Michelle Pitcher
@michellepitcher.bsky.social
Criminal Justice Reporter at the Texas Observer | I have a Pulitzer lol
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
From @michellepitcher.bsky.social, in our magazine: Silence is not sacred at Alienated Majesty Books in Austin, where literary knowledge and loud live music go hand in hand.
A Night at the Screamo Bookstore
An Austin literary shop has branched out into loud concerts, cementing a place in the city’s DIY music scene.
www.texasobserver.org
October 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
From @michellepitcher.bsky.social, in our magazine: Silence is not sacred at Alienated Majesty Books in Austin, where literary knowledge and loud live music go hand in hand.
The Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed Robert Roberson’s execution, sending his case back to a lower court for reconsideration. He was scheduled to be executed in less than a week.
October 9, 2025 at 2:35 PM
The Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed Robert Roberson’s execution, sending his case back to a lower court for reconsideration. He was scheduled to be executed in less than a week.
Robert Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween will not petition for clemency ahead of his scheduled Oct. 16 execution. "A quest for clemency would not right the wrong...It would only divert precious time and resources from the fundamental mission: obtaining a new trial for Robert at long last."
September 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Robert Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween will not petition for clemency ahead of his scheduled Oct. 16 execution. "A quest for clemency would not right the wrong...It would only divert precious time and resources from the fundamental mission: obtaining a new trial for Robert at long last."
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
New @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Efforts to limit police transparency by shielding some complaints from public view have failed multiple times during the 2025 legislative season—most recently in the form of House Bill 15, which died this week.
Police ‘Secrecy Grab’ Dies After Senate Refuses Uvalde Compromise
"We’re hopeful that it means it doesn’t come back again, and that we can preserve some level of transparency for all Texans."
www.texasobserver.org
September 5, 2025 at 1:53 PM
New @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Efforts to limit police transparency by shielding some complaints from public view have failed multiple times during the 2025 legislative season—most recently in the form of House Bill 15, which died this week.
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
“This is the most massive secrecy grab in Texas since the adoption of the Public Information Act.”
New today from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: A move to "standardize" police personnel files could have devastating consequences for transparency.
New today from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: A move to "standardize" police personnel files could have devastating consequences for transparency.
Texas Lawmakers Push ‘Massive Secrecy Grab’ to Shield Police Files
As public attention has shifted away from policing reform, legislators attempt to shove information into the dark.
www.texasobserver.org
August 13, 2025 at 6:32 PM
“This is the most massive secrecy grab in Texas since the adoption of the Public Information Act.”
New today from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: A move to "standardize" police personnel files could have devastating consequences for transparency.
New today from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: A move to "standardize" police personnel files could have devastating consequences for transparency.
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Jorge Renaud, became a social justice advocate after spending years incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system. In his new poetry collection, out in May from Plancha Press, he trades in his megaphone for a pen.
Penned Poetry: A Formerly Incarcerated Activist’s Turn to Verse
Longtime advocate Jorge Antonio Renaud lyricizes the grit of prison life in his first published collection of poems, The Restlessness of Bound Wrists.
www.texasobserver.org
July 24, 2025 at 2:12 PM
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Jorge Renaud, became a social justice advocate after spending years incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system. In his new poetry collection, out in May from Plancha Press, he trades in his megaphone for a pen.
Reporters and TV crews are starting to trickle in to the Anderson County Court House for a 10 a.m. hearing on whether to set a new execution date for Robert Roberson. #RobertRoberson
July 16, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Reporters and TV crews are starting to trickle in to the Anderson County Court House for a 10 a.m. hearing on whether to set a new execution date for Robert Roberson. #RobertRoberson
INBOX: Last summer, Ruben Gutierrez got within 20 minutes of execution before the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in. For years, he's been asking for pieces of evidence to be DNA tested. Today, #SCOTUS ruled that he has the right to challenge the Texas law that's standing in his way.
