Justice
Following Trump’s lead, Gov. Abbott pushes state agencies to end telework
The directive comes as some state agencies have downsized their office spaces after the pandemic forced many employees to work remotely.
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Criminal Justice
Federal appeals court reverses Texas death row inmate’s conviction
Brittany Marlowe Holberg was convicted in 1998 of robbing and murdering an 80-year-old man in his Amarillo home. The appeals court said critical evidence was withheld.