Tag: crime statistics

execution needle

The number of executions carried out in Texas has been declining at the same time as the rest of the nation. However, Texas still executes far more prisoners than any other state. When inmate Raphael Holiday was put to death last month, he was the 13th convicted killer to be executed in the state this…

juvenile justice

Jailing young people who pose a low risk to society is counterproductive and increases their risks of offending in the future, according to research from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Kathy Park, the Chief Executive Officer of NCCD, outlined her concerns that the juvenile justice system is letting down some young people in…

prison break

Recent headlines have been dominated by the escape of convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat from an upstate New York prison. Matt and Sweat’s escape was discovered during an early morning bed check at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. In order to make their escape, they slipped through holes and used power tools to…

graffiti

Gangs represent a “significant public safety threat” in Texas, and are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in many communities, a new report by the Department of Public Safety has concluded. The report says gang activity is particularly prevalent in West Texas close to the border with Mexico which has a major problem with…

sexual offense against children rates global

Child pornography charges are taken very seriously and dealt with by the federal authorities. We wrote about the difficulty of defending child pornography cases here. Recently, the Dallas Morning News reported on how a 38-year-old man from Little Elm was sentenced to federal prison on child pornography violations, according to a press release from the…

lethal injection room

When it comes to the ultimate punishment, Texas sets many unenviable benchmarks. Last month the state made headlines by executing a woman when it put Lisa Coleman to death. The Washington Post reported on how she was the ninth person executed by Texas in 2014. The Lone Star State has executed more people than any…

A summer of civil disturbance in Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer, appears to have had an effect on how the public view the criminal justice system. A recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found Americans of all backgrounds are more likely to see…