Texas Decides on Substitute Execution Drug
Cleve Foster will be the first Texas inmate to receive the anesthetic drug pentobarbital — instead of sodium thiopental — in the three-drug cocktail that will be used in his execution on April 5. Full Story
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Sanctuary Cities Bill Passes First Hurdle
Legislation banning “sanctuary city” policies in Texas was voted out of the House State Affairs Committee today, sending the controversial bill to the full House for consideration. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva -
VIDEO: Out On Their Own
Sights and sounds from Huntsville when prisoners were released from the Walls Unit on March 4. Full Story
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![William Crow, Elliott Cornett and Daniel Barraza, all recently released inmates, walk away from the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas on March 4, 2011. State legislators are considering halving the $100 given to inmates upon their re-entry to society.]()
Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller -
VIDEO: Out On Their Own
Sights and sounds from Huntsville when prisoners were released from the Walls Unit on March 4. Full Story
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Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller -
Budget Cuts Would Undo Prison Recidivism Reforms
Criminal justice advocates say proposed cuts from rehabilitation and treatment programs would reverse years of reforms in Texas that have helped reduce recidivism and drive down the size of the prison population. Full Story
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![William Crow, 41, who did two years for drug possession, crouches in the shop adjoining the bus station where recently released inmates are buying new clothes, shoes and cigarettes in Huntsville, Texas on March 4, 2011.]()
Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller -
New Day Rising: The Changing Public Policy Landscape
At the Tribune's New Day Rising symposium on Feb. 28, four public policy experts talked about criminal justice, education, health care and other issues and the impact of the coming Hispanic majority. Full Story
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Bill Would Make Restroom Peeping a Felony
State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, filed a bill today that would make it a state jail felony to "lewdly violate" a person's privacy in a place like a public restroom. Full Story
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![State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, at the 2010 Texas Democratic convention in Corpus Christi, Tex. on June 26.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge -
Rev. Carroll Pickett: The TT Interview
Rev. Carroll Pickett holds the world record for witnessing the most state executions as a chaplain. He saw 95 men die by lethal injection during his career as the death house chaplain. Full Story
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Credit: Brandi Grissom -
Rev. Carroll Pickett: The TT Interview
The onetime death house chaplain on what it was like to witness the most state executions of anyone in his job (95, by lethal injection), what changed his mind about the death penalty and why lawmakers should continue to fund the chaplain program. Full Story
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TDCJ Bans Thousands of Books in State Prisons
Inmates looking to catch up on their Shakespeare are out of luck. They won't find Love Poems & Sonnets in any Texas lock-up. The Texas Civil Rights Project released a report today on the list of 11,850 books banned by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Dale Rudick: The TT Interview
Dale Rudick, Sugar Land's director of intergovernmental affairs, on the history of the Central Prison Unit, why the city wants it shuttered, and whether the budget crunch is actually working to Sugar Land's advantage. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Dale Rudick: The TT Interview
The Texas Tribune sat down last week to talk with Sugar Land's director of intergovernmental affairs, Dale Rudick, to talk about the history of the prison in Sugar Land and about what local officials think would be a better use of the land where it sits today. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Exonerated Men Plead for Justice System Change
After listening to nearly two hours of emotional testimony from exonerated prisoners, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today approved a bill meant to reform the way law enforcement officials in Texas gather and use eyewitness identification evidence. Full Story
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Advocates Worry TYC Cuts May be Shortsighted
The House and Senate budgets propose a $95.6 million cut in total revenue from the Texas Youth Commission budget in 2012-2013, and lawmakers are eying reductions in parole services, which could lead to fewer staffers and fewer district parole offices. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Wentworth, Rodriguez Debate Campus Carry on CNN
On today's broadcast of CNN's American Morning, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, and state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, debated the controversial issue of concealed handguns on college campuses. Full Story
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
The best of our best content from Feb. 14 to 18, 2011. Full Story
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Police Worry Immigrant Victims, Witnesses May Go Silent
Law enforcement authorities worry that some immigration-related legislation would silence immigrant crime victims and witnesses, who may stop cooperating with the police out of fear that their undocumented status will be discovered. Full Story
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Prison Chaplains Pray, Plead for Funds
Chaplains have been a part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice since at least 1910, providing spiritual guidance and programs. Under the proposed House budget, all 121 Texas prison chaplains would lose their jobs. Full Story
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![Prison chaplains meet at 1st Baptist church before heading to Texas Capitol to speak to lawmakers on Wednesday.]()
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Texas "On the Brink," Legislative Group Says
Texas' superlatives are nothing to brag about, according to the fifth edition of "Texas on the Brink," an annual review that ranks the state on dozens of factors ranging from health insurance to voter turnout. Full Story
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Woman's Death Reveals a Troubled East Texas Jail
Amy Lynn Cowling's death is just the most recent at the Gregg County Jail in Longview. Interviews and public documents reveal a troubled facility, where the staff turnover rate is unusually high and inmates report shoddy medical care. Full Story
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![Amy Lynn Cowling's mother, Vicki Bankhead, talks about the death of her daughter in the office of the family's attorney, Jarom Tefteller.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond