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 Department of Criminal Justice
College Degree Options Are Disappearing for Women in Texas Prisons
In Texas, four-year degree programs for imprisoned women are expiring, even as more of them end up in the prison system.
Lawyers Seek to Reform ‘Ethical Minefield’ of Public Defender’s Office Controlled by Texas Prison System
Former public defenders say prison officials who had a hand in prosecuting their clients influenced and sometimes outright interfered with their defense work.
New Report Finds — Surprise — Indigent Defense Attorneys Shouldn’t be Under the Control of the State Prison System
The Texas prison system controls an agency tasked with defending poor inmates accused of crimes inside Texas prisons. What could possibly go wrong?
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘No Place for Old Men’
Texas prisons are filling up with the old and the ill — at enormous expense.
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘The First Time Texas Killed One of My Clients’
An attorney pieces together a life cut short.
UPDATED: Online Posts Appear to Show TDCJ Officers Encouraging Violence Against Trans Prisoner
Comments on a September Observer article include ‘one to the back of the head.'
The Draw of Death Row
With “dark tourism” on the rise, Huntsville’s prison museum is thriving.