Michael May
Innocence Revisited: Observer Story Inspires Documentary, NPR Feature.
Chris Scott, had an especially bold plan to free other innocent men behind bars by starting a detective agency—staffed solely by exonerees— to investigate their cases. Read More
Steve Earle Visits The Texas Observer
Singer-songwriter Steve Earle sits down with Managing Editor Michael May to talk about his new book, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive. Read More
Freedom Fighters
Dallas has freed more innocent men from prison than any other county in the country. Now they’re working together to change the system.
On May 12, Johnnie Pinchback became the 28th Dallas man to be freed from prison after evidence proved police got the wrong guy. I spoke to him the day after he got out. He was so happy to be free … Read More
The Texas Observer Interviews Will Potter
Michael May interviews Will Potter, author of "Green is the New Red," a book about heavy-handed law enforcement efforts aimed at environmental activists. Read More
Freedom’s Just a Word
Texas is finally helping former prisoners. But can the smart-on-crime revolution survive budget cuts and a suspicious public?
Photos by Lance Rosenfield/Prime Former inmates board buses to Dallas and Houston after being released from the Walls Unit in Huntsville. Every morning at around 10 a.m., dozens of prisoners are released from the Walls Unit in Huntsville. Family members … Read More
Cutting Red Meat
How about some progressive budget cuts for a change?
As Rahm Emanuel said, you don’t let a serious crisis go to waste. Republican state lawmakers will be taking that lesson to heart this session. They’re already sharpening their knives, ready to solve the budget crisis by carving deep into … Read More
Gone Rogue
Police admired Barry Cooper when he lied to put drug dealers in prison. Then he flipped the game on them.
Barry Cooper should know better than anyone that you don’t mess with the police. He was once a cop, and a dirty one at that. But for the past three years, this former narcotics officer has been irritating the hell … Read More
In Praise of Humble Gifts
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Christmas will be forever preserved in my memory as a pure celebration of consumerism—an unadulterated binge of gifts, gifts and stockings full of even more gifts. Until it was taken away, Christmas was probably my favorite day of the year. … Read More
The Skins They Carried
Military tattoos in the age of Iraq
The American Illustrators tattoo shop in Killeen is one of more than a dozen parlors that line the streets of this flat, sprawling town. Inside, a techno beat thunders through the wall from the club next door as artist Toby … Read More
