Looking back at some of the best Texas Tribune reads of 2023
Our journalists brought life to the experiences of everyday Texans, held powerful institutions accountable and surfaced stories that went beyond the daily news cycles. Full Story
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Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Feds sue Colony Ridge developer, accusing it of preying on Latino homebuyers
Federal authorities accused the Houston-area developer of targeting Latino home buyers with predatory loans and false promises. The housing development drew the attention of state lawmakers after right-wing publications claimed it is a magnet for undocumented immigrants. Full Story
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![An overhead view of the Colony Ridge development on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in New Caney, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Year after year, most Texas police departments report zero hate crimes. Here’s why.
A Texas Tribune analysis of hate crime data found that 82% of Texas law enforcement agencies that report to the FBI tracked no hate crimes last year. However, one suburban North Texas police agency is creating a new model of collecting hate crime data. Full Story
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![Bertha Germany at her home in Texarkana, Texas on Friday November 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Lawrence Jenkins for The Texas Tribune -
Three court of criminal appeal judges up for reelection targeted by Ken Paxton’s political revenge machine
Paxton promised to go after the Republican judges over their 2021 ruling that struck down the attorney general’s ability to unilaterally prosecute voter fraud. Full Story
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![From left: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Michelle Slaughter, Judge Barbara Hervey and Presiding Judge Sharon Keller.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
As suicide rate increases, gun safety advocates call for more firearm regulations
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed a new record for people using firearms in suicides. Texas gun safety and mental health advocates say the report highlights a need for gun laws the state does not have. Full Story
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Credit: Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune -
McKinney state Rep. Frederick Frazier pleads no contest to charges he impersonated a public servant
Frazier was indicted in June 2022 on two charges of impersonating a public servant, a felony offense. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges as part of a plea agreement. Full Story
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![State Rep. Frederick Frazier, R-McKinney, on the House floor during Sine Die of the 88th Texas Legislative Session, at the Capitol in Austin, on May 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde shooting shows contrast in preparedness between students and police
Across the country, states require more training to prepare students and teachers for mass shootings than for those expected to protect them. The differences were clear in Uvalde, where children and officers waited on opposite sides of the door. Full Story
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![Collage by ProPublica. Body camera stills obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Collage by ProPublica. Body camera stills obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
Why we’re publishing never-reported details of the Uvalde school shooting before state investigators
Over a year after the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the community still doesn’t know what went wrong. It’s a key reason we’re publishing findings based on a trove of raw materials investigators have yet to release. Full Story
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![The logos of The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE.]()
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DA drops most charges against Austin police officers accused of excessive force in 2020 protests
The Travis County district attorney still plans to pursue criminal charges in four cases. The officers whose cases are being dismissed will be allowed to return to duty. Full Story
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![Demonstrators gather outside Austin Police headquarters for another night of protest against police violence towards people of color, in Austin on June 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
New Uvalde school shooting documentary and investigation reveal details of law enforcement’s flawed response
The “Inside the Uvalde Response” film and related reporting by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE analyze one of the most criticized mass shooting responses in recent history and show real-time insight into officers’ thoughts and actions. Full Story
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![A Texas Highway Patrol trooper behind Robb Elementary School in Uvalde May 25, 2022, one day after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre /The New York Times -
DPS appeal halts release of Uvalde shooting records ordered by Texas judge
The files would shed light on the disastrous police response that day, in which officers waited more than an hour to confront the shooter after learning he had an AR-15 style rifle. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety officers guard the scene at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Marco Bello -
How one man's open records obsession sparked a fight over transparency and power in East Texas
Once a tool of journalists and concerned citizens to hold government accountable, open records requests have been increasingly used by political opponents and conspiracy theorists to slow down the pace of government. Full Story
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![David Stua in front of the Angelina County Court House in Lufkin on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Joel Andrews for The Texas Tribune -
Texas executes David Renteria for 2001 murder of El Paso girl
Renteria’s attorneys unsuccessfully argued that the El Paso District Attorney’s Office violated his constitutional rights by not releasing all documents in his case. He was the eight person executed in Texas in 2023. Full Story
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![The execution chamber seen from one of two witness viewing rooms at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Huntsville Unit.]()
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Mexico “rejects” Texas’ proposal to allow state police to deport undocumented immigrants
Mexico said Texas’ Senate Bill 4 will violate the human rights of Mexican immigrants living in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott said he plans to sign the proposal into law. Full Story
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![Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena speaks during a press conference after attending a summit of leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean in the southern city of Palenque looking to broker accords to curb a recent jump in migrants bound for the U.S. border, in Palenque, México on Oct. 22, 2023.]()
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Lubbock voters will decide whether to decriminalize marijuana in 2024
Voters in several Texas cities have sought to decriminalize marijuana. However, their efforts have been met by reluctant city councils that say they can’t go against state law. Full Story
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![A shirt promotes the legalization of marijuana in Lubbock at the South Plains Fair in Lubbock on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas inmate Syed Rabbani taken off death row after original appeal was left pending for decades
A prosecutor called delays in Rabbani’s long-standing appeal “a due process disaster.” Full Story
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![Joshua Reiss, a division chief with the Harris County District Attorney's Office, at right, hands Judge Lori Chambers Gray a copy of Syed Rabbani’s original trail transcript during a hearing for Rabbani at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Houston. Rabbani was issued the death sentence in 1988 after a jury found Rabbani guilty of killing a fellow Bangladeshi immigrant, 28-year-old Mohammed Hasan, at a Houston convenience store. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing)]()
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Texas executes Brent Brewer, who spent three decades on death row, for murder of Amarillo man
Brewer lost a clemency appeal earlier this week, despite one of his jurors pleading that his life be spared and an expert witness’ methods put into question. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to pause Brewer’s execution Thursday afternoon to hear arguments about the “junk science” used against him. Full Story
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![A still of Brent Brewer from a video provided by his attorneys.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Attorneys for Brent Brewer -
Nate Paul, the businessman at the center of Ken Paxton’s impeachment, charged with four new federal crimes
During the impeachment trial, whistleblowers testified they believed Paul to be a criminal and were concerned that Paxton was essentially turning the keys of the office over to him. Full Story
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![Nate Paul is the CEO of World Class, a real estate holding company.]()
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U.S. Supreme Court hears Texas case about whether domestic violence suspects can be banned from having guns
The high court heard arguments in the case brought by Zackey Rahimi, who went on a shooting spree after being placed under a domestic violence protective order. Rahimi argues that his constitutional right to bear arms was violated. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Harris County judge sides with Ken Paxton’s prosecutors over pay dispute in securities fraud case
Judge Andrea Beall ruled Tuesday that the prosecutors, Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, are owed the $300-an-hour rate by the county that they were promised when they started on the case in 2015. Full Story
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![Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, special prosecutors in the Ken Paxton security fraud case, talk to the media at the Harris County Courthouse in Houston on Aug. 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune