Texas District Attorney, CCA races and the future of Texas criminal-justice reform
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
3w ago
The ouster of Kim Ogg in Houston and the re-election of José Garza in Austin -- coupled with the ouster of 3 members of the Government Always Wins faction on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -- signal a sea change in criminal-justice reform politics in Texas compared to a decade ago. Increasingly, Democrats in Texas' largest counties favor reform and in both Harris and Travis made decisive choices for progressive candidates. This is a big switch from just a few cycles ago (e.g., when Kim Ogg herself was puzzlingly touted as a "progressive"). Meanwhile, Ken Paxton's slate of candidates who o ..read more
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What was that guy's name again? Attacks on a progressive DA by a philistine
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
1M ago
An old-school tough-on-crime campaign has been launched in the Travis County Democratic primary by Some Guy I've Never Heard Of named Jeremy Silverbelly, or Silverspoon, or something. To be honest. I never can remember his name. He's just the guy a bunch of Republican donors picked to try to oust José Garza.  In the interest of full disclosure, I've been paid a small sum to help Garza's campaign with political messaging. But long-time Grits readers will be aware that my interest in supporting him goes beyond the financial. Polls mostly show Austinites feel safe and one only need go downto ..read more
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Icarus in Heels and Fur: A Murder Mystery
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
2M ago
My next neighborhood history zine, Icarus in Heels and Fur, comes out February 22nd. Without exaggeration, I think it may be the best thing I've ever written. Pre-order here. This one is essentially a noir murder mystery from the 1940s: When, after her husband's murder, a petite but ruthless widow builds a thriving nightclub empire in 1940s Austin, her roller coaster of bebop-era decadence, ambition, and danger climaxes in a sordid, unsolved murder, leaving her young lover on trial for his life. Cover art by Lakeem Wilson The central character, Vera Barton, more or less put the f ..read more
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Six observations and a question
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
2M ago
My mind has only partially been on anything criminal-justice related, lately, as I finished up the second of my little neighborhood history zines (pre-sale coming soon), and settled back in to Austin routines during the holiday season, after 4.5 months in Mexico. But as 2024 unfolds, here are six observations and a question. I was never a great fan of the "progressive prosecutor" movement, both from a conceptual and a strategic perspective. Conceptually, I believe the prosecutor's role is inherently regressive. Their only power -- to seek state punishment for rule violators -- is a regressive ..read more
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New Year Check In: Anyone still out there?
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
2M ago
Having taken all of 2023 off, my spouse absolving me of all income generation responsibilities for the year, I left this humble blog to lie fallow, checking in only to promote other interests. I still don't know what the future holds for this lowly opuscule, but having had multiple reporters seeking me out since I got back from Mexico (mid-December), all asking what's being missed now that Keri Blakinger and Jolie McCollough are no longer working the Texas justice beat, I thought I'd say to y'all what I've been saying to them: The vast scope of Operation Lone Star is a game changer. The annual ..read more
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Congressman headlining Grits' zine launch event
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
9M ago
For folks in Austin, please come to Grits' zine launch Sunday, July 23rd, from 2-4 p.m.. We're going to record interviews w/ me and others by Congressman Greg Casar about the zine topic (the history of a neighborhood grocery store 2 blocks from my house that turns 100 years old this year) and publish it afterward as a podcast. Event is at: Community Garden wine bar Hudspeth's Corner 1401 Cedar Ave., Austin, 78702 (between 12th and MLK, in East Austin) The zine essentially takes the same investigative reporting skills Grits readers have seen me exercise on this blog for two decades, and appli ..read more
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Pre-order Grits' new micro-history zine
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
9M ago
With the paltry rate of posting on Grits, you might have thought I was no longer writing. But I'm pleased to announce a new zine I've been working on over the past couple of years: A micro-history of a small, 100-year-old neighborhood grocery store 2 blocks from my home, in a shopping center dubbed Hudspeth's Corner. (This is the cover art, above, by the wonderful Lakeem Wilson.) No one living knew the site's origins, but it's a decidedly epic tale of the rise and fall of a segregation-era black family business. The saga, spanning 5 generations, provides a  unique window into the hist ..read more
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Near race war in 1868 Houston led to ban on carrying firearms for self-protection
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
1y ago
I.C. Lord was the City Marshal in Houston following the Civil War who is credited with turning the Houston Police Department into a modern police agency, with uniforms, ranks, and patrol beats. I'd seen references to him being shot in 1868 in an episode of civil unrest by Houston freedmen, but until today hadn't ever seen the backstory.  It turns out, if this contemporary press account is to be believed, Lord's injuries resulted from unusual episode involved a black lynch mob trying to break a black alleged murderer out of jail to hang him. This resulted in a tense standoff between armed ..read more
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Jeff Blackburn Memorial Comments
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
1y ago
On Saturday, per his request, I spoke at Jeff Blackburn's memorial service about our work together in the aftermath of the Tulia drug stings and at the Innocence Project of Texas; here's what I said. Below my comments, I've compiled links to a guest post by Jeff and various interviews with him on this blog over the years, if only for my own selfish purposes: It was nice to turn on a couple this morning and hear the sound of his nasally, flat, Panhandle drawl. They broke the mold after Jeff Blackburn and I probably will never stop missing him. Rest in Power, brother. *** For the first year or ..read more
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Texas prison baseball league was shockingly well-developed
Grits for Breakfast
by Gritsforbreakfast
1y ago
While I've been away from the blog recently, much of my time has been spent on a side project researching negro-league baseball in Texas, exhuming the Austin Black Senators' history from the fog of segregation and media bias. But in Texas, everything comes back to the justice system, and baseball historian Bill Staples, Jr. schooled me today on an aspect of the Texas prison system I never knew about: It used to have its own baseball league! Every unit fielded teams which played in an annual, 14-week pennant race.  Baseball leagues 70 years ago were referred to as "loops," and according to ..read more
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