Texas Is Trying to Punish Its Way Out of a Prison Overdose Crisis
While quality treatment options remain scarce—even in the hardest-hit lockups
Criminal Justice
‘Black Bird Redemption Song’: A Fort Worth Artist’s Work on Confinement, Freedom, and Fred Rouse
An exhibition at the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden and Museum in Austin runs through January 25.
In Texas State Jails, a Rising Death Toll and a Broken Promise
Once billed as rehabilitative alternatives to prisons, these facilities are the sites of fatal overdoses—like that which ended the life of a Texan named Jackie Wiley.
Under Operation Lone Star, Texas State Police More than Doubled Their Drone Fleet
The Department of Public Safety has acquired an army of unmanned aerial vehicles—nearly as large as the U.S. Border Patrol's.
Pam Perillo’s Sisterhood of the Condemned
She's a death row survivor, but she doesn't think she's really any different from her friends who are still set to die.
New Report Highlights the ‘Fatal Flaws’ Behind Wrongful Capital Convictions
The ACLU found official misconduct, perjury, and predominantly white juries were contributing factors in at least 200 death sentence exonerations.
Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump
The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.
Bail Crackdown on Ballot Ignores Mental Health Crisis, Advocates Say
"The jail system is already the largest warehouse of people with mental illness in the state of Texas."
‘I Got a Lot of People Believing in Me’: Robert Roberson Stares Down Death, Again
Set to be the first U.S. person executed based on the controversial “Shaken Baby Syndrome” diagnosis, Roberson told the Observer last week he hopes his story will mean something.
Officials Said They Busted a Tren de Aragua Party. Attendees Beg to Differ.
A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven gang-related accusations.