Texas, Inmate | featured news

Texas prison officials say they’re stopping the practice of special last meals for inmates facing execution, after a state senator complained about an extensive request from a man involved in a notorious dragging death. Sen. John Whitmire said Thursday he wanted the “ridiculous” and “inappropriate” practice ended or he’d seek a state statute banning it. Prisons director Brad Livingston agreed and said the practice was ending immediately. He said condemned inmates will get the same meal as other offenders.

A judge in the Texas county that sends more inmates to death row than any other in the U.S. is facing a torrent of high-profile criticism after he declared the death penalty unconstitutional.

Texas authorities on Sunday were searching for a convicted burglar who escaped from a medical facility by rappelling off the building using a string of bedsheets, officials said.