Suspect in Vanessa Guillén’s killing pleads guilty
The 20-year-old Fort Hood soldier’s murder prompted nationwide outrage and calls to reform the way the military addresses sexual violence within its ranks. Full Story
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![People gather outside of Power House Gym in Houston to honor Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen on July 5, 2020.]()
Credit: Briana Vargas for The Texas Tribune -
Mother of 10-year-old Uvalde shooting victim sues school district, police and gun manufacturer
The lawsuit accuses Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the shooter’s weapon, of marketing that primes “young buyers to purchase AR-15-style rifles as soon as they are legally able.” Full Story
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![A mural in memory of Eliahna A. Torres near the town plaza in Uvalde, on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Facing possible removal for alleged incompetence, El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales resigns
The first-term DA was under fire for the office’s mishandling of criminal cases and for potentially jeopardizing the prosecution of the man charged in the 2019 Walmart massacre. Full Story
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![El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales passes out flyers at the El Paso National Night Out 2022 on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, at different locations in El Paso.]()
Credit: Gaby Velasquez/USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connectv -
Amid fallout from the Uvalde shooting, Texas DPS wants $1.2 billion for academy and active-shooter training facility
DPS is asking lawmakers to approve a $467 million active-shooter facility as a “down payment” for the training academy. “You play like you practice,” Director Steve McCraw said. Full Story
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![Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw speaks at a border security briefing at Texas DPS regional headquarters in Weslaco on Jan. 27, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Prison contractor MTC accused of billing Texas millions for inmate treatment programs it didn’t provide
Before being released on parole, most Texas prisoners must complete treatment programs like life skills or addiction therapy. Private prison operator Management & Training Corporation allegedly stopped providing the services, but kept taking the money. Full Story
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![Birds fly overhead at the Hilltop prison unit in Gatesville, Texas, Nov. 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
A 2019 force-feeding of an Indian asylum-seeker at an El Paso ICE facility was caught on tape
The footage, obtained by The Intercept, lifts the veil of secrecy on a practice condemned by medical ethicists. Full Story
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![Ajay Kumar stands on a balcony in California on June 1, 2022. Kumar, an Indian asylum seeker, was force fed in 2019 while on hunger strike in the El Paso Service Processing Center in Texas. A video of his force-feeding in 2019 was obtained by The Intercept.]()
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Acting Uvalde police chief during Robb Elementary shooting resigns
Lt. Mariano Pargas was one of the nearly 400 law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting at Robb Elementary on May 24. Full Story
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![Acting police Chief Lt. Mariano Pargas in Uvalde.]()
Credit: Social media -
Pay raises alone won’t solve staffing shortages in “nightmare” Texas youth prisons, ex-workers say
Danger and trauma — not low salaries — are what drive most workers to leave the crisis-wracked Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Full Story
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![Tiffany Jones, a former TJJD employee, poses for a portrait at her home in Manor on Nov 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ execution of Stephen Barbee was prolonged while officials searched for a vein
Barbee, convicted in the 2005 murders of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her child, was unable to straighten his arms, which caused the delay. Courts allowed Barbee’s execution despite concerns from his lawyer that his disability would make the process “torture.” Full Story
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![Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Texas executes Tracy Beatty for strangling mother to death
Beatty’s lawyers argued unsuccessfully that the 2003 Smith County murder didn’t qualify for the death penalty. Neither the Supreme Court nor Texas Gov. Greg Abbott intervened on Wednesday. Full Story
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![Huntsville, Texas: Exteriors of the Texas State Penitentiary “Walls Unit” August 20, 2020 in Huntsville, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
National political leaders stump through Texas ahead of midterm elections
First lady Jill Biden and U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy were in Texas Sunday to help members of their respective parties energize voters before Election Day. Full Story
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![From left: Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee; Monica De La Cruz, Republican candidate for U.S. House District 15; U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy; U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Los Indios; GOP candidate for U.S. House District 28 Cassy Garcia; and former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich at a press conference before a get-out-the-vote event in McAllen on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
In wake of the Uvalde shooting, hoax active-shooter calls keep parents and police on edge
An increase in fake active-shooter reports since the beginning of the school year has intensified parents’ anxieties and required an additional law enforcement response. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officers patrol outside the library of Akins Early College High School in Austin on Sept. 15, 2022. The school was put on "hold" — a step below a lockdown — after a threat on social media was reported.]()
Credit: Roberto Ramirez for The Texas Tribune -
Four Uvalde shooting victims left classrooms alive. Investigators are reviewing whether a faster response could have saved them.
The inquiry will help determine whether criminal charges should be brought against responding officers. Full Story
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![Crosses for the people killed at Robb Elementary School on Thursday, May 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
“I’m so scared”: 911 recordings reveal fear and urgency of those trapped in Uvalde elementary school
Audio obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica shows just how long police and dispatchers likely knew that children and teachers were in danger before taking action at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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![At 12:33 p.m. May 24, exactly an hour after the gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a group of unidentified police officers began advancing toward the classrooms where he had trapped more than 30 students and teachers. But after one officer said “no, no, no,” they stopped. That moment exemplified the overall failed law enforcement response.]()
Credit: State trooper body camera footage obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
El Paso district attorney faces trial to oust her from office over incompetency, misconduct claims
El Paso County District Attorney Yvonne Rosales has been accused of bungling cases and is ensnared in controversy surrounding prosecution of the alleged gunman in the 2019 Walmart massacre. Full Story
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![El Paso County District Attorney Yvonne Rosales passes out flyers at the El Paso National Night Out 2022 on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022.]()
Credit: Gaby Velasquez/USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect -
Texas tries again to prove that Scott Panetti is just sane enough to be executed
The convicted murderer’s lengthy history of schizophrenia and delusions is well documented, from trying to call Jesus Christ as a trial witness to believing that prison dentists put a transmitter in his tooth. Full Story
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![The Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, also known as the "Walls Unit,” near downtown Huntsville, on Aug. 16, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas diverts $359.6 million from prisons to keep Greg Abbott’s border mission operating
The latest infusion was among $874.6 million in “emergency” budget transfers requested by the Texas Legislative Budget Board, which is composed of GOP state leaders and budget writers. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott gives keynote address at Asian American Alliance luncheon at NuStar Energy LP in San Antonio, TX, October 13, 2022]()
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Former Houston lawmaker Ron Wilson pleads guilty to federal tax evasion
Ron Wilson, a Democrat who served as state representative between 1977 and 2004, pleads guilty to one count of tax evasion after trying to hide some of his income and failing to pay taxes over two decades. Full Story
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![Former state Rep. Ron Wilson's, D-Houston, 78th Legislature Texas House of Representatives portrait.]()
Credit: Legislative Reference Library of Texas -
Texas DPS chief Steve McCraw says his agency “did not fail” at Uvalde school shooting
At a public meeting where families that lost children in the school shooting said he should resign, McCraw said members of the Department of Public Safety made mistakes. But he said he’ll step down only “if DPS as an institution failed the families.” Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw gives a statement at a Public Safety Commission Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Austin. The public meeting took comments from families of the victims of the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
What to know before voting for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judges
Texans will vote on three seats for the state’s highest criminal court in November. Here’s what the court does, who is running for office and what issues candidates are running on. Full Story
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![The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune