The Culture
March 13, 2013
Behind the New Documentary About Michael Morton
Al Reinert discusses An Unreal Dream, his new film about Morton, who was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife and served nearly 25 years in prison for the crime.
Criminal Justice
Politics & Policy
March 12, 2013
Michael Morton’s Moving Senate Testimony
In a committee hearing Tuesday, the exoneree and newlywed pushed for a bill that would change the statute of limitations for offenses involving prosecutorial misconduct.
Politics & Policy
March 6, 2013
A Call to Arms
In his biennial address on the state of the judiciary, the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court remembers the Alamo.
Criminal Justice
March 6, 2013
Reasonable Doubt: The Manuel Velez Case
UPDATED: A Brownsville construction worker named Manuel Velez was sent to death row in 2008 after he was convicted of killing his girlfriend’s baby. Five years later, new testimony from a number of forensic experts suggests that the medical evidence against Velez was deeply flawed. Now he may receive the
The Culture
February 22, 2013
Texas Executes First Man of 2013
Carl Henry Blue was put to death Thursday for setting an ex-girlfriend on fire.
The Stand Up Desk
February 20, 2013
A Mighty Collaboration
The story from our March issue about the case of Andre Thomas is the fruit of an exciting collaboration with our pals at the Texas Tribune.
Longreads
February 12, 2013
Trouble in Mind
Andre Thomas is deeply mentally ill. He is also a vicious murderer. How should he be punished?
Court of Inquiry
February 8, 2013
Another Chapter Closes in the Michael Morton Case
The final day of the court of inquiry into alleged prosecutorial misconduct by former Williamson County D.A. Ken Anderson ended with the man who helped put Michael in prison for 25 years for a crime he didn't commit calling the accusations against him "so bogus it’s unreal.”
Bum Steers
February 7, 2013
Former Houston Hand Surgeon Michael Brown Lands in Trouble Again
This time he was arrested upon arrival at the airport, after allegedly choking flight attendants and making sexual remarks.
Court of Inquiry
February 7, 2013
Ken Anderson’s Court of Inquiry Continues
More testimony suggested that the former Williamson County D.A. may have withheld evidence that could have proven the innocence of Michael Morton.
Politics & Policy
February 5, 2013
In Light of the Evidence
John Whitmire is making his third attempt to streamline the appeals process for inmates who may be exonerated by improved forensic techniques.
Court of Inquiry
February 5, 2013
Ken Anderson’s Court of Inquiry: Day One
Michael Morton testifies at the inquiry for the former Williamson County district attorney who sent him to prison for a crime he didn't commit.
Court of Inquiry
February 3, 2013
Michael Morton Update: The Court of Inquiry Begins
Ken Anderson, the former Williamson County D.A. who prosecuted Michael, will essentially go on trial as the subject of a “court of inquiry,” an arcane legal procedure used to investigate possible wrongdoing by state officials.
January 21, 2013
Meet Dallas’s Hip-Hop Cop, ‘Lucille Baller’
“You see this bullet right here, I’ll stick it from they rooter to the tooter,” raps Lt. Regina Smith, now suspended.
January 21, 2013
Texas Executes Tenth Man of 2012
Jonathan Green was put to death Wednesday for the 2000 murder of a 12-year-old girl, but his lawyers maintained until the end that their client was mentally ill and thus unsuitable for execution.
January 21, 2013
DNA Testing Clears Texas Prisoner of Rape
David Lee Wiggins, 48, had served 23 years in prison for the 1989 rape of a teenage girl when testing revealed DNA evidence did not link him to the crime.
January 21, 2013
Number of Paroled Inmates Jumps to Ten-Year High
Texas Board of Pardons and Parole granted parole to a full 31 percent of inmates up for review last year, up from 27 percent in 2003.
January 21, 2013
Texas Executes Seventh Man of 2012
Marvin Wilson, an inmate with an IQ of 61 and the reasoning skills of a grade school student, was the latest to die in the Huntsville death chamber.
January 21, 2013
Texas Performs Sixth Execution of 2012
Yokamon Hearn was also the first person in Texas to be executed with the new single-ingredient lethal formula, pentobarbital.
January 21, 2013
Death Penalty Drugs: From Three to One
A shortage of pancuronium bromide forced the state to abandon the three-drug cocktail it has used to execute prisoners since 1982. But another drug has surfaced that will do the job.
January 21, 2013
Texas Prison’s Water Problems Attract National Attention
Gawker got wind that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Connally Unit recently was shut down due to "chronic staff staffing shortages and water outages."
January 21, 2013
Lawsuits Over Prisoner Deaths in Hot Texas Prisons
Last summer, four prisoners died from heat-related causes in Texas's sweltering prisons.
January 21, 2013
New A&M Study Finds “Castle Laws” Escalate Violence
Researchers from Texas A&M found that laws similar to Texas's castle doctrine actually lead to more homicides instead of deterring crime.
January 21, 2013
Overton Judge Finds No New Evidence of Innocence
State district judge Jose Longoria stated that "all of the supposedly newly-discovered evidence ... was clearly known and discussed at the time of trial."
