Texas Senate votes in favor of proposals to deny bail to certain accused violent criminals
The package was fast-tracked after Gov. Greg Abbott declared “bail reform” an emergency item. The bills now head to the House for consideration. Full Story
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![A Bail Bonds and Free-Me Bail in San Marcos.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Robert Roberson files first new appeal since his execution was delayed
The appeal includes new testimony from experts who say Roberson’s daughter died of natural causes, and cites the court’s exoneration of a man in another shaken baby syndrome case out of Dallas County. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
Domestic violence is up in Texas. Survivors and supporters hope lawmakers will take action.
Reported domestic violence incidents have risen 26% since 2019. Full Story
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![The East Texas Crisis Center, on Wednesday January 8, 2025, in Tyler.]()
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Texas executes inmate who killed two men in Killeen in 2004
In his final statement, Richard Tabler asked for forgiveness from his victims’ family members, some of whom reportedly witnessed his death. Full Story
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![The Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary houses the execution chamber of Texas and is located in Huntsville on Jan. 31, 2024.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Certain criminal suspects would be denied bail under changes OK'd by Texas Senate panel
The package of bills would tighten the state's bail laws to keep more people in jail — including undocumented immigrants — while their criminal cases are pending. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick holds a press conference on bail reform, an emergency item this legislative session, on Feb. 12, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas foster home linked to boy’s death had history of fight clubs and sexual misconduct, report says
The death of an 11-year-old at a Greenville residential treatment center is among 16 deaths reported in the Texas foster care system in the last 15 months. Full Story
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![The Thompson’s Residential Treatment Center in Greenville on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.]()
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Legislature considers paying much more for school safety
Texas law requires an armed officer at each school. Districts are asking lawmakers to pay the full yearly cost, which they say is $100 per student. Full Story
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![Two DPS officers test classroom doors and patrol the campus at Dalton Elementary School on the first day of school in Uvalde on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
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Houston man pardoned by Trump arrested on child sex charge
Andrew Taake received a six-year sentence for assaulting officers on Jan. 6. He was arrested Thursday on an outstanding charge of soliciting a minor. Full Story
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![Newly pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Andrew Taake has been re-arrested in Houston.]()
Credit: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia -
Inmates in this Texas program are leaving prison with jobs — and lower chances of reincarceration
Faced with more immediate funding needs, state officials haven’t asked for more money for rehabilitation programs, such as STRIVE, next budget cycle. Full Story
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![STRIVE graduate Melyna Rodriguez wipes a tear during the graduation ceremony inside the chapel at the Patrick O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas on January 28, 2025.]()
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Texas executes man convicted of killing Arlington pastor in 2011
Steven Lawayne Nelson maintained that he unknowingly participated in the violent church robbery but didn’t harm anyone. His execution was the state’s first for 2025. Full Story
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![Huntsville, Texas: Exteriors of the Texas State Penitentiary “Walls Unit” August 20, 2020 in Huntsville, Texas.]()
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Two more state employees fired after accessing Texans’ private information
So far, nine HHSC employees have been fired for accessing without a “business” purpose the private information of Texans seeking public assistance that includes Medicaid and food stamps. Full Story
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![The Brown Heatly Health and Human Services building in Austin on Nov. 29, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Immigration crackdown in Texas: What you need to know about your rights
Recent enforcement operations across Texas have raised concerns among undocumented immigrants. Here’s what immigration attorneys want you to know about your rights and resources. Full Story
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![A migrant from El Salvador and her son take part in a caravan heading to the U.S. border, near Huixtla, Mexico November 27, 2021.]()
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Texas legislators seek more protections for death penalty defendants in wake of Trump executive order
Trump’s new directive that aims to increase death sentences clashes with some Texas lawmakers’ efforts to add guardrails to capital punishment. Full Story
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![Dr. Jeffery Singer testifies during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, TX. Dr. Singer testified that "shaken baby syndrome" has been called into question for years and and that there are many in healthcare who don't think the diagnosis should be used to sentence someone to death. With his scheduled execution drawing closer, a hearing debating the certainty of Robreson's guilt and there is a bipartisan push to stay his execution. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
An immigrant faces deportation after a routine traffic stop in Texas, sparking more fear
Advocates worry that rapidly shifting federal and state immigration initiatives will prompt more city police to funnel migrants without criminal records to federal agents. Full Story
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![Jose Alvaro (his first and middle name), his wife Ashley, children 6-month old Jose, 1-year old Arrceli and 4-year-old Antonio at their home near Lubbock, Tx. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Jose Alvaro is in danger of being deported and working with an attorney to stay home with his family.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott orders state police to help federal agents with immigration enforcement
According to the governor, 5,400 immigrants in Texas have a warrant for their arrest. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety Special Operations agents escort a group of migrants through private property as part of Operation Lone Star after catching them in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign the affidavit to allow DPS to arrest undocumented migrants in their property, so they will be processed by Border Patrol.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Gabriel V. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans in Congress propose bills to codify Trump executive orders
Ending birthright citizenship, increasing oil drilling, and leaving WHO are just a few bills the state’s Republicans pushed in Congress this month. Full Story
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![A U.S. Capitol Police officer stands guard at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 21, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to detain undocumented immigrants accused of even minor crimes passes with some Texas Democratic help
The bill, named for Laken Riley, a Georgia student killed by an immigrant, adds legislative muscle to President Trump’s immigration enforcement push. Full Story
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![U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers stand near an aircraft on which Venezuelan migrants will be repatriated as part of an immigration enforcement process, at the Valley International Airport, in Harlingen, on Oct. 18, 2023.]()
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Death sentences and executions in Texas at record lows
Texas continues to lead other states on capital punishment. But the decline in new death sentences and executions reached a record low. Full Story
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![Protesters unload signs and speakers outside of the Huntsville Unit shortly before a scheduled execution in Huntsville on October 17, 2024.]()
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More than 100 Texans active in the Jan. 6 insurrection among those pardoned
A Texan was the first to breach the Capitol and many others joined the assault. The presidential pardon helps cast all of them as folk heroes. Full Story
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State employees suspected of stealing from low-income Texans' public assistance accounts
Seven human services employees were fired after a string of fraud and theft — and the largest data breach in agency history. Full Story
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![The fresh produce section of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo, Texas, on June 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune
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