June 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
INBOX: Last summer, Ruben Gutierrez got within 20 minutes of execution before the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in. For years, he's been asking for pieces of evidence to be DNA tested. Today, #SCOTUS ruled that he has the right to challenge the Texas law that's standing in his way.
Robert Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween on the TX AG's request for a new execution date: "The AG’s unjustified rush to seek an execution date while that new evidence of innocence is before the court is outrageous."
June 17, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Robert Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween on the TX AG's request for a new execution date: "The AG’s unjustified rush to seek an execution date while that new evidence of innocence is before the court is outrageous."
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
The Texas AG has asked a judge to set (another) execution date in the case of Robert Roberson...
June 17, 2025 at 3:30 PM
The Texas AG has asked a judge to set (another) execution date in the case of Robert Roberson...
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
@texasobserver.org piece and audio by @michellepitcher.bsky.social here: www.texasobserver.org/new-leads-in...
New Leads in an Infamous Corpus Christi Cold Case
An open-source review unearths fresh details about a Texas oilman’s murder.
www.texasobserver.org
May 27, 2025 at 9:20 PM
@texasobserver.org piece and audio by @michellepitcher.bsky.social here: www.texasobserver.org/new-leads-in...
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
Our top story: Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.
Life After Death Row
Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.
www.texasobserver.org
May 21, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Our top story: Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.
Texas' death penalty doesn't allow for second chances—most of the time. Clinton Young got a rare one and tried to make the most of it: www.texasobserver.org/life-after-d...
Life After Death Row
Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.
www.texasobserver.org
May 19, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Texas' death penalty doesn't allow for second chances—most of the time. Clinton Young got a rare one and tried to make the most of it: www.texasobserver.org/life-after-d...
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
From @michellepitcher.bsky.social in our magazine: A jury declared that Clinton Young was too dangerous to be allowed to live. His time out on bond raises serious questions about who gets a "second chance" at living and rehabilitation.
Life After Death Row
Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.
www.texasobserver.org
May 19, 2025 at 3:47 PM
From @michellepitcher.bsky.social in our magazine: A jury declared that Clinton Young was too dangerous to be allowed to live. His time out on bond raises serious questions about who gets a "second chance" at living and rehabilitation.
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Texas jails are so overcrowded—partly because they’re often a county’s largest mental health facility—that some counties ship people awaiting trials to distant jails, sometimes out of state. Bills pending at the Lege could make overcrowding even worse.
Abbott's Bail Agenda Could Swell Texas Jails, Test U.S. Constitution
Republicans want to double down on a system that can keep Texans in jail for years without a trial, while attacking bail funds that try to help.
www.texasobserver.org
April 30, 2025 at 2:15 PM
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Texas jails are so overcrowded—partly because they’re often a county’s largest mental health facility—that some counties ship people awaiting trials to distant jails, sometimes out of state. Bills pending at the Lege could make overcrowding even worse.
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
The May/June 2025 issue of Texas Observer magazine will be out starting May 1, featuring stories from @candicebernd.bsky.social, @michellepitcher.bsky.social, Brant Deboer and more.
Become a member to support our work, and get the best of our reporting in our magazine.
Become a member to support our work, and get the best of our reporting in our magazine.
April 22, 2025 at 8:39 PM
The May/June 2025 issue of Texas Observer magazine will be out starting May 1, featuring stories from @candicebernd.bsky.social, @michellepitcher.bsky.social, Brant Deboer and more.
Become a member to support our work, and get the best of our reporting in our magazine.
Become a member to support our work, and get the best of our reporting in our magazine.
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
In books, from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Law professor, former prosecutor, and death penalty expert Corinna Barrett Lain brings us into the death chamber to bear disturbing witness to the reality of lethal injection. A look behind the curtain at our state's grim legacy in criminal justice ...
The Sordid, Unscientific Story Behind Lethal Injection
A new book by a national expert explores the failures of the United States’ favored execution method.
www.texasobserver.org
April 8, 2025 at 2:03 PM
In books, from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Law professor, former prosecutor, and death penalty expert Corinna Barrett Lain brings us into the death chamber to bear disturbing witness to the reality of lethal injection. A look behind the curtain at our state's grim legacy in criminal justice ...
