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 -
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.]()
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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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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
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.]()
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Inmate's Family Vexed Over Jail Death
Amy Lynn Cowling died on Dec. 29, 2010 in the Gregg County Jail. Her family is outraged over the treatment she received there, but jail officials say Cowling's unfortunate death was not their fault. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Advocates: Prison Health Cuts Will Prompt Lawsuits
Health care in Texas prisons is already so abysmal it borders on being unconstitutional, according to a report released today by the Texas Civil Rights Project. The cuts lawmakers are now considering, they said, will almost certainly spark lawsuits that could cost Texas more money than it would spend to simply improve the system. Full Story
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Lawmakers Propose Raiding Auto Theft Fund
House and Senate budget writers have proposed closing a little-known state agency that helps prevent and solve automobile theft and burglary. The catch? While they’re planning to kill the agency, they're not planning to stop collecting the fee you pay to keep it going. Full Story
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TribBlog: LBB Makes Criminal Justice Recommendations
Criminal justice in Texas got a fourfold performance review from the Legislative Budget Board today. From incarceration projections to the cost per bed for prisoners, the board broke down the state's public safety performance in cold, hard numbers. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman