
Love—and Casseroles—in the Time of COVID-19
During the pandemic, once-ordinary dinners with friends take on new meaning.
Since 1954
Lise Olsen is a Houston-based senior reporter and editor at the Texas Observer. Lise has investigated many twisted Texas tales, including crooked judges, an unjust execution, massive environmental disasters, myriad cases of corporate and public corruption, and unsolved serial killings. Her reports in three states over 20 years contributed to the prosecutions of a former congressman and a federal judge, inspired laws and reforms, helped solve cold cases, restored names to unidentified murder victims, and freed dozens of wrongfully-held prisoners. Her work is featured in CNN's “The Wrong Man” (2015) about the innocence claims of executed offender Ruben Cantu and the six-part A&E series on the victims of a 1970s serial killer, The Eleven, (2017). She is the author of Code of Silence: Sexual Misconduct by Federal Judges, the Secret System that Protects Them and the Women who Blew the Whistle.
During the pandemic, once-ordinary dinners with friends take on new meaning.
A judge declared a mistrial this week in the murder trial of Billy Chemirmir, leaving the families of more than 20 victims waiting for answers.
A new book illustrates how complaints are often suppressed—even in the case of a Galveston judge who sexually assaulted employees in his chambers.
A former Texas Ranger provides rare insights into the mostly secret system set up to investigate complaints about public officials.
The Texas Rangers are tasked with investigating corruption and crimes by public officials. Those officials are rarely held accountable.
The former state representative led a revolt against corruption in 1972—and is calling for action now.
Texan adoptees argue that they should have a right to see their own birth certificates.
A judge called his actions in a death penalty case "shocking prosecutorial misconduct that destroyed any semblance of a fair trial.”
Bills before the state Legislature this session would subject precious metal buyers to more scrutiny and protect assisted living residents.