Bipartisan Legislators Join Calls for Clemency for Robert Roberson
The condemned Texas man was convicted of killing his daughter in 2003 based on an outdated ‘shaken baby syndrome’ diagnostic process.
Michelle Pitcher
Michelle Pitcher is a staff writer at the Texas Observer covering criminal justice, housing, and education. She received her master’s in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley and was part of the team at The Marshall Project that won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. Her reporting has been featured on NPR, FiveThirtyEight, The Dallas Morning News, and more. Michelle was born and raised in Dallas and is now based in Austin.
Articles by Michelle Pitcher
A Slice of Life in Watermelon Country
The annual Luling Watermelon Thump has been a Central Texas staple for more than 70 years.
Junk Science, ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome,’ and the Fate of Robert Roberson
An East Texas man could soon become the nation's first person killed by the state based on the controversial hypothesis.
Waiting Out the Storm in Prison
Incarcerated Texans describe conditions in prison following Hurricane Beryl.
Texas Plans to Execute Man After Courts Refuse DNA Tests
Ruben Gutierrez was convicted of murder in 1999 under Texas’ “Law of Parties.” He says he had nothing to do with the killing.
Texas’ Plantation Prisons: Inside a 200-Year History of Forced Labor Shrouded in Secrecy
Punishments, injuries, and deaths—including from heat—on TDCJ farms are more hidden than they were in the years following convict leasing.
Taking Prison to Court: Fighting for the Right to Sleep
Michael Garrett sued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice more than a decade ago, and he’s working from inside to keep the case alive.
Finding God, Asking State to Find Mercy on Death Row
Ramiro Gonzales will be put to death next Wednesday, unless the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends clemency.
‘Ride’ Paints Cowboy Life in Shades of Gray
A new movie set in Stephenville complicates, without vilifying, one of our state’s central mythic figures.
A 30-Year-Old Wrongful Conviction Is Shaping the El Paso DA Race
Daniel Villegas was acquitted of a crime for which he served nearly 20 years in prison. James Montoya, one of the prosecutors who tried to keep him locked up, is running for district attorney.