Politics & Policy
September 15, 2023
The Science Used to Send Him to Death Row Has Changed. The Courts Haven’t Yet Caught Up.
Robert Roberson is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to examine “shaken baby syndrome” and the state of forensic science.
12 Articles
Health
July 2, 2020
When COVID-19 Hit the Smith County Jail, One Tyler Activist Became a Citizen Watchdog
Dalila Reynoso, who started a friendship with Sheriff Larry Smith at Whataburger, now monitors local jails to keep him accountable.
Politics & Policy
August 26, 2014
The Rise of Armed Teachers
They’ve already existed in some districts for years, but now some school employees are getting intensive, police-style training in how to respond to a shooting.
The Culture
July 23, 2014
Where Have All the Cowboy Churches Come From?
There aren’t that many cowboys anymore, and yet cowboy churches seem to be everywhere. What gives?
Politics & Policy
June 9, 2014
The Many Lives of a Death Drug
The State of Texas uses pentobarbital for lethal injections, a drug with a long and complicated history. But the question everyone wants answered remains: Is it a painless way to die?
Reevaluations
April 21, 2014
Streamlining the Quest to Overturn Wrongful Convictions
The Innocence Project of Texas receives thousands of letters each year from prison inmates proclaiming their innocence. So do a number of other innocence clinics around the state, which is why the Lubbock-based nonprofit wants to establish a single system for screening letters.
Music
March 19, 2014
Going Secular at SXSW
The band Gungor is using the festival to broaden its fan base outside the churches where it made its name. Can it escape the stigma of Christian rock without alienating its devoted followers?
Politics & Policy
February 4, 2014
Can a Wrongful Conviction Ever Be Forgiven?
The City of Lubbock makes amends for its grievous mistake in wrongfully convicting Timothy Cole—who died in prison—by erecting a statue in his memory.
Books
January 30, 2014
When Prisoners Read Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, It’s Pretty Powerful
The deeper politics of the novel still resonate—especially with inmates—nearly 150 years since it was published.
Criminal Justice
December 3, 2013
Sitting in Legal Purgatory
Jerry Duane Martin killed a correctional officer as he tried breaking out of prison, and tonight he will be executed. But the man who tried escaping with him, and who some believe is also culpable for the officer's death, hasn't been convicted of the six-year-old crime.
The Culture
November 12, 2013
Executions Are So Common, Even Protesting Them Has Become Routine
A small group of committed protesters show up to nearly every execution in Huntsville to exercise their civil rights in what has become a sort of ritual.
Religion
October 30, 2013
Not Your Typical Hell House
Like many churches across the nation, Bethel Church, in Temple, produces a hell house, a faith-based haunted house. These houses draw severe criticism for stoking the culture wars, but Bethel's leaders want to be open and tolerant in their messaging. Are they succeeding?