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The Latest Breaking News from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice

An Inside Look at Taser Use in Texas Prison

The sound of electricity sizzling and crackling broke the silence. To me, it looked like the electric chair was officially back in the prisons.

Texas Observer

Inmates in this Texas program are leaving prison with jobs — and lower chances of reincarceration

Faced with more immediate funding needs, state officials haven’t asked for more money for rehabilitation programs, such as STRIVE, next budget cycle.

The Texas Tribune

Texas should close prisons and jails with staffing challenges, state oversight panel says

A report found up to 70% of guard positions were unfilled at some prisons. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has a 26% staff turnover rate.

The Texas Tribune

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Attorney General Ken Paxton files motion to block death row inmate Robert Roberson from testifying

The motion escalates a tense standoff between Paxton and a bipartisan Texas House committee, which had subpoenaed Roberson to testify at the Capitol on Friday.

The Texas Tribune

Texas lawmakers issue new subpoena for death row inmate Robert Roberson's testimony

A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers have issued a new subpoena that would require the state’s prison system to allow death row inmate Robert Roberson to testify in person on Friday about the state’s junk science law

The Independent UK

Texas House panel subpoenas death row inmate Robert Roberson a second time

The new subpoena comes after lawmakers say Ken Paxton’s office stalled a previous effort to get Roberson’s legislative testimony about his conviction in “shaken baby” case.

The Texas Tribune

Texas can schedule Robert Roberson’s execution — but lawmakers still expect his testimony first

Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in a “shaken baby” case that many say led to an innocent man’s death sentence.

The Texas Tribune

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Ex-juror in ‘shaken baby’ case tells hearing Texas death row inmate should not face execution

Robert Roberson was scheduled to be executed on Thursday for the murder of his own daughter – but received a last-minute reprieve amid widespread concerns that she died of natural causes

The Independent UK

Texas man apologizes to victims and breaks into song as he is executed for 1989 murder of twin teenage girls

Garcia White delivered a chilling final address in front of the victims’ families before breaking out into hymnsong moments before a lethal injection was administered

The Independent UK

‘It’s torture’: brutal heat broils Texas prisons, killing dozens of inmates

Legal action aims to force criminal justice department to air condition prisons, where 85,000 are at risk of heat illnesses

The Guardian - US

Taking Prison to Court: Fighting for the Right to Sleep

Michael Garrett sued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice more than a decade ago, and he’s working from inside to keep the case alive.

Texas Observer

Feds accuse Texas prison agency of discriminating against employee for wearing a headscarf

A federal lawsuit asserts that the Texas agency terminated a state prison clerk who refused to remove a head covering in line with her Ifa faith.

The Texas Tribune

Advocates seek to protect Texas inmates from uncooled imprisonment, say they're being 'cooked to death'

A complaint against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice says that lack of air conditioning in the premises amounts to cruel punishment

Latin Times

Who performs a lethal injection in the U.S.? In some states, they're volunteers

A failed execution in Idaho has put a spotlight on the teams of people that prisons use to impose the ultimate penalty on condemned inmates.

WEKU

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The Independent UK

A convicted child sex offender is back behind bars after breaking out of Texas jail

Robert Yancy, Jr was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2022 for continuous sexual abuse of a child

The Texas Tribune

Texas executes David Renteria for 2001 murder of El Paso girl

Renteria’s attorneys unsuccessfully argued that the El Paso District Attorney’s Office violated his constitutional rights by not releasing all documents in his case. He was the eight person executed in Texas in 2023.

The Independent UK

A Texas killer says a prison fire damaged injection drugs. He wants a judge to stop his execution

Attorneys for a condemned Texas killer say drugs he is to be injected with next week were exposed to heat from a fire and have asked a federal judge to stop his execution

The Texas Tribune

Texas prison system issues statewide lockdown to combat illegal drugs, inmate violence

The state has canceled all visits to Texas prison inmates until a comprehensive search of all 100 correctional facilities for contraband has been completed.

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The Texas Tribune

Investigation finds no fraud by Texas prison contractor that was paid despite cutting inmate therapy services

Management & Training Corporation had been accused of defrauding the state by charging for services it didn’t provide and directing prisoners to falsify paperwork about their treatment.

The Texas Tribune

Despite budget surplus, Texas Legislature makes little money available for prison air conditioning

Stifling heat has killed inmates and exacerbated employee turnover in Texas prisons. But funding for air conditioning was whittled down in the draft budget released Thursday.

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