The latest Texas Department Of Criminal Justice news from The Texas Tribune.
More than two years after the heat of anger over Trayvon Martin's shooting in Florida fused into Black Lives Matter, an Austin chapter is trying to mold its energy into an agenda to influence state lawmakers. Full Story
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In the wake of the hanging death of Sandra Bland and other recent suicides, the state agency that oversees jails is issuing a new inmate intake form so jailers will ask more specific, direct questions when booking people. Full Story
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Veterans sentenced to death in Texas murder cases — and nationwide — might have escaped the punishment if juries had been told about their military service and any ensuing mental health problems, says a report released Tuesday. Full Story
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The committee will review and make recommendations on substance abuse, care for veterans, identifying illnesses early and improving delivery of mental health care. Full Story
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The Texas Tribune's Prison Inmates database, containing more than 144,000 offenders, is now updated with the latest data available from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It is now current as of September 2015. Full Story
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The Justice track at the 2015 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on criminal justice reform, the Legislature, open carry, and gay rights and states' rights. There was also a conversation with several Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judges. Full Story
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The Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Commission Thursday paid tribute to its namesake – who was wrongfully convicted in a 1985 rape case – and began setting a vision for its role in prevent further wrongful convictions in Texas. Full Story
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Convicted murderer Bernie Tiede's new sentencing trial will be moved from Carthage — where he killed 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent nearly two decades ago — to Henderson, in a neighboring East Texas county. Full Story
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As the 19th anniversary of Marjorie Nugent's murder looms, her killer, Bernhardt "Bernie" Tiede II, returns to an East Texas courtroom Tuesday as attorneys spar in advance of a new sentencing hearing. Full Story
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Texas is on track to see fewer death sentences handed down in 2015 than in any other year since the state’s death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Full Story
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East Texas inmate Julius Murphy's execution is off the November calendar – for now. The Texas Criminal Court of Appeals on Monday stayed the 36-year-old's execution, after his legal team presented claims of prosecutorial misconduct in his 1998 capital murder trial. Full Story
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In Austin on Monday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn promoted federal legislation that would require mental health checks before denying anyone the ability to purchase firearms. Full Story
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Attorneys for East Texas inmate Julius Jerome Murphy, scheduled for execution in early November for killing a stranded motorist, claimed in court papers filed Friday that prosecutors threatened and coerced witnesses to unjustly convict him. Full Story
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice on Friday shot down allegations that it is manufacturing its own hard-to-find execution drugs after federal defense attorneys in an Oklahoma death row case accused the Texas prison system of doing exactly that. Full Story
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The number of men and women being held in Texas prisons fell by more than one percent in 2014, a slight dip that continues a downward trend aided by new diversion programs and a reluctance by state lawmakers to add more prison beds. Full Story
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Lawyers for death row inmate Scott Panetti will get a chance Wednesday to argue that their client's ongoing mental illness — and the state's failure to evaluate his mental state — should forestall his execution for two 1992 killings. Full Story
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In the coming days, the deaths of Sandra Bland and Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth will continue to jolt statewide conversations about how the Texas criminal justice system deals with — or fails to deal with — mental health issues. Full Story
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A second jailhouse informant claims he was offered a secret deal to testify in a death penalty case by former Navarro County prosecutor John Jackson, who has been accused of similar misconduct in the conviction and execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Sen. John Whitmire on Tuesday announced the creation of an interim jail safety study committee following concerns in the wake of the hanging death of Sandra Bland and the deaths of other jail inmates. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said last week that its new beard policy for inmates would cost taxpayers $500,000. Now, the agency says there will actually be no cost to taxpayers. Full Story
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