About 4.6 percent of Texas prison inmates are undocumented immigrants with standing requests that they be turned over to federal authorities when their sentences are served.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
18 Texas Correctional Officers Disciplined in Inmate Death
Texas prison officials have recommended the firing of a supervisor at the Clements Unit and disciplinary actions against 17 others for allowing a severely beaten inmate to remain undiscovered in his cell for an unknown amount of time.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Judge Orders County, State to Show Sandra Bland Footage to Family’s Attorneys
A federal judge Thursday ordered Waller County and the state of Texas to show the legal team representing Sandra Bland’s family the original videos from her time in jail.
Posted in
Bordering on Insecurity
Accused Laredo Killer Crossed Border Easily
Martha and Kimberly Martinez would like to know how a man with Juan Francisco De Luna Vasquez’s lengthy criminal history could be living illegally in the United States when he killed their sister.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Pope Francis’ Border Mass Awes El Paso Catholics
During a whirlwind, one-day visit to Ciudad Juárez on Wednesday Pope Francis delivered poignant remarks on immigration and corruption, keeping intact his reputation as a polite but no-holds-barred pontiff.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Border Catholics Ready to Welcome Pope Francis
After weeks of planning and speculation about what Pope Francis might say during his visit to the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez area on Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of Catholics are finally ready for the all-day affair.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Some Texas Communities Arming Officers With Credit Card Machines
In a handful of Texas communities, law enforcement officers have begun using a California company’s technology to not only identify and pull over drivers with outstanding court fines but also process their credit card payments.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
An Inquest Into the Texas Way of Declaring Death
Some news for the armchair detectives second-guessing how U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in Texas was declared over the phone: Not every dead body gets an autopsy, and Texas is no outlier in that department.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Baylor Opts Out of Campus Carry
Baylor University has opted out of Texas’ campus carry law, joining the long list of Texas private universities that have decided to continue banning handguns on their campuses.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
As Ciudad Juárez Prepares for Pope’s Historic Visit, So Do Activists
From city officials working to rebrand Ciudad Juárez as a safe and organized metropolis to the mother and daughter who met along opposite sides of a border fence, Pope Francis’ visit here is fraught with symbolism.
