House lawmakers on Tuesday approved two bills meant to ensure that wrongful convictions, like the one that Michael Morton behind bars for nearly 25 years, don’t happen to others. The measures will stop next on Gov. Rick Perry’s desk.
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
House Panel OKs Parole After 40 Years for Young Capital Murderers
To address a gap between Texas law and a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, a House panel Monday approved a bill to allow life sentences with parole eligibility after 40 years for defendants younger than 18 charged with capital murder.
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Criminal Justice
Discovery Bill Vote Comes on Brady Anniversary
On the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brady v. Maryland decision, the Texas House is set to vote on a law that some legal experts say would ensure that the ruling’s tenets are carried out to help prevent wrongful convictions.
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Criminal Justice
Bill Would Curb Access to Photos of Murder Victims
UPDATED: The legislation authored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, that would require court approval for most requests to view or copy crime scene photos that show murder victims passed the Senate Monday without debate.
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Criminal Justice
Execution for Prison Guard Murder Delayed for DNA Tests
Death row inmate Robert Pruett will get a 60-day reprieve from his May 21 execution date after his lawyers filed a request for DNA testing Thursday, arguing that it could prove Pruett did not murder a prison guard in 2002.
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Criminal Justice
Staples to Rubio: Reform Bill Contains the “Ultimate Amnesty Provision”
A path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is akin to rewarding lawbreakers, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples wrote Thursday in a letter to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
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Criminal Justice
Drone Surveillance Measure Soars Through House
UPDATED: State Rep. Lance Gooden’s bill to prevent unmanned drones from capturing indiscriminate surveillance won approval in the lower chamber on Friday.
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Criminal Justice
Time Running Out for Cellphone Tracking Bill
The House clock may not be on the side of a bill to regulate the use of cellphone records in law enforcement investigations.
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Criminal Justice
Measures That Aim to Benefit Undocumented Immigrants in Limbo
The tone on immigration this session is vastly different compared with 2011, when the Legislature entertained more than 100 immigration-enforcement measures. But legislation that would benefit undocumented immigrants is still unlikely to pass on its own.
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Criminal Justice
Travis County DA Could Be Released From Jail Thursday
Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, in jail on a drunken driving conviction, could be released as early as Thursday.
