Houstonian Mark Swidan to be released from Chinese imprisonment
The Texan has been imprisoned in China for 12 years on charges of drug trafficking. Full Story
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![Mark Swidan.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Swidan Family Free Mark Campaign -
Join us Dec. 6 for a conversation with Reps. Moody and Leach about legislative intervention and the death penalty
We’ll discuss their efforts to permanently avoid Robert Roberson’s execution. Full Story
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Inside the only college class in Texas to help prepare inmates for life after prison
More than 250 Texas prisoners are on the waitlist to join the Lee College reentry class. Programs like these prepare students to find jobs and help lower recidivism. Full Story
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![Women who are incarcerated participate in a Lee College course that focuses on reentry at Lucile Plane State Jail in Dayton, Texas, US, on Monday October 28, 2024.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
Join us Dec. 11 for a conversation with Uvalde Leader-News publisher Craig Garnett
The author of “Uvalde’s Darkest Hour” sits down with Austin American-Statesman’s Tony Plohetski Full Story
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Tribune news quiz: What happened in Texas this week?
How closely did you follow the news in Texas this week? Take The Texas Tribune’s news quiz to find out! Full Story
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Freeman Martin selected to lead the Texas Department of Public Safety
Martin, a senior official, takes the helm of the agency on Dec. 1, replacing retiring director Steve McCraw. Full Story
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![Freeman F. Martin.]()
Credit: Department of Public Safety website -
Gov. Greg Abbott issues executive order targeting Chinese government operatives in Texas
The order is in response to “Operation Fox Hunt,” a Chinese government initiative intended to root out corruption but in practice has been used to intimidate Chinese citizens living abroad. Full Story
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![Chinese President Xi Jinping listens as U.S. President Joe Biden, not pictured, delivers remarks during an event launching the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty at the G20 Summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024.]()
Credit: Eric Lee/Pool via REUTERS -
Federal appeals court affirms ruling that Caldwell County must hold public bail hearings
The Texas Tribune, the Caldwell/Hays Examiner and Mano Amiga challenged the county’s policy of barring the press and public from bail hearings, saying it violated the First Amendment. Full Story
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Texas can schedule Robert Roberson’s execution — but lawmakers still expect his testimony first
Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in a “shaken baby” case that many say led to an innocent man’s death sentence. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson seeks a new trial for the 2003 conviction of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in Palestine, Texas on August 14, 2018.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
“Actually innocent”: Judge recommends overturning death row inmate Melissa Lucio’s conviction, sending case to Texas high court
The Cameron County judge also found the state relied on false testimony during her capital murder trial, according to court documents. Full Story
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![State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, speaks at a rally organized at Dallas City Hall to free Melissa Lucio on April 7, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
A push to change a 2019 Texas law that bars certain felons from becoming social workers
Texas prohibits people with assault convictions, among other felonies, from becoming social workers. A new lawsuit says the ban is unconstitutional. Full Story
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![Tammy Thompson, left, and Katherin Youniacutt, right, pose for a portrait the night before filing a lawsuit against the state of Texas to try and reverse the 2019 law that prevents convicted felons from becoming licensed social workers.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court removes temporary block to Robert Roberson’s execution
The state’s highest civil court ruled that legislators can’t use subpoenas to block death row inmates’ executions, but suggested there’s still time for Roberson to testify before a Texas House panel. Full Story
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![Former Detective Brian Wharton testifies during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, TX. Wharton was an investigator in the case of the death of Nikki Roberson and has expressed his doubts of Roberson's guilt and agrees with stopping his execution. With his scheduled execution drawing closer, a hearing debating the certainty of Robreson's guilt and there is a bipartisan push to stay his execution. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ highest criminal court orders new trial for death row inmate over judge's alleged antisemitic bias
Randy Halprin was a member of a gang of prisoners known as the “Texas 7” who escaped from custody and killed an Irving police officer in 2000. Full Story
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![Randy Halprin, then 23, one of the "Texas Seven" prison escapees, is led out of the Teller County Courthouse after a extradition hearing in Cripple Creek, Colorado on Jan. 26, 2001.]()
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Paxton’s picks cement Republicans’ hold on Texas’ highest criminal court
Three new faces will join the bench, but the political balance of power will remain the same on the Court of Criminal Appeals. Full Story
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![The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
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In Texas, criminal charges and misdemeanor convictions don’t automatically take away people’s voting rights
Texans serving time for misdemeanor offenses or who are in jail awaiting trial are eligible to vote but only two counties offer voting in jail. Full Story
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![The Linda Woodman State Jail in Gatesville in May 2018.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
There are warring depictions of Robert Roberson’s murder case. Here’s what to know.
Even before the Texas man’s death sentence became a political lightning rod, law enforcement and medical experts had differing opinions on the evidence that convicted him. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
Ken Paxton calls on Rep. Jeff Leach to resign over texts to judge in Robert Roberson case
The AG also said he’d make a criminal referral against the lawmaker, who apologized for texting a Court of Criminal Appeals judge about a new trial for the death row inmate. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
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Hundreds illegally got Texas teacher licenses through cheating ring, Harris County prosecutors say
Five people were charged in connection with the scheme. Investigators say aspiring teachers would pay for help cheating in the certification test. Full Story
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![Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg speaks at a press conference at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Thursday, April 25, 2024.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Jeff Leach asked Texas judge to consider a new Robert Roberson trial in apparent conduct violation
Leach, one of the driving forces behind the effort to stop Roberson’s execution, later apologized to the judge, who told the lawmaker there were still pending matters before the court. Full Story
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![From left: State Reps. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, listen to a testimony during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
In Dallas, ballot propositions could drastically change police and city government
Proposed amendments to the city charter would require the city to hire more police, tie the city manager’s pay to community reviews and let citizens sue the city more easily. Full Story
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![Dallas City Hall on July 11, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune