Human Rights
From Crystal City to Carrizo Springs, When Will We Stop Locking Up Kids?
Trump’s Wall Is Coming to Texas. Meet Its First Victims.
As soon as February, the border wall is headed for a state park, a butterfly refuge and the land of a Hispanic family who’s called the Rio Grande Valley home since before it was the United States.
As soon as February, the border wall is headed for a state park, a butterfly refuge and the land of a Hispanic family who’s called the Rio Grande Valley home ...Read More
‘Ignored to Death’ in the Bexar County Jail
Janice Dotson-Stevens' death is another tragic example of how bad the criminal justice system is at dealing with mentally ill people who enter it.
by Michael Barajas January 4, 2019 – Three days after Christmas, family and friends of Janice Dotson-Stephens packed into pews inside the Lewis Funeral Ho...Read More
The Texas Observer’s Best Features of 2018
Our favorite longreads of the year.
The Texas Observer’s Best Features of 2018 Our favorite longreads of the year. – by Rose Cahalan and Forrest Wilder December 26, 2018 Like children, it...Read More
Four Texas Abortion Court Cases to Watch in 2019
The lawsuits could eventually end up at the Supreme Court, where the future of Roe v. Wade is now in question.
The Texas Legislature’s zeal for passing anti-abortion legislation has created an endless cycle of court challenges that’s frustrated lawmakers and judg...Read More
John Guandolo is on a Crusade to Turn Texas Cops Against Muslims
An ex-FBI agent living in the Dallas area, Guandolo occupies a special niche in a larger network of Islamophobes in the United States.
In late September, about 100 conservatives gathered at the Odessa Country Club to hear from two men: Republican Congressman Mike Conaway, who discussed the 357...Read More
How Climate Change Is Driving Central American Migrants to the United States
In the poor, violent Northern Triangle of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, worsening floods, drought and storms are pushing a growing number of migrants north.
Donald Trump thinks there’s an immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has no idea what’s coming. Thousands of Central American migrants arrive at ...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 sens...Read More
Who Writes History? The Fight to Commemorate a Massacre by the Texas Rangers
In 1918, a state-sanctioned vigilante force killed 15 unarmed Mexicans in Porvenir. When their descendants applied for a historical marker a century later, they learned that not everyone wants to remember one of Texas’ darkest days.
In 1918, a state-sanctioned vigilante force killed 15 unarmed Mexicans in Porvenir. When their descendants applied for a historical marker a century later, they...Read More
How Madeline Snyder, a Trans Woman in Tyler, Got Her Driver’s License Fixed
After she came out, Maddie Snyder worried she wouldn't be able to get her name and gender updated on her driver's license. Then the local LGBTQ community rallied to help her, and Texas attorneys across the state are pitching in.
How Madeline Snyder, a Trans Woman in Tyler, Got Her Driver’s License Fixed After she came out, Maddie Snyder worried she wouldn’t be able to get her na...Read More