The latest Texas Department Of Criminal Justice news from The Texas Tribune.
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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Thanks to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Texas prison inmates will be able to grow beards under a new policy expected to cost state taxpayers $500,000 a year in paperwork, beard nets and barber tools. Full Story
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Of the 501 inmate deaths that have occurred in county jails since 2009, nearly a third of them were by suicide. Most of those suicides were by hanging, with inmates using objects jailers provided for them as ligatures. Full Story
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A Texas correctional officer killed while escorting a prisoner to his cell was beaten to death with a two-foot pry bar, a tool guards carry to unlock the small meal tray openings in a cell door, the Tribune has confirmed. Full Story
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A rookie Texas Department of Criminal Justice guard was beaten to death Wednesday at a northeast Texas prison as he was escorting an inmate, one with an extensive history of attempted escapes and previous beatings of prison personnel, from a day room to a cell. Full Story
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A U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday that upheld the use of an execution drug used in Oklahoma will not change how death row inmates in Texas are executed, according to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman. Full Story
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The home address listed on a Texas driver's license used to be one of the best tools police had to track people down, serve warrants or notify next-of-kin when someone died. But no more in this job-hopping, mobile culture. Full Story
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Since 2000, the Texas prison system has referred nearly 400 cases of staff sex crimes against inmates to prosecutors. Prosecutors refused to pursue almost half of those cases. Of 126 prison workers convicted, just nine were sentenced to serve time. Full Story
There are currently 261 inmates living on death row in Texas, the state with the most active execution chamber by far. Use this interactive to search through these men and women by the length of their stay, race, age and sex. Full Story
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To add transparency to the state's capital punishment system, the Tribune is unveiling a new tool for readers: Faces of Death Row. It profiles all 261 inmates facing execution, summarizes their crimes and allows filtering by race, age, sex and years spent on death row. Full Story
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Legislation that would keep the names of execution drug providers secret is headed to the governor’s office after the Texas House gave final approval on Tuesday to a Senate measure. Full Story
Brazoria County’s 33 newest Christian ministers aren’t your typical men of God. Some have been convicted of murder, and those who aren’t murderers are locked away for other serious crimes – most of them violent. Full Story
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Lawyers for a Texas inmate convicted of capital murder in the 1999 stabbing death of a prison guard have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his Tuesday execution. Full Story
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If the names of the compounding pharmacies providing execution drugs to Texas officials are made public, it could end the death penalty, state Rep. John Smithee told a house committee on Wednesday. Full Story
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A Mexican Mafia hit man convicted for his part in the 1998 capital murder of a San Antonio woman was executed Wednesday evening, leaving the state prison system with only enough pentobarbital for one more execution. Full Story
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