Texas has nearly eight times as many people with serious mental illness in jails and prisons as it does in psychiatric hospitals, according to a new study by the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriffs’ Association.
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
TribBlog: Senators Get Social
With more and more state employees and elected officials using websites like Facebook and Twitter the onslaught of social media use within governmental bodies brings with it a lot of questions.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: Come and Take Our Data
Records in the Texas Tribune’s data library are licensed under Creative Commons, which means you’re free to download them, remix them and republish them — so long as you comply with our simple terms.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: O’Neill Signs Off
Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill, who isn’t seeking reelection to the court, also isn’t finishing her term. She told Gov. Rick Perry and the other members of the court today that she will step down from the bench on June 20.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: Combs’ Open Data Center
Susan Combs’ new texastransparency.org includes an Open Data Center, where anyone can download dozens of raw data sets, much like the federal government’s data.gov.
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Criminal Justice
David Oshinsky: The TT Interview
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and University of Texas professor, whose latest book is a modern history of capital punishment in America, says he doesn’t oppose the death penalty — but he believes it’s scandalously implemented in Texas.
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Criminal Justice
“A Country of Immigrants”
To the sound of drums and the sight of American flags, more than 25,000 people marched on Dallas City Hall in the latest episode in Texas’ endless immigration saga.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: Mapping U.S. Attorney Vacancies Nationwide
President Obama and the U.S. Senate haven’t yet installed U.S. Attorneys in any of Texas’ four federal court districts. As our national map shows, more than half of the country is in the same situation.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Keller Gets Record Ethics Fine
Sharon Keller isn’t as meticulous on her personal finance reports as she is particular about court closing time, the Texas Ethics Commission found today.
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Criminal Justice
The Case of the Missing Prosecutors
Texas has more unfilled U.S. attorney positions than any other state — and that isn’t going to change soon. Currently, none of the four Texas districts have “presidentially confirmed” federal prosecutors, who are responsible for enforcing federal laws. Last week, John B. Stevens, a state district judge in Beaumont who was Barack Obama’s only nominee in Texas, withdrew his name from consideration, citing the protracted confirmation process. And that means we risk being left out of the administration’s inner circle on criminal and civil justice issues.