For the first time, Texas is closing a state prison. Take a look inside the historic Central Unit in Sugar Land as workers prepare it for shuttering.
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
DNA Implicates Another Man in 25-Year-Old Murder Case
New DNA test results in a 25-year-old murder case cast doubt on the conviction of Michael Morton, who was accused of killing his wife, Christine, in their Williamson County home on Aug. 13, 1986.
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Criminal Justice
31 Days, 31 Ways: Guns Allowed in Vehicles at Work
DAY 16 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Gun owners in Texas will not have to leave their weapons at home while they are at work anymore.
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Criminal Justice
Skinner, Awaiting DNA Ruling, Gets New Execution Date
For the fourth time, the state of Texas is scheduled to execute death row inmate Hank Skinner for the 1993 murders of his live-in girlfriend and her two sons, potentially quashing his ability to request DNA testing under a new state law.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Our all-hands-on-deck series on new laws — 31 Days, 31 Ways — continues, Root covers a challenge to the governor’s school finance fix and the tax that makes it work, Philpott forecasts a presidential media tsunami will hit Texas, Murphy with a look at midyear campaign reports from candidates and PACs in Texas, yours truly on the quiet spot at the top of the 2014 ballot, Hamilton on government-required vaccinations against meningitis, Grissom reports on the heat wave in un-air-conditioned Texas jails, Aguilar on the private security business along the state’s border with Mexico and M. Smith’s interview with Nicole Hurd on how to get more high school students into college: The best of our best content from Aug. 8 to 12, 2011.
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Criminal Justice
Court Rules Against Individual Health Care Mandate
A federal appeals court today ruled that the individual insurance mandate in President Obama’s health care reform plan is unconstitutional, a decision Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott lauded as a step toward ending “Obamacare.”
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Criminal Justice
Supreme Court is Elected, but Bears Perry’s Stamp
Judges are elected in Texas, but Gov. Rick Perry has picked the winners on the state’s highest civil court almost without fail since he took office in 2000.
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Criminal Justice
Executions Probably Not an Issue — for Now
This week, Martin Robles became Texas’ ninth execution of the year. Convicted in a Corpus Christi gang shooting, his death was not among the most controversial to happen on the watch of Gov. Rick Perry. During his decade in the Texas governor’s office, Perry has overseen more than 230 executions, more than any governor in modern history.
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Criminal Justice
31 Days, 31 Ways: Protective Orders May Cover More Texans
DAY 9 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Lawmakers expanded protective orders to include pets and victims of teen dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.
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Criminal Justice
Inmates Complain of Sweltering Prison Conditions
As the heat index statewide soars above 100 degrees day after day, Texas inmate advocates say complaints about sweltering conditions are increasing along with concerns about prisoners’ health.