The Matas never celebrated Day of the Dead before; this year they built an altar at the grave of 10-year-old Tess, surrounded by family. For Thanksgiving and Christmas, they broke their traditions.
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
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas GOP lawmakers warming to opioid harm-reduction policies they once opposed
Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans have expressed support for legalizing fentanyl test strips, which help users identify whether the drugs they are planning on taking contain the deadly synthetic opioid.
Posted in
Uvalde school shooting
Criminal cases in South Texas are unraveling because of a Texas Ranger’s suspension after the Uvalde shooting
After the Texas Department of Public Safety suspended Texas Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell, one of hundreds of officers who responded to the May 24 mass shooting, felony cases he investigated are in jeopardy and experts have questioned the justification for his suspension.
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Criminal Justice
Veterans groups plead Afghan soldier’s asylum case in letter to Biden
After surviving the fallout from a war in his home country and a global trek, Abdul Wasi Safi was arrested at the Texas-Mexico border on a misdemeanor charge, delaying his chance for asylum.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. House Jan. 6 committee investigated four Texas conservative figures, transcripts reveal
The figures, who include leaders of right-wing groups and political allies of the Trump White House, largely pleaded the Fifth Amendment to questions about the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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Criminal Justice
Ex-Fort Worth cop sentenced to nearly 12 years for manslaughter of Atatiana Jefferson
A jury found Aaron Dean guilty of manslaughter last week for the fatal shooting of Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, while she was babysitting her nephew in a family home.
Posted in
Uvalde school shooting
On the day of the Uvalde shooting, her school bus became a makeshift ambulance
Sylvia Uriegas transported children who were wounded inside Robb Elementary School to the hospital. The terror of that day still haunts her.
Posted in
Uvalde school shooting
Records reveal medical response further delayed care for Uvalde shooting victims
Previously unreleased video, audio and interviews show for the first time how the medical response faltered after police finally confronted the Robb Elementary shooter.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Former Fort Worth police officer found guilty of manslaughter of Atatiana Jefferson
A jury on Thursday found Aaron Dean guilty of manslaughter for shooting Jefferson while she babysat her nephew in her mother’s home in 2019.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Gov. Greg Abbott calls for five-year mandatory sentence for human smugglers
Abbott is making his pitch ahead of the upcoming legislative session.