Innocence Lost

On October 27, 2010, just a month after the publication of this story, the Burleson County district attorney’s office dropped all murder charges against Anthony Graves and released him from the county jail, where he was awaiting retrial.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Oct 1, 2010
Length: 57 minutes (14,450 words)

Patient Observation

I had a perfectly normal childhood in Wichita Falls, a place Advertising Age once called the most average city in America. But I didn’t truly understand where I was from until I stepped inside the gates of the local state hospital and realized that every town has another side.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Jun 1, 2010
Length: 20 minutes (5,044 words)

Weird Science

Testimony from forensic experts can be the most persuasive evidence presented at trial, but often juries don’t realize that the analysis of hair, fire, and even fingerprints may not be so scientific.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: May 1, 2010
Length: 34 minutes (8,530 words)

Out and About

The social politics of being the first openly gay mayor of Texas’s largest city.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Mar 1, 2010
Length: 9 minutes (2,284 words)

The Rehabilitation of Charlie Wilson

From booze-guzzling, skirt-chasing, check-kiting Congressman to American hero in—you guessed it—twelve steps.

Author: John Spong
Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Jun 1, 2004
Length: 21 minutes (5,472 words)

The Judgment of Sharon Keller

As she goes on trial this month, nearly everyone—journalists, lawyers, and even some of her colleagues—is calling for her head, but is the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals the monster she’s been made out to be?

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Aug 1, 2009
Length: 31 minutes (7,832 words)

Dream of a Common Language. Sueño de un Idioma Común.

The graduates of a radical bilingual education program at Alicia R. Chacón International, in El Paso, would have no trouble reading either of these headlines. What can they teach the rest of us about the future of Texas?

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Sep 1, 2009
Length: 22 minutes (5,525 words)

Bringing Down the Dogmen

How a pair of undercover cops infiltrated the secret world of Houston dogfighting.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Aug 1, 2009
Length: 26 minutes (6,715 words)