Michael Barajas
By Michael Barajas:
Botham Jean’s Death Could Lead to an Overhaul of Police Oversight in Dallas
When Prison Reform Goes Bad
What happened to the Legislature's two-decade-old attempt to break the cycle of incarceration for low-level felons?
In the early 1990s, the Texas Legislature tried to build something surprisingly progressive amid the state’s tough-on-crime prison boom: an alternative to prison for low-level felons. Lawmakers reclassified a host of third-degree felony charges, mostly for drug and property crimes, … Read More
State-Sanctioned Secrecy Shields Texas’ Death Penalty Machine from Scrutiny
New revelations about the source of Texas’ execution drugs underscore the risks of capital punishment shrouded in secrecy.
Shortly before he died by lethal injection earlier this year, Anthony Shore, Houston’s infamous “tourniquet killer,” exclaimed that he felt a burning sensation. Later that month, condemned killer William Rayford reportedly grimaced and writhed on the gurney during his final … Read More
With Texas Court Ruling, Ken Paxton’s Felony Case May Fizzle
In a Thanksgiving-eve ruling, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals defanged Paxton’s prosecutors, putting his felony prosecution in jeopardy.
In a Thanksgiving-eve ruling, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals defanged Paxton’s prosecutors, putting his felony prosecution in jeopardy. Read More
New Contract Could Give Austin One of the Most Transparent Police Departments in the Country
Activists are claiming victory after a drawn-out fight over police accountability, and encouraging other cities to follow suit.
After 18 months of tense negotiations over a police union contract, the Austin City Council and the city’s police union have agreed to reforms that anti-police brutality activists say could turn the Austin Police Department into one of the most … Read More
Ken Paxton’s Strange Quest to Execute an Intellectually Disabled Man
Prosecutors have agreed to spare Bobby Moore’s life due to his intellectual disability. Texas’ highest criminal court and top legal official want to kill him anyway.
As a teenager, Bobby Moore couldn’t tell time. Before dropping out of school in the ninth grade, he was so far behind his peers that teachers told him to draw pictures rather than try to keep up with reading and … Read More
The Midterms Trigger a Seismic Shift in Harris County’s Courts
Among the Democrats who won all 59 judicial seats at play in the midterms: a socialist and 19 black women running on criminal justice reform.
The Democratic sweep in Harris County Tuesday night could remake one of the largest criminal justice systems in the country. When the blue wave crashed into Houston, it not only unseated a widely popular Republican county executive and a much-maligned … Read More
On Election Day, Students Rally for Voting Rights at Texas’ Oldest HBCU
Prairie View A&M students, galvanized by yet another fight for equal voting rights, march to the polls.
When Jessmine Cornelius encourages other students to vote, she takes a moment to remind them about the history of discrimination against students at Texas’ oldest historically black college — and how they have always fought back. This year, Prairie View … Read More
In the Midterms, Texans Face a ‘Panoply of Voter Suppression’
Civil rights groups accuse Texas of implementing a layer-cake of voter suppression techniques.
Restricted voting hours for college students, translators barred from polling places in immigrant-heavy communities, an aging fleet of voting machines prone to botching ballots — those are just some of the problems Texans experienced so far during early voting. Civil … Read More
Dallas County’s Cop-Convicting DA Is Among the Most Vulnerable Down-Ballot Republicans This Election
Even with her record for prosecuting cops, Faith Johnson hasn’t won over criminal justice reformers, who’ve made Dallas ground zero in the movement to elect progressive prosecutors.
On the first day of early voting, Liz Wolff was walking up to her Oak Cliff polling place when a man campaigning for Dallas County DA Faith Johnson approached her with a flyer. Wolff, a training director for the Texas … Read More