AG opinion: Perry likely could pardon wrongly convicted deceased Timothy Cole
Gov. Rick Perry likely has the authority to grant a posthumous pardon to Timothy Cole, who died in prison after being convicted of a rape he didn’t commit, according to an opinion released today by...
View ArticleGov. Perry ready to pardon Timothy Cole
Now that a legal opinion by Attorney General Greg Abott has paved the way for him to pardon Timothy Cole, who was wrongly convicted and died in prison, Gov. Rick Perry issued this statement: “I’m...
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Chairman irked that prosecutor urged arson expert not to attend hearing;...
House Criminal Jurisprudence Chairman Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, is miffed that the new chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission advised one of Gallego’s invited witnesses not so show up for a...
View ArticleState judicial commission will get earful on the Keller case June 18
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct set a June 18 hearing in the continuing case of Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Keller was accused of bringing “public...
View ArticleThe Midnight Special
This isn’t really about Texas politics, unless you consider the song Midnight Special made famous by Texas-reared bluesman Leadbelly when he recorded it at Angola prison in Louisiana, or unless you...
View ArticleSharon Keller: the saga continues
Looks like it’s not quite over yet for Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. A judicial panel earlier this month tossed out a public warning issued against Keller by the...
View ArticleThe correctionists
Two Texas lawmakers who tackled correctional reforms are among Governing magazine’s 2010 Public Officials of the Year. Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, and House...
View ArticleThe First Word: Swashbuckling
On this day — Senate committees will be named, fallout (I really need a new descriptor) from the budget continues to spread and the Travis County DA continues to probe into double-dipping by...
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Whitmire: ‘Enough is enough’ on last meals for death-row inmates
Photo by Nolan Hicks, Houston Chronicle Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, wants to end the practice of providing death-row inmates with whatever they’d like for their...
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Law enforcement groups back Dewhurst
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (AP photo) AUSTIN — Is Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst the “No. 1 pick of all the law enforcement agencies in Texas” after all? Maybe. Dewhurst’s re-election campaign announced a slate...
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