Jesse and Caitlin Baker recently learned of the most dramatic development in the mystery of their mother’s murder in nearly two decades of probing for clues. The DNA discovery has prompted new hopes for long-awaited answers.
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
Morton Prosecutor Says He’s Victim of Media War
Mike Davis, one of the original prosecutors in the 1987 murder case against Michael Morton, said in court filings today that he is the victim of a media war between Morton’s lawyers and Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley.
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Criminal Justice
TribLive: Combs on the Data Breach
At this morning’s TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the data breach on her agency’s web site that inadvertently exposed the personal information of 3.5 million state employees and retirees.
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Criminal Justice
Bradley Announces Special Prosecutor in Morton Case
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley this morning announced the appointment of the Texas Attorney General as special prosecutor in the Michael Morton case. A special grand jury is also being formed, he said.
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Criminal Justice
Updated: Bradley Withdraws Motion to Expedite Morton Case
The Williamson County district attorney this afternoon withdrew a motion he had filed seeking to quickly dismiss the Michael Morton case. Morton’s attorneys worried that he was attempting to quash investigation of allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
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Criminal Justice
Experts Say Morton Case Shows Justice System Still Needs Reform
In the wake of Michael Morton’s release from prison last week based on DNA testing that shows someone else killed his wife 25 years ago, defense lawyers are calling for reforms to ensure prosecutors must turn over exculpatory evidence.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Murphy, Ramshaw and Root on Rick Perry and race, Philpott on Perry’s vague economic plans, Tan and Wiseman on Barack Obama’s foray into Texas to defend his jobs plan, Aguilar on Perry’s proposal to send U.S. troops to Mexico, Ramshaw on efforts to leash rising health care costs, M. Smith on upcoming legal challenges to the state’s school finance system, Aaronson interactively explores Medicare spending proposals, Galbraith on efforts to pass — and to oppose — a $6 billion water program, Grissom on the release of a man wrongly convicted of murder and Hamilton on efforts to let the public write some legislation: The best of our best content from October 3 to 7, 2011.
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Criminal Justice
National Report: Texas Juvenile Justice Better, but More Investment Needed
Since abuse scandals rocked the Texas juvenile justice system in 2007, reforms have led to fewer youths in prison and less crime among youths, but a national report issued Tuesday indicates Texas could still do better.
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Criminal Justice
Updated: An Emotional Morton Thankful His Was Not a Capital Case
After an emotional day in court, Michael Morton left prison today, almost 25 years after he was convicted of murdering his wife. His release came after prosecutors agreed his conviction should be overturned based on the results of recent DNA testing.
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Interactive: Texas and the FBI’s 2010 Crime Statistics
The FBI has released the 2010 edition of Crime in the United States. Use our interactive to compare Texas to other states and our sortable tables to compare crime statistics in cities across Texas.
