texas
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White Judge Sentenced to Probation for Election Fraud in Same County Where Black Woman Received 5 Years
Right now, there is a black woman sitting in prison, reading about a Texas judge who was found guilty of the same crime she committed. She probably noticed that the judge was sentenced to five years’ probation in the same county that sentenced her to five years in jail. More than likely, she also noticed…
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Could You List the ‘Positive Aspects’ of Slavery? A Teacher Asked 8th-Graders to Do So
Students at a Texas charter school recently received a homework assignment that asked them to list both the “positive aspects” and the “negative aspects” of slavery. Eighth-grade students at Great Hearts Monte Vista Charter School in San Antonio were given a worksheet titled, “The Life of Slaves: A Balanced View.” A mother posted the worksheet…
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‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time for This’: Former Houston 911 Operator Jailed for Hanging Up on Emergency Callers
A former 911 operator in Houston received jail time this week after being found guilty of hanging up on thousands of emergency calls, including ones for homicides and robberies, during her time as a dispatcher. On Wednesday, a jury found 44-year-old Crenshanda Williams guilty of interfering with emergency telephone calls, a misdemeanor charge. As a…
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Devonte Hart’s Biological Aunt Fought for Custody and Was Denied: Report
In 2010, a Texas appeals court turned down an attempt by Devonte Hart’s biological aunt to adopt him and three of his siblings. The court ruled against her because she had violated an order that prevented the kids from having any contact with their mother. Court records obtained by The Oregonian show that Priscilla Celestine,…
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Ethan Couch, ‘Affluenza Teen’ Who Killed 4 While Driving Drunk, Set to Be Released From Jail
The infamous “affluenza teen,” who killed four people in Texas while driving drunk in 2013 when he was 16, is scheduled to be released from jail Monday, a few days before his 21st birthday, after serving nearly two years in prison. About five years ago, Ethan Couch’s case made national headlines after his lawyers bizarrely…
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Texas Woman Gets 5 Years in Prison for Casting an Illegal Ballot in 2016 Election
A Texas woman on supervised release from a tax-fraud conviction will lose her freedom once again—this time for casting an illegal ballot in the 2016 election. A judge handed 43-year-old Crystal Mason a five-year sentence on Wednesday for casting a ballot before completing the full term of her sentence, including the supervised release, for a…
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Say Their Names: The Father and the Musician Whose Lives Were Cut Short by the Austin, Texas, Bomber
Much of the headlines in the past week concerning the bombings in Austin, Texas, have focused on bomber Mark Conditt and the terror he inflicted. And rightly so—as Austin officials reckon with Conditt’s motivations and techniques, the rest of the country is having a much-needed conversation (though one too often repeated) about who gets to…
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Package Bomb, Believed to Be Destined for Austin, Detonates at Texas FedEx Facility
Updated Tuesday, March 20, 2018, 3:07 p.m. EDT: Apparently there is no second device after all. On Tuesday morning, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said that there was a second, unexploded device found at the Schertz, Texas, FedEx location after a first bomb went off. A spokesperson for the department later backtracked, saying that…
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4th Package Explodes in Austin, Texas, Leaving 2 Injured
Another package exploded in Austin, Texas, Sunday, leaving two men injured and putting the city further on edge. It marked the fourth time this month that a package left somewhere exploded, as Austin police continued to work with the public in investigating three previous deadly explosions. According to the Washington Post, the fourth package bomb…