A 63-year old former emergency room doctor has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in a case which left his son dead of a prescription drug overdose. The details of the deal have been sealed, according to the Houston Chronicle, but he is said to face up to 15 years in prison for the charges against him. [Read more…]
Tarrant County Missing Millions in Bail Money
When you are charged with a crime, bail is a promise that you will return to court. You are asked for a certain amount of money in order to gain your pre-trial release. The thought is that you will return if there is a lot of money on the line. But, as the Star-Telegram shows in this report, the money or threat of further prosecution isn’t always enough to guarantee a return. [Read more…]
Texas Innocence Project Questions Accountability in Cases of Prosecutor Misconduct
The Innocence Project released a study on how prosecutors are held accountable for their misconduct. What they found is that they are largely not held accountable at all. With a growing number of people being exonerated by DNA evidence and numerous cases of wrongful convictions coming to light, the number of prosecutors being charged with misconduct is growing, but why isn’t the number being disciplined? [Read more…]
Texas Police to Carry “Safer” Tasers
Taser International, the company responsible for outfitting the nations cops with Tasers, has released its latest model, the X2, said to be a safer version of the older products. Fort Worth has recently made arrangements to outfit their officers with the X2 and Houston has purchased them as well. [Read more…]
Houston Businesses Being Held Responsible for Patron’s Criminal Behavior
The Harris County Attorney’s Office is using the civil courts to reduce crime in places of business that are known nuisances. In this way they are penalizing the business owners but allowing them to get their businesses in compliance rather than criminalizing them. Though not all business owners are convinced it’s a good move, their neighbors see otherwise. [Read more…]
Dallas County Jail Home To Mentally Ill
In an interesting piece for the Denton Record-Chronicle, Matt Roberts of Mental Health America of Greater Dallas is quoted as saying, “We’ve traded hospitals for jails.” He is referring to the fact that America’s jails are home to millions of mentally ill, people who may have been institutionalized 50 years ago, or receiving community-based treatment just a few decades ago. Now, however, those options aren’t on the table. [Read more…]
Great Texas Warrant Roundup Seeks Out Misdemeanor Offenders En Masse
Law enforcement officers all across the state are out seeking criminals on the lam. They are knocking on doors and arresting people who have failed to turn themselves in, sometimes for more than a year or two. But these offenders are not the dangerous sort you would expect to get this sort of attention, many of them are only wanted for failure to pay a traffic ticket. [Read more…]
Austin Crime Lab Faces Another Complaint
The Austin crime lab responsible for testing drugs is now facing its second formal complaint this year. This time, the complaint comes from another crime lab—something officials say is unheard of. [Read more…]
Houston Men Face Hate Crime Charges
Federal hate crime charges have been levied against four men following a brutal attack at a Houston bus stop. This case marks the first of its kind in the Houston area—where federal prosecutors have stepped in to file hate crime charges. The four white men were indicted this month, after the attack that occurred last summer. [Read more…]
Austin Crime Lab Scientist Fired, Files Complaints
Debra Stephens was fired from the Austin Police Department in April of last year. She says this firing was due to her whistleblowing on the lab, raising concerns with department officials last January. Now no longer employed with the lab, she has formally filed complaints with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. She says the lab does not perform quality work and should not be used for evidence testing. [Read more…]
