Left to die : Therapists say Texas sex offender treatment program too often fails on purpose
FacebookTwitterEmail
Steve Gonzales, Staff / Houston Chronicle
Texas’s civil commitment program for sexually violent offenders has earned a reputation as an unforgiving place. Much of that is by design.
Each of the 378 men in it has already served his full prison term, some 20 years or longer. After their sentences were up, Texas evaluated them as too likely to re-offend, however, so they were ordered kept locked up indefinitely until ready to rejoin the free world. Their average age is nearing 60.
The program’s sole facility, a collection of low buildings and temporary trailers, sits amid fields on the outskirts of the rural Panhandle community of Littlefield surrounded by two razor-wire-topped fences. Buildings are locked and outfitted with security cameras. Even so, many residents must also wear GPS ankle monitors.
No meaningful relief : Harris County trials plunge from 1,600 a year to 52 since COVID
FacebookTwitterEmail
1of9
Harris County Judge Rabeea Sultan Collier wears a face shield and sits behind a plexiglass wall as the jurors sit in the gallery during a jury trial in the 113th court Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Houston.Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
2of9
Attorney Claire Parsons wears a mask as she directs her defendant to a chair in Harris County Judge Rabeea Sultan Collier s courtroom Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Houston.Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
3of9
4of9
Attorney Randy Sorrels (left) wears a mask and Attorney Kent Adams wears a face shield in Harris County Judge Rabeea Sultan Collier s courtroom Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Houston.Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
Buc-ee s might not be as beloved as we all thought
FacebookTwitterEmail
King Buc-ee is having some issues expanding his kingdom.
North Carolinians in the tiny town of Efland in Orange County feared the planned Buc-ee s would worsen traffic congestion, pollute a protected watershed, and offend aesthetic sensitivities. A whole group of irate citizens formed A Voice 4 Efland & Orange to oppose the 64,000-square-foot convenience store with sixty gas pumps and a 250-foot car wash.
“A lot of it goes to the identity of this county, and that’s not a massive eighty-foot bucktooth beaver sign with billboards saying ‘LOL, It’s Party Time.’ It’s quite frankly tacky,” Voice 4 Efland member Del Ward told Solomon.
Buc-ee s might not be as beloved as we all thought - Laredo Morning Times lmtonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Greentown Labs gains support in guiding Houston to cleaner future
FacebookTwitterEmail
1of3
Greentown Labs CEO Emily Reichert (left) gives Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner a tour of the Greentown Labs Houston, the local branch of the Massachusetts-based clean-energy incubator, that will be in the renovated old Fiesta grocery store in Midtown Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Houston.Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
2of3
A sign in Greentown Labs Houston gives highlights of construction that is underway Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Houston.Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
3of3
As Houston, the world’s longtime energy capital, tries to maintain its crown during the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy, Greentown Labs is offering an increasingly stronger push.