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
Why John Bradley Lost
Williamson Country District Attorney John Bradley faced a resounding defeat in a race that became a referendum on his handling of the Michael Morton case.
January 21, 2013
The Problem With Eyewitness Testimony
How badly do we mess up when doing something as fundamentally human as using our eyes, words, and memories? In the case of some eyewitness IDs, very badly.
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
Judge Wanted to Posthumously Exonerate Cameron Todd Willingham
Former state district judge Charlie Baird shares the 18-page exoneration order that he never got to issue with The Huffington Post.
January 21, 2013
Texas Performs Fifth Execution of 2012
Beunka Adams, who was pronounced dead on Thursday night at 6:25 p.m., participated in a deadly convenience store robbery in 2002.
Report from Court
January 21, 2013
Hannah Overton Hearing: Day Four
David Jones, one of Overton's defense attorneys during her 2007 trial, broke down on the stand.
Report from Court
January 21, 2013
Hannah Overton Hearing: Day Three
Ex-prosecutor Sandra Eastwood is put on the hot seat and questioned about whether or not she withheld critical evidence from the defense.
Report from Court
January 21, 2013
Hannah Overton Hearing: Day Two
The leading salt poisoning expert testified on the second day of Overton's hearing.
Report from Court
January 21, 2013
The Hannah Overton Hearing: Day One
Executive Editor Pamela Colloff reports from Nueces County, where testimony in the Hannah Overton hearing focused on scientific evidence supporting the Corpus Christi homemaker's claims of innocence.
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
Graves Case Becomes Election Issue
Anthony Graves, who spent eighteen years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, speaks out as the Washington County sheriff’s race heats up.
January 21, 2013
“Frontline” on Kerry Max Cook
A clip from the PBS show's episode on Kerry Max Cook and his quest for exoneration.
January 21, 2013
Texas Executes Fourth Man of 2012
Jesse Joe Hernandez, who was pronounced dead on Wednesday night at 6:18 p.m., had beaten a 10-month-old baby to death in 2001.
Video
January 21, 2013
WATCH: Michael Morton Gives His First Full Interview to “60 Minutes”
Although Michael Morton was formally exonerated last year of his wife’s murder and released from prison after nearly 25 years behind bars, he has made few public comments until now. On Sunday night, in a 60 Minutes exclusive, he spoke to CBS correspondent Lara Logan about his ordeal.Morton recounted how
January 21, 2013
Michael Morton on ‘60 Minutes’
An interview with Michael Morton, who spent 25 years in jail after being wrongly convicted of the murder of his wife, will air on this Sunday's 60 Minutes.
January 21, 2013
Anthony Graves Update
48 Hours Mystery updated its "Grave Injustice" episode, which first aired last year, to include information about his exoneration and the compensation he received from the state.
January 21, 2013
Rusty Hardin Named Special Prosecutor in Court of Inquiry
The legendary Houston criminal defense attorney will examine former DA Ken Anderson, who prosecuted Michael Morton. With this appointment, things just got a whole lot more interesting. Here's why.
January 21, 2013
Third Execution of 2012 Slated for Wednesday Night
Texas plans to execute Keith Thurmond Wednesday night for the 2001 murders of his estranged wife and her new boyfriend.
January 21, 2013
Innocence Project
David Hanners, the Dallas Morning News reporter who broke the Kerry Max Cook story in 1988, says the DA's office shifted its stance on the one piece of evidence that could exonerate Cook.
January 21, 2013
The Last Man Exonerated
Kerry Max Cook walked off death row in 1997, but he was never officially exonerated. At least not yet. He just filed a DNA motion he hopes will clear his name.
January 21, 2013
Who Helps the Exonerated Men of Texas?
James Waller, who was exonerated 24 years after he was convicted of a crime he didn't commit, started a non-profit to help support and counsel Texas' exonerees.
Critters
January 21, 2013
Inside San Antonio’s Animal Court
The Wall Street Journal’s Nathan Koppel writes about San Antonio's new court, designed to handle animal cases.
January 21, 2013
Supreme Court Justice Appoints Judge in Court of Inquiry
State supreme court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson appoints Texas legend Judge Louis E. Sturns to oversee the court of inquiry into Williamson County DA Ken Anderson.
January 21, 2013
HPD Crime Lab To Be Revamped?
Houston Mayor Annise Parker suggested making the city's crime lab independent and adding a Innocence Project representative to the board overseeing it.
January 21, 2013
Investigating the Prosecutors
What will state supreme court chief justice Wallace Jefferson do about Ken Anderson, the DA who sent an innocent man to prison? Based on these clues, Anderson is in for the fight of his life.
Recipes
January 21, 2013
The Joy of Cooking (Behind Bars)
Recipes from the innovative chefs at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, including Delightful Tuna Nachos and Frosted Shredded Wheat Surprise.
January 21, 2013
Muslim Prisoner Sues Over Beard Ban in State Prison System
Kenneth Hickman says TDCJ's facial hair ban violates his First Amendment rights.
Behind the Lines
January 21, 2013
Fed Up!
Sure, Texas’s criminal justice system is tough. But as Fort Worth inmate Richard LaFuente could tell you, the federal criminal system is even tougher.