His attorney told him he could be out of jail in ten days if he took the plea deal — but 58-year-old Gilbert Cruz refused, saying he wasn’t going to plead guilty to something he didn’t do.
Texans will save an estimated $92 million when shopping for school supplies during this weekend’s “tax free” days. The state faces a big budget shortfall in 2017, and state leaders will be looking for more efficient, less costly ways to fix roads, fund schools, and secure our communities while still giving money like this back to taxpayers.
Told to prepare a budget that cuts spending by 4 percent, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is drawing up a legislative request for the 2018-2019 biennium that would slash its operating budget by about $250 million.
With a new police body camera program set to begin at the end of September, an updated side-by-side comparison of police body cam policies in American cities now includes the capital of Texas.
A coalition of agencies from the right and left have gathered to push for smarter approaches to handling crime and punishment.
Police departments are notoriously reluctant to make data about officer behavior available for scrutiny by outsiders.
In the year since her arrest and death in Waller County, Sandra Bland has powered the push for criminal justice reforms in Texas.
After deputies were indicted last week for ordering the search of a woman's vagina for marijuana in public, it's safe to say Sheriff Ron Hickman's response was rather jarring.
Today the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition releases the first in a series of new studies that attempt to shed light on the use of civil asset forfeiture in Texas.
Jail is often called a revolving door, but now there's more hard evidence: Nearly half of Dallas County inmates are arrested again within three years of getting out, a new study says.
The 4th of July is a good time to remember what our Founders were fighting for. They inscribed our Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. Yet, in June 2016, the Texas Supreme Court said the government can take your possessions under Texas’ civil “asset forfeiture” law, even if government officials have no constitutional basis to search your home or car.
More than 90,000 fathers will be living in a Texas prison on Father’s Day this year.
More than 90,000 fathers will be living in a Texas prison on Father’s Day this year. Some of them will soon be coming home. The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition calls for changes that will give those families a fighting chance at success.
A coalition of 21 advocacy groups wants Dallas trustees to ban suspension of students in pre-K through second grade, according to a letter sent to the board Wednesday.
Next Thursday, June 9, City Council will once again take up the topic of body-worn cameras (BWCs) for the Austin Police Department. The topic was originally scheduled for May 19, but Council punted it in order for the city to have time to consider what was missing from APD's primary operating policy.
A new series of proposals from a state-wide public policy watchdog aims to clear up what appears to be ongoing confusion over when the public will be able to access Austin police body worn camera (BWC) videos and when people’s privacy will be protected.
As the Austin City Council gears up to decide Thursday whether to approve a contract that would equip the vast majority of police patrol officers with body cameras, several local organizations are calling on the Austin Police Department to clarify its policy regarding public access to the recordings.
A new system called "video visitation" is replacing in-person jail visits with glitchy, expensive Skype-like video calls. It's inhumane, dystopian and actually increases in-prison violence — but god, it makes money.
A new system called "video visitation" is replacing in-person jail visits with glitchy, expensive Skype-like video calls.
The revelation last week that payday lender ACE Cash Express is collecting for the Texas’ Driver Responsibility Program amounts to a double whammy for Texans who are struggling to keep their driver’s licenses, their vehicles and their jobs, critics say.