Operation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws.
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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Uvalde school shooting
Watch how a Texas professor used art to honor Uvalde’s lost kids
After the tragic Uvalde school shooting in 2022, Abel Ortiz, an art professor at Southwest Texas Junior College, asked artists from across the state to come together to use the power of art to heal. See the results of their efforts in this video.
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Criminal Justice
Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisons
Several lawmakers supported a call for Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back immediately to approve air conditioning for prisons, which the Legislature declined to do during its regular session.
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Criminal Justice
Travis County won’t pursue driving while intoxicated charges against State Sen. Charles Schwertner
The Republican from Georgetown was arrested in Austin in February. But the county attorney said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prosecute.
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Criminal Justice
Gov. Greg Abbott sends more state police to patrol Austin after city leaders call for end to partnership
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson had said that troopers pulling a gun on a 10-year-old prompted the end of the agreement. A video of that encounter shows troopers with guns pointed at the ground, not the child.
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Criminal Justice
Investigation finds no fraud by Texas prison contractor that was paid despite cutting inmate therapy services
Management & Training Corporation had been accused of defrauding the state by charging for services it didn’t provide and directing prisoners to falsify paperwork about their treatment.
Sponsor Post
Comcast Names Jose Espinel to Lead Texas Region
Espinel brings decades of domestic and international industry experience to head one of the nation’s most diverse and growing markets
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Criminal Justice
Texas National Guard soldier won’t face civilian charges in border shooting of migrant
The soldier, serving as part of Operation Lone Star, said he accidentally fired his weapon, wounding the migrant in January.
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El Paso shooting
Gunman in 2019 El Paso mass shooting receives 90 life sentences
Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday in federal court. He still faces state charges, and the local district attorney says he intends to seek the death penalty.
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Criminal Justice
Texas courts struggle to resolve criminal appeals that got lost in Harris County for decades
Overlooked in the churn of one of the country’s busiest courthouses, the forgotten appeals included two death penalty cases, and one from a man who’s already finished his 20-year sentence.