Violence against Asian Americans has increased exponentially since the coronavirus pandemic. In Texas, many in the AAPI community feel that acutely, heightened by recent attacks in Dallas that were at first overlooked as hate crimes. Last week, the Dallas Police...
Criminal Justice
back to archiveCrystal Mason, Texas voter sentenced to five years, gets case sent back to lower court
Civil rights groups are celebrating a decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to remand and send back a lower court decision sentencing a Fort Worth area woman to 5 years in prison for “illegal voting.” In 2018, Crystal Mason was convicted for voting in the...
Mothers protest their children’s unsolved cases at HPD HQ
On Wednesday, April 27, families of unsolved cases protested outside of Houston Police Department headquarters, demanding justice, accountability, and answers in the deaths of Tailor Clark, Alexander “AJ” Silva, Aliyah Wilson, Diamond Alvarez, Xavier Degollado and...
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals grants stay of execution for Melissa Lucio
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a stay of execution for Melissa Lucio, a South Texas woman believed by many to be wrongly convicted of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter. Lucio was scheduled for execution on Wednesday, April 27....
Harris County gets shoutout as example of successful bail reform
Harris County's misdemeanor bail reform efforts recently got a hat tip from the Prison Policy Initiative, a non-profit, non-partisan national advocacy group that focuses on mass criminalization. Since 2019, the state’s largest county has taken aim at the money...
Bipartisan Texas House lawmakers ask execution of Melissa Lucio to be stopped
Lawmakers from both parties gathered on Thursday to hold a press conference in favor of delaying or stopping the execution of Melissa Lucio, a 53-year-old woman convicted of murdering her two-year-old daughter. “I have never seen a more troubling case than the...
Whistleblowers Fired By Ken Paxton Speak Out
In the midst of an FBI investigation into allegations of abuse of office and bribery, Attorney General Ken Paxton has maintained he did nothing wrong. Now, a group of whistleblowers that were fired from his office are speaking out for the first time against their...
Protestors gather in Caldwell County to demand justice
On Wednesday, protestors, community members, friends and family gathered outside the Caldwell County Justice Center to demand justice for Jennifer Miller, a woman who was killed in a car accident involving an off-duty San Marcos police officer. According to a police...
Abbott lags far behind everyone on marijuana policy
After six years on the job, Gov. Greg Abbott has little to show for when it comes to marijuana policy. Unsurprisingly, the incumbent governor is oceans apart on the issue compared to his Democratic opponent Beto O’Rourke, who authored a book about legalizing weed back...