Until he overdosed in November, he was one of the most influential cultural figures in Texas, the master of a scene fueled by drugs and his own brilliant, eccentric music.
It’s time to halt executions in Texas.
Thirty-seven men, 525 years behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit. Thanks to DNA testing, their claims of innocence have finally been proved—but what happens to them now?
Ernest Willis spent seventeen years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. And he has a few things to say about the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 for a strangely similar crime that many experts believe he didn’t commit either.
Michael Hall’s exclusive interview with Ernest Willis.
As the peculiar case of a Fort Bend sheriff’s deputy and his bloodhounds makes clear, the techniques of crime-scene investigation are not as infallible as the TV shows would have us believe. How a misplaced faith in some forensic experts is putting innocent people behind bars.
Cormac McCarthy’s birth date and birthplace are just two of the facts about him that have eluded his rabid fans—until now. A dossier on the most fiercely private writer in Texas.
Twenty-five years after his death, Sam Hopkins is still one of the most influential bluesmen in history—that much we know. But we don’t know nearly enough about who he was.
Want to see the Texas of Leadbelly, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mance Lipscomb, and other pioneering musicians of the twentieth century? Your trip through time begins near Washington-on-the-Brazos.
Freedom for Earnest Willis?
The short life and tragic death of Johnny Romano, the youngest professional skateboarder ever.
Dallas
Most people from Dallas who make it big in the music business get out of town as soon as they can. “That’s what celebrities do,” Erykah Badu says. “I never wanted to be a celebrity.”
Before Elvis Presley became an overweight entertainer in a rhinestone jumpsuit, there was a brief, more innocent time when he wore khakis as an Army private in Central Texas. It was his last chance to be a normal human being. And to be happy.
Her decision to close the door on a death row inmate’s final plea has earned the state’s top criminal judge lasting infamy and a misconduct investigation that goes to trial this month. But was she wrong?
Conspiracy theories: The Secret Service Theory.
Conspiracy theories: The Cuban Exiles Theory.
Conspiracy theories: The CIA Theory.
JFK was killed by (a) the mob, (b) Castro, (c) the FBI, (d) the CIA, or (e) none of the above? Decide for yourself.
Conspiracy theories: The Mafia Theory.
Conspiracy theories: The Vietnam Theory.
Conspiracy theories: The LBJ Theory.
Conspiracy theories: The Shadow Government Theory.
Conspiracy theories: The KGB Theory.
Conspiracy theories: The FBI Theory.
Conspiracy theories: The Castro Theory.
How the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals mistakes toughness for fairness—and gives the state a black eye.
For all her talent and poise, Beyoncé didn't become the biggest star in the world without help. And she got plenty of it from the people who know her best.
I know her as my mother, whose womb I emerged from more than fifty years ago. They—the million or so quilting fanatics, mostly women, who spend hours a day with needle, thread, fabric, and sewing machine—know her as a celebrity. She can’t believe it either.
On November 5, 181,500 people crowded into a former cow pasture north of Fort Worth to watch 43 race cars drive really, really fast for five hundred miles. That day, the Texas Motor Speedway would be, measured by population, one of the largest cities in the state. Welcome to NASCAR,
South from Alpine to Study Butte, west to Presidio, north to Marfa, and east to Alpine.
Where are the best places to eat barbecue in Texas? Six years ago we published a highly subjective—and hotly debated— list of our fifty favorite joints, and now we’ve gone back for seconds. Ten intrepid souls drove more than 21,000 miles in search of 2003’s worthiest ‘cue. Here’s what they
If the Corsicana native is the best songwriter in Texas, perhaps it's because he knows his material. Hardscrabble upbringing. Sinful behavior. Redemption. Personal tragedy. Profound sorrow. And, finally, more redemption.
Old country and western in Mingus, zippy zydeco in Bridge City: The shows always go on at these ten tuneful spots.
Los Angeles How the West is fun.
These five weekend getaways will make you want to do just that.
Cops who threaten torture. Prosecutors who go too far. Defense lawyers who sleep on the job. And an appellate court that rubber-stamps it all. Let’s be tough on crime, but let’s also see that justice is done.
The legendary honky-tonk is getting some help from an unlikely source: Transwestern, a giant real estate developer.
When a rare white buffalo was born in North Texas, thousands came to celebrate the new age he heralded. A year later the animal was dead.
Todd Trotter is trying to make a film about Richard LaFuente, who has served 26 years in prison for a crime he says he did not commit.
Washington, D.C., has Abraham Lincoln, Salt Lake City has Brigham Young, Philadelphia has Rocky Balboa. And now Austin has Willie. The massive bronze sculpture, which was commissioned by a local group called Capital Area Statues, rests downtown at the corner of Willie Nelson Boulevard (formerly Second Street) and Lavaca outside the new studios of Austin City
The country singer battled former world champ boxer Ann Wolfe for bragging rights in dominoes. So who took home the title?
Senior editor Michael Hall, a lifelong Packers fan, writes a love letter to the Houstonian, who hoisted the mirror ball-trophy on last night's DWTS finale.
Austin finally sees its first resident accepted into the venerable institution.
What did Kerry Max Cook actually win on Monday, when he was granted his request for DNA testing? Not a lot, most likely.
Fifteen years after being released from death row, Kerry Max Cook is still looking for freedom.
Tyler's paper of record just published an article about former death row inmate Kerry Max Cook. Let me tell you the rest of the story.
The Court of Criminal Appeals examined the case of Richard Miles, applied common sense and legal logic, and determined that he was innocent.
Texas Monthly senior editor Michael Hall on why GQ's story about Jerry Joseph, the too-good-to-be-true athlete in Odessa, was one of his favorites of the year.
It has been twenty years since four teenage girls were murdered in a north Austin yogurt shop—and still no answers.
