More than 280 inmates in county jails died from illnesses while in custody over a four-and-a-half-year period, according to data provided by the Texas attorney general and analyzed by The Texas Tribune. Many died of heart conditions, some of cancer or liver and kidney problems and others of afflictions ranging from AIDS to seizure disorders and pneumonia. There are no state standards for health care in county jails, but criminal justice advocates and correctional facility experts say the large number of illness-related deaths prove they’re needed.
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
Traffic Patterns
Texas has the dubious distinction of being home to one of the busiest human trafficking routes in the country: the stretch of Interstate Highway 10 that runs from El Paso to Houston.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: High Court: Property Rights Trump Open Beaches
In a pivotal decision, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the Open Beaches Act may not allow the state to ask landowners to remove private property if a hurricane or other natural disaster moves it within the public section of a beach.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
2010: No Surprises on the High Courts
There weren’t any surprises in the races for the highest courts: All Republican incumbents won.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Election Night 2010: The Liveblog
The Tribune’s crack reporting staff — in Houston, Buda and other political hotspots — will be posting the latest news and spin the minute the polls close. Check back and refresh often for updates and photos from the field.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Anti-Death Penalty Groups March Tomorrow
The 11th annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty will begin Saturday at 2 p.m. on the south steps of the Capitol in Austin.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Sex Offender is Offended
Marvin Brown is a convicted sex offender who was released from jail in 1999. Today, he’s ill and elderly, suffering from diabetes, stage-four renal disease and congestive heart failure. He’s had three mini-strokes in the last two months alone. On good days, he walks with a cane. Other times, he gets around with a walker or an electric wheelchair. But according to Gov. Rick Perry, he poses such a threat to society that he has to wear an ankle bracelet so he can be continuously monitored. Brown says that’s a violation of his civil rights, and on Tuesday he filed suit in federal court. “They can’t give you freedom and then take it away,” he says.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Ads Infinitum: White’s “Ten Years”
Immigration is the focus of Democrat Bill White’s latest television spot, which accuses Gov. Rick Perry of “making Texas less safe.”
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Keller Case Not Over Yet
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct isn’t giving up on its attempt to reprimand Sharon Keller — in an unexpected move today, it appealed a court’s dismissal of its sanction against Keller, the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals.