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
30 Years of Power Outages and Campaign Donations in Texas State officials funded by power companies have been warned, since at least 1989, that the power grid was at risk of failure in cold weather. They have consistently failed to act. Jerry Iannelli
COVID-19 is Spreading Faster Than Ever. Jail Populations are Surging, Too In many of America’s major cities, the early efforts to reduce incarceration during the pandemic have been reversed. 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
A Trumpist Texas Sheriff is Running for Congress. If He Wins, His Brother Might Take Over the Sheriff’s Office. Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls wants voters to send him to Congress despite his department’s history of jail deaths and allegations of racial-profiling. Jerry Iannelli
Four Austin Women Reported Their Sexual Assaults. But Police And Prosecutors Failed To Hold The Perpetrators Accountable. While a debate over defunding the police rages in Austin, a new lawsuit reminds its residents that assault cases in the city are routinely ignored. Jerry Iannelli
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
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
Courts Are Intervening to Dismantle Unjust Cash Bail Systems Across the U.S. A series of victories for advocates reflects a shift in the ‘popular narrative’ around bail. Kira Lerner
‘No Knock’ Warrants Spur Wave Of Civil Rights Lawsuits In Little Rock Police are accused of lying to obtain the warrants to conduct military-style raids on the homes of poor people and people of color. Joshua Vaughn
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 Cop Who Led Botched Drug Raid Overwhelmingly Arrested Black People After a drug bust involving Houston narcotics officer Gerald Goines turned deadly, questions are being raised about how he operated during his time on the force. Mike Hayes
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
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
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
Before Children’s Grisly Deaths, a Family Fought for Them and Lost The Hart family’s apparent murder-suicide drew headlines, but the path to the tragedy started much earlier—in Texas. Roxanna Asgarian
Houston Police officers will not be tried over invasive body cavity search of black woman Larry Hannan
