Texas heat has killed prisoners and cost the state millions in wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits. Prison rights advocates hope a budget surplus next year will finally push lawmakers to invest in air conditioning.
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
Uvalde school district and a litany of law enforcement agencies could face $27 billion class-action lawsuit over shooting
A lawyer for shooting victims is seeking compensation for victims and families, citing the Texas House committee’s investigative report that found “systemic failures” in response to the tragedy.
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Operation Lone Star
Judge in Texas border crackdown accused of using racist slur against migrants
Allen Amos, a visiting judge handling trespassing cases under Gov. Greg Abbott’s “catch-and-jail” border operation, allegedly used the derogatory term in a recent conversation with a defense attorney.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes Kosoul Chanthakoummane for the 2006 murder of a real estate agent
DNA evidence tied Chanthakoummane to Sarah Walker’s murder at a model home in Collin County. In last-minute appeals, his attorneys argue the evidence was not conclusive.
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Texas Abortion Restrictions
Not 1925: Texas’ law banning abortion dates to before the Civil War
The restriction, which was revived after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, was put in place amid concerns about declining white birth rates and as the medical profession formalized.
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Criminal Justice
AP, Texas Tribune and other newsrooms ask court to unseal Henry Cuellar search warrant
The Tribune and a host of news organizations are seeking records related to a January raid on U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s Laredo home.
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Criminal Justice
More Black Americans live in Texas than any other state. Two years after George Floyd’s murder, many reconsider their future here.
In interviews, Black Texans expressed frustration over uneven progress, restrictions on teaching about racism in public schools and limitations on their political representation and voting access.
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Military Injustice
He was accused of sexual assault, she of using drugs. The military dealt with them very differently.
Comparing the cases of Pvt. Olivia Ochoa and Pfc. Christian Alvarado provides a striking example of Army commanders’ uneven use of pretrial confinement.
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Criminal Justice
Vanessa Guillen’s family seeks $35 million in the Army specialist’s 2020 wrongful death at Fort Hood
Armed with a new federal court ruling that allows a former Army colonel to pursue a sexual assault lawsuit, the family of Vanessa Guillén has filed a wrongful death and assault case against the federal government.
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Military Injustice
In the Army, you’re more likely to be detained for drugs than sexual assault
A first-of-its-kind analysis reveals that, on average, Army soldiers had to face at least eight counts of sexual offenses before their commanders detained them ahead of trial as often as soldiers charged with drug or burglary crimes.
