News & Politics
December 10, 2021
You Can Stand Your Ground in Texas. Even When You Kill a Cop.
When a homeowner shot and killed a police officer in Midland, the court case that followed pitted two core Texas values against each other.
Criminal Justice
News & Politics
November 11, 2021
What Do We Owe Those We’ve Condemned to Die?
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether John Henry Ramirez, a Texan convicted of murder, is entitled to have his pastor by his side when he’s executed.
Film & TV
November 6, 2020
Did Melissa Lucio, the First Hispanic Woman on Death Row in Texas, Kill Her Daughter? An Uneven New Documentary Raises More Questions Than Answers.
‘The State of Texas vs. Melissa’ creates empathy for Lucio, but the film lacks a clear and balanced exposition of the deeply troubling facts of the case.
Politics & Policy
June 5, 2020
“There Are No Checks and Balances”: Two Texas Criminal Justice Experts on the Fight for Police Reform
Scott Henson and Chas Moore have been working for years to stop police brutality. They say that sweeping, systemic change is needed.
Politics & Policy
June 2, 2020
How San Marcos Went From ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policing to Requiring That Officers Release Low-Level Offenders
Despite opposition from the local police union, the city passed Texas's most expansive ‘cite-and-release’ policy.
News & Politics
May 19, 2020
Domestic Violence Calls Spike in Texas Cities, While Falling in Rural Areas
"When you're in a rural community, it's difficult to receive services and be very discreet about it. … Those complexities are amplified at this time."
Politics & Policy
May 29, 2019
How Texas’s Powerful Police Union Went to War Against Criminal Justice Reform
In one of the worst legislative sessions for criminal justice reform in years, bipartisan legislation got caught between an ugly fight between the police lobby and prominent Democrats.
The Daily Post
April 14, 2016
Ethan Couch, Affluenza Sufferer, Has Been Sentenced To Two Years In Jail
There’s been a lot of news around the subject of the notorious ”affluenza” defense this week.
The Daily Post
January 8, 2016
Brian Encinia Charged With Perjury In Sandra Bland’s Case
Brian T. Encinia, the police officer who arrested Sandra Bland, has been charged with perjury—and that’s likely to be the extent of the criminal justice system’s involvement in the case.
Film & TV
December 23, 2015
Richard Linklater, Matthew McConaughey, and Jack Black Are Holding A Fundraiser For Bernie
Tiede, not Sanders.
The Daily Post
September 21, 2015
The Dallas Judge Who Said A Raped Teenager “Wasn’t The Victim She Claimed To Be” Has Been Formally Reprimanded
A panel determined that District Judge Jeanine Howard undermined public confidence after a controversial statement.
The Daily Post
August 12, 2015
The Arlington Police Department Takes A Different Approach After Christian Taylor’s Death
Transparency and action after an officer-involved shooting could indicate a fundamental shift.
The Daily Post
June 2, 2015
San Antonio Police Department Conducting “Virtual Ride-Alongs,” Shaming People Before They’re Even Convicted
It’s time to consider what role social media should have in policing.
Politics & Policy
May 13, 2015
Appeal to Reason
Mimi Swartz cross-examines the Court of Criminal Appeals’ unprecedented sanctions against a death penalty lawyer.
The Daily Post
April 23, 2015
Texas’s Problem With Truancy Is Getting Some Well-Deserved Attention
The way Texas punishes truancy is downright Kafka-esque—and it’s finally getting a lot of attention.
The Daily Post
April 9, 2015
Capital Murder Case Against Hannah Overton Dismissed
Nine years after Hannah Overton’s nightmarish journey through the criminal justice system began, it ended just as abruptly.
The Daily Post
December 16, 2014
Stories of Police Violence in Texas Are All Over the Internet Right Now
Post-Ferguson, post–Eric Garner, post–Tamir Rice, relations between police and the people they’re tasked to protect and serve are especially strained—even as far from where those events happened as Texas.
Politics & Policy
October 9, 2014
Governor Perry, Have Mercy on This Man
Max Soffar is dying on death row, where he sits for a crime I'm certain he didn't commit. Maybe this letter will convince you to let him spend his last days at home with his family.
