Tag: Criminal Charges
Coercing a student to consume alcohol or take drugs during initiations known as hazing, is linked to a steady stream of deaths in Texas. Legislation passed in 2019 toughened up the laws against hazing on state campuses. This month, the House Higher Education Committee met at the Capitol to discuss if the new legislation went…
Police in Texas have struggled since last year to arrest people for the possession of marijuana following the state legislature’s legalization of hemp. The process may become easier after March when new testing equipment will allow police to make the distinction between legal hemp and unlawful marijuana. Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey, who is a…
Increasing numbers of prisoners are spending long periods locked up alone in the United States. Experts say solitary confinement is putting severe psychological pressure on inmates and was likely linked to the death of a prisoner in Texas. Russell Johnson took his life after living in solitary confinement for over two-and-a-half years, the Texas Observer…
The decision of Texas lawmakers to legalize hemp last year had wide-ranging and unforeseen consequences. Although the legislation did not address marijuana, prosecutors started to drop hundreds of low-level marijuana possession charges. Now the City of Austin is considering its own solution by effectively decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot altogether. The Austin City…
Scammers who use false numbers to make calls are a daily annoyance for many people in Texas. Making spoof calls can now be an offense after two new bills were enacted in 2019. One of the new, little-known laws imposed civil penalties on telemarketers who violate the rules while the other imposed criminal penalties. State…
Hate crimes are rising in Texas and Dallas saw more than any other city in the state in 2018, according to recently-released figures. The Federal Bureau of Investigations’ statistics for 2018 showed the number of hate crimes committed in Texas rose by nearly 240% from 2017 to 2018. The figures in the Uniform Crime Prevention…
A few years ago, teens vaping was an alarming trend. Now vaping at their Texas schools could leave students facing felony charges. Schools are resorting to Draconian measures to deal with a dramatic rise in teen vaping. Some are using the criminal law to its full force. It’s an alarming development that could land some…
Homicides in Dallas are on course to hit a 10-year high by the year’s end, sparking a demand by Mayor Eric Johnson for a plan to cut violent offenses. The Dallas Morning News reported Mayor Eric Johnson wrote a letter to City Manager T.C Broadnax highlighting the stark rise in violent crime in the Dallas…
Texas has made moves to reduce its massive prison population in recent years. Some experts say the state’s reforms don’t go far enough as prisons struggle with rising health care costs associated with older inmates. Texas Department of Criminal Justice revealed the cost of prison health care rose more than 50% over the last seven…
The case of Rodney Reed, a Texas man facing execution, has made headlines across the nation in recent weeks as millions of people signed online petitions calling for the courts to take another look at the case. Texas’ highest criminal court halted Reed’s execution on Nov. 15, sending the case back to the trial court…