Reasonably Suspicious

We started with a discussion of the hearing on the Texas George Floyd Act and then broke down aspects of the bill we didn't get to in Part One:

1. Qualified Immunity, featuring interviews with Arif Panju and Keith Neely from the Institute for Justice (4:50)

2. Corroboration in Drug Cases, featuring an interview with Innocence Project of Texas founder Jeff Blackburn (13:45)

3. Use of Force and Duties to Intervene/Render Aid (19:29)

When is Slavery Profitable? Texas prisons operate several agricultural businesses in which they can't break even using prisoners' slave labor. Can you guess which ones they are? (27:40)

Texas Law of Parties: Mandy wrote a report on the topic earlier this year for the Texas Public Policy Foundation and we go through the details. (37:45)

Suspicious Mysteries: Traffic enforcement in Texas has plummeted over the last decade but road safety remains un-affected. What's going on? (47:24)

As jury selection begins in the trial of Derek Chauvin, here in Texas lawmakers will soon take up the Texas George Floyd Act and co-hosts Scott Henson and Amanda Marzullo are rolling out the first in a two part series on this bill and police reform. We interviewed bill author, Chairwoman Senfronia Thompson and Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee Chairman James White and discuss the Class C arrest limitation in light of the recent Keller, Tx incident.

Chairman White, whose committee oversees the Texas Department of Public Safety, also took a moment to discuss Gov. Greg Abbott's suggestion that DPS "colonize" the Austin Police Department, in his words. Austin folks will want to hear this.(35:58)

In further news, Appropriations and Senate Finance have been meeting for weeks, and we interview Anthony Graves on the need for investment in basics like food for those behind bars.

Scott Henson discusses recent police budget changes in Austin with Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition, a conversation that surfaces some telling details about the history of policing in Texas.

This month, Mandy and I discuss how police licensing agencies can weed out bad cops, what 911 calls EMS could take over from police, and unveil a new jingle from Just Liberty and the Austin Justice Coalition aiming to oust Austin police Chief Brian Manley. Here's what's in this month's episode:

Top Stories

Police licensing agency in Texas undergoing comprehensive review: How to fix it. (2:50)

EMS union head tells how police responses to 911 calls can be reduced: Analyzing Austin 911 call-center data. (12:17)

New jingle from Just Liberty, Austin Justice Coalition, calls for Austin police chief's ouster. (23:25)

Something, Nothing, or Everything?

Reviewing new Texas public opinion polling on criminal-justice topics. (31:07)

Progressive challenger Jose Garza defeats incumbent Margaret Moore in Travis County District Attorney primary runoff. (35:15)

Audit of Houston PD Narcotics Division finally released (38:23)

The Last Hurrah (47:45)

5 years since Sandra Bland's death: What's next?

Texas and feds both resumed executions: Feds are a bigger deal.

San Antonio PD can't fire bad cops: 70% of terminated officers get back on the force.

Join us for a roundup of topics related to the continuing police protests, the policies and laws that are supposed to keep police in line, and the people who are trying to figure out how to change things.

Top story: Reflecting on the George Floyd protests, including an interview with Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition.

Fill in the Blank

Was George Floyd set up by a crooked Houston narcotics cop?

The policy behind the slogan of "Defunding Police"

Texas' anachronistic "riot" laws

The Last Hurrah

Cops in schools

How cops spend their time

How does Austin police Chief Brian Manley still have a job?

How bad must a police chief be for community groups to call for the ouster of public safety leadership during COVID-19? Very bad indeed.

Meanwhile, virus spreads in Texas prisons and jails with tens of thousands on lockdown.

Ongoing coverage of the fight to free Rosa Jimenez, Joe Bryan and the dozens of people convicted thanks to corrupt Houston police officer Gerald Goines.

While Just Mercy launches with huge fanfare and forums all around the state this month, two Texas innocence cases languish. Despite a dressing down by a federal judge (we recorded it for you)Travis County DA Margaret Moore can't accept the decision of four judges and several experts in the Rosa Jimenez case. Meanwhile, the Texas parole board is the last hope for Joe Bryan, the Bosque County school principal falsely convicted in 1985 based on erroneous blood-spatter testimony.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals says Texas prison guards couldn't have known it was a problem to keep a prisoner naked sleeping in feces and urine for six days. (And really, how could anyone have guessed?) Police practices back in the news, thanks in part to a feisty Travis County primary.

Enjoy Grits' Christmas Poem: "If The Whos Were Us"

Top Stories

Why high fines and fees are a plague on the criminal-justice system.

What recent Texas innocent cases tell us about needed policy reforms.

Year in Review: Fill in the Blank

Bail reform in Harris County

Abolition of the Driver Responsibility surcharge

Texas Legislature unintentionally decriminalizes marijuana

More prosecutors going after cops in police shootings

The Last Hurrah

Care for seniors makes up half of Texas prison health budget

Prison supervisor busted in contraband scheme

How Potter County lost ALL its historic criminal-court data to a ransomware attack and what it means

Houston drug cops now facing federal and state charges, but that may be the tip of the iceburg. Houston PD narcotics division a black hole of bad practices.

In other news...

Victoria County Jail death from drug withdrawal

Racist Austin PD chief outed, what's next?

Indigent defense shortchanged in Amarillo

Denouement of Harris County bail litigation

Why Greg Abbott owns a homeless camp

Rodney Reed execution stayed

This month, my cohost Amanda Marzullo and I interviewed attorneys for Rodney Reed, who is on death row with an execution date of November 20th. We plumbed unknowable but interesting questions about misdemeanor arrests, discussed the sad, grim, story of Atatiana Jefferson's shooting in Fort Worth, and complained that the time spent reading and talking about a new ACLU report on how to end mass incarceration is time we'll never get back again. But hey, now you don't have to! :)

Top Stories

First takes on the Atatiana Jefferson shooting in Fort Worth (2:34)

Evaluating ACLU decarceration recommendations for Texas (8:34)

Interview

This month, Mandy and I spoke to Bryce Benjet of the national Innocence Project and Quinncy McNeal of Mayer Brown in Houston on the Rodney Reed case. Reed is scheduled to be executed on November 20th. (14:38) This is excerpted from a longer conversation. I'll publish the full interview, which goes into more detail about debunked forensic testimony in the case, separately in a couple of days.

Suspicious Mysteries

Why have misdemeanor arrests declined? Why didn't they decline earlier when crime first dropped? What do we really know about why crime dropped or the relationship between crime and arrests? Mandy and I discuss some known unknowns. (27:15)

The Last Hurrah (36:40)

Hard to reprimand Texas judges

Years-long backlogs at crime labs

Message sent by jury in prison-guard murder trial