Civil Rights
Dallas Is What Happens When People Can’t Trust Police
Botham Jean’s death led to greater community oversight of the Dallas Police Department. Amber Guyger’s murder trial last month shows why that’s necessary.
On Tuesday night, when activists tried to speak at the first gathering of Dallas’ newly revamped Community Police Oversight Board, police broke up the crowd, ...Read More
Death in Solitary
Russell Johnson’s sister warned officials that nearly three years in solitary confinement had broken him. His suicide in isolation two months later points to compounded crises inside Texas prisons.
Russell Johnson’s sister warned officials that nearly three years in solitary confinement had broken him. His suicide in isolation two months later points to ...Read More
The Casualties of Texas’ War on Voter Fraud
Crystal Mason’s vote didn’t count. Will her prosecution scare away others whose votes would?
In early February 2017, Crystal Mason’s probation officer asked her to come to the federal building in downtown Fort Worth. The meeting was unusual—maybe a ...Read More
The Death of Mobile Polling Places Could Shrink Early Voting in Texas
Thanks to a new state law, rural and elderly voters are among those who could lose their early polling places next election.
The Texas Legislature never seems to pass up a chance to make voting harder, scarier, or more confusing. True to form, Texas was one of several states this year...Read More
Texas Schools Suspended Students Between Pre-K and Second Grade More than 70,000 Times in a Year
Black boys, foster care kids, and special ed students were disproportionately suspended, according to a new report from Texans Care for Children.
While racial disparities are a hallmark of the criminal justice system, a growing body of research shows that bias and unequal punishment start as early as pre-...Read More
Texas (Kinda, Sorta) Accidentally Decriminalized Weed. Now What?
How harshly you’re punished for pot possession depends on where you’re caught, even more so now that a new law legalizing hemp has sowed confusion.
Texas lawmakers like to declare themselves leaders on criminal justice reform, but this session they mostly did nothing about it. During the 86th Texas Legislat...Read More
‘A Watershed Moment’ for Bail Reform in Harris County
Advocates for criminal justice reform say this week’s settlement in Harris County’s bail lawsuit could reverberate far beyond Texas.
Bail reform isn’t a particularly controversial plank of the broader movement to end mass incarceration. In fact, it was a Republican jurist, Texas Supreme Cou...Read More
Finger-Wagging, but No Oversight, for Texas Redistricting
A federal court delivers a stern warning but no relief despite Texas’ long history of deliberately discriminatory voting laws.
Even though Texas lawmakers deliberately discriminated against minority voters the last time they drew congressional and state district lines, the Texas Legisla...Read More
Ken Paxton Wants ‘Ultimate Home Field Advantage’ in Felony Case
Paxton, it seems, would rather watch his case implode from the comfort of his own backyard.
A couple of years ago, the private lawyers hired to prosecute the three felony charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton came up with a nickname for the...Read More