While confiscations of illicit cellphones in prisons have dropped, a Tribune investigation found that few inmates or correctional officers face legal consequences for smuggling the devices.
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
TDCJ Has Supply of the Drug Used in Botched Oklahoma Execution
Texas Department of Criminal Justice is storing dozens of vials of the drug used in Tuesday’s botched execution in Oklahoma, raising concerns about the state’s secretive lethal injection process.
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Criminal Justice
$3 Million Award in Oil and Gas Drilling Lawsuit Sparks Legal Worries
A $3 million jury award to a North Texas family who claimed that nearby oil drilling operations caused severe health ailments has spurred fears of more lawsuits.
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Criminal Justice
Lawmakers Urged to Reform Parole With Technology
A panel of experts on Tuesday urged lawmakers to use more technology to improve community supervision of parolees, a change they argued would save money and reduce recidivism.
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Criminal Justice
Supreme Court’s Air Pollution Ruling Goes Against Texas
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday morning that federal limits on the effects of air pollution across state boundaries are legal, striking down a challenge from Texas and a number of other states and industry coalitions.
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Criminal Justice
Lawmaker Wants AG Opinion on Governor’s Legal Bill
A state lawmaker wants to know if it’s legal to have taxpayers foot the bill for the $450-an-hour attorney hired to defend Gov. Rick Perry in a grand jury investigation.
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Criminal Justice
Gun Rights Activists’ Latest Strategy: Armed Demonstrations
Gun rights advocates have taken to carrying their weapons into the streets, drawing criticism from gun control supporters who say that such methods are unnecessarily provocative.
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Criminal Justice
At Large Since 1997, Fugitive is Returned to Texas
Juan Salaz, who slipped through an open Texas prison cell door 17 years ago, was returned to Houston from Mexico by the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday morning, the agency said.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Border Patrol Agents Ramp Up Efforts in Valley
U.S. Border Patrol agents say the illegal traffic on public and private land in the Rio Grande Valley has triggered the need for additional resources in the region. In response, an influx of agents from California, Arizona and Laredo have arrived in the area.
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Criminal Justice
Sex Offender Agency’s Presiding Board Member Quits
Amid heated controversy over the placement of dangerous sex offenders, the presiding member of a board that oversees an agency that manages civilly committed violent sex offenders resigned on Tuesday.
