FDA Blocks Texas Import of Execution Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told the Texas Department of Criminal Justice it is tentatively barred from importing a drug used in executions. Full Story
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![The view of Texas' execution chamber from a witness viewing room.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
New Prison Rule Means Jailbirds Can't Tweet
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has decided that prison inmates should not be allowed to have active social media accounts, even if friends or family on the outside run them. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Jacob Villanueva -
Killer Executed in 12-Year-Old Boy's Death
Pablo Lucio Vasquez, who admitted to slitting the throat of a 12-year-old boy and beating him to death before stealing a ring and necklace from the body 18 years ago, was executed Wednesday evening. Full Story
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![Pablo Lucio Vasquez is scheduled for execution April 6.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles -
Execution Stayed for Dallas Accountant Who Gunned Down Daughters
A federal appeals court on Wednesday stayed the execution of a Dallas accountant who shot and killed his two daughters in 2001. John Battaglia's lawyers argue he is not mentally competent enough to be put to death. Full Story
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![John Battaglia and his two daughters, Liberty (left) and Faith, who he murdered on May 1, 2001.]()
Credit: Dallas County Court files -
Texas Executes Man Courts Recognized as Mentally Ill
Adam Kelly Ward, whom appeals courts recognized as mentally ill, was executed Tuesday evening for the 2005 shooting death of a code enforcement officer. Full Story
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Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice) -
Less Than 5 Percent of Texas Prison Inmates are Undocumented
About 4.6 percent of Texas prison inmates are undocumented immigrants with standing requests that they be turned over to federal authorities when their sentences are served. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
18 Texas Correctional Officers Disciplined in Inmate Death
Texas prison officials have recommended the firing of a supervisor at the Clements Unit and disciplinary actions against 17 others for allowing a severely beaten inmate to remain undiscovered in his cell for an unknown amount of time. Full Story
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![Alton Rodgers (l) was found unresponsive inside his Clements Unit cell on Jan. 18 and died the following day. Cellmate Joe Greggs is accused of beating Rodgers to death. TDCJ has recommended a major be fired and 17 other correctional officers be disciplined for not checking on their cell.]()
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Inmate Executed after 24 Years on Death Row
After 24 years on death row, a re-sentencing trial and an escape attempt, Gustavo Julian Garcia, 43, was executed Tuesday evening. Full Story
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![Gustavo Julian Garcia]()
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Faces of Death Row App Gets an Update
Mark Anthony Gonzalez arrived on death row last week after being convicted in the shooting death of Bexar County Sheriff Sgt. Kenneth Vann. With his arrival and the executions of Richard Masterson and James Freeman in January, there are now 252 people in Texas living with a death sentence. Full Story
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Man Who Killed Texas Game Warden Executed
James Garrett Freeman shot and killed Justin Hurst, a game warden, following a high-speed chase in 2007. He was executed Wednesday evening, the second execution in Texas this year. Full Story
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![James Garrett Freeman shot and killed Justin Hurst, a game warden, in 2007, according to court documents.]()
Credit: Illustration by Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Texas Prison Inmates Database Gets an Update
The Texas Tribune's Prison Inmates database is now updated with the latest data available from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It is current as of December 2015. Full Story
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Texas Conducts First Execution of the Year
Richard Masterson, who was convicted and sentenced to death for a 2001 strangulation and murder in Harris County, was executed Wednesday night. Full Story
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Grand Jury to Reconvene Over Sandra Bland Case
The grand jury decided in December not to indict anyone for Bland’s death. But the door remains open for other charges, special prosecutor Darrell Jordan said, though details of what the grand jury is examining are confidential. Full Story
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![Sandra Bland, who was found dead at the Waller County Jail in 2015.]()
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Sandra Bland, Jail Standards Top Criminal Justice News in 2015
In 2015, Sandra Bland's death jolted a conversation about inmate safety and mental health, while high-profile murder cases continued and Texas was criticized for the lengths it reportedly went through to find execution drugs for death row inmates. Full Story
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Texas Appeals Court Maintains Execution Stay
Death row inmate Randall Mays' case will return to a Henderson County courtroom to determine whether he is competent enough to be executed after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals continued his stay of execution Wednesday. Full Story
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![A Henderson County court will determine whether death row inmate Randall Mays has the competency to be executed.]()
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New Death Sentences in Texas Drop To 40-Year Low
Texas juries imposed new death sentences only twice in 2015 — the fewest since the death penalty was reinstated nationwide almost 40 years ago. Full Story
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Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Teacher in Maximum-Security Prison Almost Missed Her Calling
Every day, teacher Jody Addy walks through a metal detector, waits for a pat down, shows her ID and passes through locked gates before walking to her classroom in the middle of a maximum security prison in west central Texas. Full Story
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![Windham School District teacher Jody Addy teaches a class at the Robertson Unit in Abilene, Texas on Dec. 4, 2015. Addy has taught correctional education for 20 years and recently received the 2015 Lane Murray Excellence in Teaching award.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill for The Texas Tribune -
High Court: Texas Death Row Inmate Can't Add Another Lawyer
The Supreme Court on Monday denied Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson III's petition to add another attorney to his team. Roberson has one more shot at delaying his execution with a petition arguing his rights were violated. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson III is a Texas death row inmate.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Lawyers Fight For, and Over, Death Row Inmate
Two sets of attorneys who believe their client doesn't belong on death row are fighting not only the state of Texas but also each other as his case arrives at the U.S. Supreme Court. Full Story
![Robert Roberson III is a Texas death row inmate.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Report Recommends Police Reform Mental Health Policies
Holding up San Antonio as an example, a report released Tuesday by the Vera Institute of Justice recommends law enforcement agencies change their practices regarding mental illness, sex workers and addiction. Full Story
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![A report released Tuesday by the Vera Institute of Justice offers several policy recommendations for law enforcement agencies that emphasize treatment and diversion for sex workers and individuals with mental illnesses and addictions.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman