Sunday, April 28th, 2013
House Bill 166, Which Addresses Wrongful Convictions, Passes Texas House
On Wednesday, the Texas House of Representatives passed House Bill 166 which addresses the growing trend of wrongful convictions in Texas. Named after Timothy Cole who served 13 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, the “Tomothy Cole Exoneration Review Commission” is a nine-member commission which investigates wrongful convictions for the purpose of singling out the core causes of exonerations. The goal of the commission is to identify problems in the criminal justice system and patterns of prosecutorial misconduct. Research shows that the number of wrongfulRead More
Texas Republicans Lobby to Keep Prisons Open, Purchase New One Despite Declining Prison Population
A group of Republican House members is pushing to keep open three prisons, one which is empty. At issues is the Mineral Wells and Dallas facilities. The state currently has 12,000 empty prison beds and a declining prison population. Separately, the group of Republicans is pushing to purchase a 1,100-bed facility located in Jones County the state encouraged the county to build before the prison population started declining. Supporters of the moves are citing extenuating circumstances such as jobs, economic development, contingency planning, and state contractual obligations. Critics sayRead More