Houston’s Drug Busts Have a Clear Target: People of Color Two years’ worth of data shows how disproportionately the city’s police and prosecutors target certain neighborhoods. Jerry Iannelli
During the Pandemic, Houston Cops Went Undercover and Arrested a Homeless Man Over 0.6 Grams of Meth As Texas lifts its COVID-19 restrictions, the city’s jail remains overcrowded and its police and prosecutors continue to operate as normal. Jerry Iannelli
‘No Beds Left’: Houston’s Jail is a COVID-19 Superspreader On Tuesday, Harris County Commissioners will decide if the D.A. and Sheriff will get more money to continue their neglect in the face of a public-health crisis. Jerry Iannelli
Reformer Ed Gonzalez Wins Second Term As Harris County Sheriff Houston area voters re-elected Gonzalez after he supported bail reform, cleaned up the county jail, and provided aid to incarcerated people living with opioid use disorder. Jerry Iannelli
The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko
Did Misconduct By A Rogue DEA Agent Nicknamed ‘White Devil’ Result In A Wrongful Conviction In A Houston Homicide? Lamar Burks has maintained his innocence for nearly 25 years in a murder case that has been marked by conflicting eyewitness accounts and the conviction of a DEA agent on corruption charges. Mike Hayes
Houston Police Chief’s Speeches Supporting Protesters Were Widely Circulated—But Video Proves His Officers Cracked Down on Them Videos contradict officers’ claims that they didn’t ‘kettle’ protesters. Jerry Iannelli
What Sheriffs Can Do To Slow the Coronavirus Outbreak Sheriffs wield enormous power, and they can direct it in ways that will help contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect incarcerated people. Jessica Pishko
Critics Of Progressive Judges Find A Willing Ally In Local Newsrooms With few exceptions, news outlets in Harris County, Texas, spotlight singular instances of crime to allege that legal reform policy is a threat to the public. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg Wins Democratic Primary She withstood challenges from two of her former assistant district attorneys who wanted to reform the office and reduce prosecutions of low-level offenses. Jay Willis
What Kim Ogg Gets Wrong About Work, Poverty, and Crime The attitude behind the Harris County district attorney’s message to ‘put down your gun and pick up an employment application’ is outdated. Jessica Pishko
Bernie Sanders Endorses Audia Jones for Harris County D.A. Jones is challenging incumbent Kim Ogg in the 2020 election. Jay Willis
Harris County D.A.’s Office Dropped Theft Case After Defense Attorney Alleged Race-Based Jury Selection A Texas judge approved a Batson motion, then overruled it. But a transcript shows that a Black man was struck unfairly, the attorney said. Aaron Morrison
Harris County D.A. Candidate Audia Jones Says She Won’t Prosecute Sex Work The incumbent in the race, Jones’s former boss Kim Ogg, will not support a blanket refusal to prosecute sex workers, her office says. Kira Lerner
Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg Didn’t Deliver On Her Promise Of Reform. Now Another One Of Her Former Prosecutors Is Running Against Her. Carvana Cloud, until recently the chief of the Special Victims Bureau, is entering the race to unseat her former boss. Roxanna Asgarian
Harris County D.A. Seeks Execution of Intellectually Disabled Man, Lawyer Says Kim Ogg ran as a reform-minded district attorney candidate, but her office has sought two death warrants for Dexter Johnson, whose lawyer says cannot name everyday objects and has an IQ of 70. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
When Cops Lie, Should Prosecutors Rely Upon Their Testimony At Trial? In California, Texas and Florida, advocates sent letters to district attorneys, demanding that they refuse to work with officers with histories of misconduct. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Data Raises Questions About Harris County D.A.’s Push for More Lawyers Records show Kim Ogg’s office appeared to misrepresent felony prosecutor caseloads in its $21 million budget request. Keri Blakinger
Houston Homicide Under New Scrutiny After Misconduct Allegations About DEA Agent Emerge In 2000, Lamar Burks was convicted of murder and given a 70-year sentence. But the federal indictment of a DEA agent and witnesses who say Burks is innocent have raised new questions about his case. Mike Hayes
In Texas, D.A. Who Promised Reform Now Faces Challenge From The Left Audia Jones pledges to tackle ‘brokenness in the system’ by unseating Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. Roxanna Asgarian
D.A. Who Ran as a Reformer Says She Needs 100 More Prosecutors ‘How are we making sure that we’re not just building and building a system that we know is not necessarily effective?’ Roxanna Asgarian
Moving Away From ‘Jail for Everybody’ Harris County Judge Darrell Jordan discusses his newly elected colleagues’ decision to withdraw an appeal of a landmark bail reform lawsuit. Roxanna Asgarian
The ‘Failure to Appear’ Fallacy Prosecutors denounce bail reform efforts when people miss court dates, but ‘failure to appear’ rates obscure the fact that many who miss court aren’t on the run. Puck Lo, Ethan Corey
Harris County Judges May Face a Reckoning Over Bail On Election Day Republican misdemeanor judges in Houston have clung to an unconstitutional bail system. But their intransigence could cost them their seats. Maura Ewing
Cash Bail Yields A New Casualty A Texas jail suicide involving a woman who couldn’t make bail in a shoplifting case highlights of the plight of pretrial detainees with mental illness. Lauren Gill
Harris County D.A. Ran as a Reformer. So Why is She Pushing High Bail for Minor Offenses? An email obtained by The Appeal shows Kim Ogg’s office is intentionally asking for unaffordable bail amounts to hold certain people in jail in Texas. Alex Hannaford
Underage teenager faces life as registered sex offender for having sex with underage girlfriend Larry Hannan