Politics & Policy
August 25, 2014
Huntsville Blues
A ruling on the extreme conditions at the Louisiana State Penitentiary may affect several lawsuits pending in Texas.
National Magazine Award Nominee
August 12, 2014
The Witness
For more than a decade, Michelle Lyons’s job required her to watch condemned criminals be put to death. After 278 executions, she won't ever be the same.
The Daily Post
July 29, 2014
Is The Grand Jury System In Texas Broken?
After the Houston Chronicle's shocking and revealing depiction of what can happen with a grand jury, the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice is pushing for change.
Books
July 7, 2014
Michael Morton’s Life in Prison, In His Own Words
Excerpts from his book "Getting Life: An Innocent Man's 25-Year Journey from Prison to Peace."
Politics & Policy
June 10, 2014
Perry Report Card: Criminal Justice
Yesterday, when we unveiled the cover of our July issue featuring Rick Perry, we also told you about “The Perry Report Card,” an upcoming magazine feature where, as the title suggests, we graded the tenure of the governor on eight areas of public policy. We invited you to weigh
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?
Politics & Policy
June 9, 2014
Richard LaFuente Is Finally Free!
For 28 years, parole officials tried to get him to confess to a crime he didn’t commit. He refused—and never wavered. This is why he is the bravest man I know.
The Daily Post
May 27, 2014
A Murder Suspect in San Marcos Received Exonerating Evidence Four Days into His Trial
The video proving that Brelyn Sorrells acted in self-defense the night he fatally stabbed another man had been sitting in the prosecution's office for fifteen months.
The Daily Post
May 21, 2014
Strange Things Have Happened Recently at This Alpine Smoke Shop
What's happening out in West Texas?
The Daily Post
May 14, 2014
There’s A Petition To Have The Dallas Judge Who Said That A 14-Year-Old Rape Victim “Wasn’t The Victim She Claimed To Be” Removed From Office
Change.org doesn't seem to change much, but it reveals that thousands of people have a problem with Judge Jeanine Howard.
Politics & Policy
April 24, 2014
Several Stories This Week Reflect the Problems in Texas’ Criminal Justice System
No system is perfect, but a number of the imperfections in Texas' system are showing all at once.
Business
March 20, 2014
Texas Isn’t Saying Where It Got Its New Supply of Pentobarbital
The state managed to find a new supply of Pentobarbital, the drug it uses to perform lethal injections, but officials aren't saying where it came from.
The Daily Post
January 29, 2014
The Consequences of Grapevine’s New Housing Ordinance for Sex Offenders
Sex offender registries are popular in the abstract, but maybe ordinances isolating sex offenders shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all policy.
Criminal Justice
December 18, 2013
Why Was This Prosecutor Never Punished?
Anthony Graves was wrongfully convicted of capital murder in a trial where the prosecutor, Charles Sebesta, withheld evidence that could have helped prove Graves’s innocence. So why hasn’t Sebesta been held accountable for his egregious misconduct?
The Stand Up Desk
December 16, 2013
Tenacious P Strikes Again
A remarkable and richly deserved award for Pam Colloff
The Daily Post
December 11, 2013
A Diabetic Woman Died In The Irving Jail Because The Staff Didn’t Give Her The Insulin They Knew She Needed
Held in custody for 42 hours, 37-year-old Sarah Tibbetts died after being arrested while in possession of someone else's credit card and trace amounts of marijuanta in baggies in her purse.
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 Daily Post
November 19, 2013
The San Antonio 4 Are Finally Free
Four women spent more than thirteen years in prison because of bad science and scurrilous tales told by children who had been coached by an adult. They’re free now, but who else is sitting behind bars based on these types of false accusations?
Criminal Justice
November 14, 2013
Jail Time May Be the Least of Ken Anderson’s Problems
What will an independent audit of Anderson’s old criminal cases turn up?
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.
Criminal Justice
October 16, 2013
Anthony Graves Establishes Scholarship
Graves used funds he received from the state for his wrongful conviction to set up a law school scholarship in the name of Nicole Cásarez, the Houston attorney and journalism professor who fought for eight years to secure his freedom.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.