Criminal Justice

KERA's Ed Timms says five Texas cities are being sued by the Texas Attorney General's Office for decriminalizing marijuana. And according to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, the Giles W. Dalby Correctional Facility has fixed most of its state violations but still has some work to do to get back in compliance.

More than 2,000 examples of abuse, assaults, and other dangerous incidents were reported in the past three years for foster kids staying in taxpayer-funded hotels and leases. Texas Public Radio’s Paul Flahive has more on documents discussed in federal court this week. KERA's Miranda Suarez reports a state watchdog found medical neglect and other violations at the Dalby facility, a private prison southeast of Lubbock that houses Tarrant County inmates.

Referred to as a “shovel-ready project” by officials during the vote to approve funding two months ago, the ground has been formally broken on the $45 million medical examiner's facilities for Lubbock County. And Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies has more on an article investigating the death of a Lulling woman who died in an Austin hospital two weeks after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

County Judge Curtis Parrish has referred to the medical examiner's facilities as a “shovel-ready project,” with months of planning already taken care of and construction intended to be finished in early 2026.

It’s Election Day in Texas, and Lubbock County voters are deciding on a proposed bond for new “state-of-the-art” medical examiner’s facilities, designed to end outsourced autopsy contracts and change a yearslong problematic reputation that has kept qualified pathologists away.

Reporter Bishop Van Buren has more on Lubbock Representative Jodey Arrington's decision in an historic vote from the U.S. Congress. And KERA's Miranda Suarez reports on Tarrant County's approval of a $22.5 million contract to house inmates in a prison outside Lubbock.

A Tarrant County Jail detainee who was housed under contract at the nearby Dalby facility in Garza County has died in custody. KERA's Paul DeBenedetto reports the unidentified man was one of hundreds of people transferred because of overcrowding.

After nearly 200 years of service, the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency names its first female major. As jury selection begins today, KERA's Toluwani Osibamowo reports on the murder trial of a 15-year-old who allegedly shot and killed a fellow student at his Arlington high school in March.

Lubbock's City Council held the first read of the new budget in Tuesday’s special meeting. Our reporter Brad Burt has more on their vote for a higher tax rate and lower storm water drainage rates. KERA's Toluwani Osibamowo reports EMS workers tracked a jump in hospitalizations for breathing problems in August, but experts say the triple-digit temperatures aren't the only cause for concern.

Reporter Brad Burt has more on a possible hike in Lubbock County’s property taxes, while two more contracts were authorized to house inmates out of the county. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider tells us about one of the key issues going into the Senate impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.