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
NEW: Someone asked the state to release temperature logs taken at its prisons. Some of the logs didn't exist or were defaced by staff.
So the logs were fabricated.
Those are the findings of an internal agency investigation. I got a copy.
www.kut.org/crime-justic... #txlege #TDCJ
So the logs were fabricated.
Those are the findings of an internal agency investigation. I got a copy.
www.kut.org/crime-justic... #txlege #TDCJ
www.kut.org
March 21, 2025 at 1:43 PM
NEW: Someone asked the state to release temperature logs taken at its prisons. Some of the logs didn't exist or were defaced by staff.
So the logs were fabricated.
Those are the findings of an internal agency investigation. I got a copy.
www.kut.org/crime-justic... #txlege #TDCJ
So the logs were fabricated.
Those are the findings of an internal agency investigation. I got a copy.
www.kut.org/crime-justic... #txlege #TDCJ
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
Next month: Join Texas Observer's @liseolsen.bsky.social in conversation with @michellepitcher.bsky.social, to celebrate the release of Lise's new book The Scientist and the Serial Killer.
FREE event! April 9, 7pm at BookPeople, #Austin, Texas
RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...
FREE event! April 9, 7pm at BookPeople, #Austin, Texas
RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...
March 19, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Next month: Join Texas Observer's @liseolsen.bsky.social in conversation with @michellepitcher.bsky.social, to celebrate the release of Lise's new book The Scientist and the Serial Killer.
FREE event! April 9, 7pm at BookPeople, #Austin, Texas
RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...
FREE event! April 9, 7pm at BookPeople, #Austin, Texas
RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
more on jailhouse snitches from Maurice Chammah www.themarshallproject.org/2025/02/25/t...
and more on the shaky forensic evidence from @michellepitcher.bsky.social
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
and more on the shaky forensic evidence from @michellepitcher.bsky.social
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
He Refused to Give False Testimony. Now, Can He Stop a Man's Execution?
Texas plans to execute Wood in March. George Hall says police encouraged him to lie about Wood confessing six murders to him.
www.themarshallproject.org
March 11, 2025 at 11:33 PM
more on jailhouse snitches from Maurice Chammah www.themarshallproject.org/2025/02/25/t...
and more on the shaky forensic evidence from @michellepitcher.bsky.social
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
and more on the shaky forensic evidence from @michellepitcher.bsky.social
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
UPDATE: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed David Wood's execution after his attorneys raised claims that he's actually innocent. He was scheduled to be executed Thursday.
Over a decade ago, a test showed that another man's DNA, not David Wood's was found on one of the victims of El Paso's 'Desert Killer'—but the State of Texas has opposed requests for more evidence to be tested since then. Wood is set to be executed next week.
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
David Wood, Set for Execution, Says He Was Never the 'Desert Killer'
Wood’s attorneys have requested that more than 100 additional pieces of evidence be tested for DNA, but the state has opposed the request for over a decade.
www.texasobserver.org
March 11, 2025 at 10:07 PM
UPDATE: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed David Wood's execution after his attorneys raised claims that he's actually innocent. He was scheduled to be executed Thursday.
Over a decade ago, a test showed that another man's DNA, not David Wood's was found on one of the victims of El Paso's 'Desert Killer'—but the State of Texas has opposed requests for more evidence to be tested since then. Wood is set to be executed next week.
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
David Wood, Set for Execution, Says He Was Never the 'Desert Killer'
Wood’s attorneys have requested that more than 100 additional pieces of evidence be tested for DNA, but the state has opposed the request for over a decade.
www.texasobserver.org
March 5, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Over a decade ago, a test showed that another man's DNA, not David Wood's was found on one of the victims of El Paso's 'Desert Killer'—but the State of Texas has opposed requests for more evidence to be tested since then. Wood is set to be executed next week.
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
www.texasobserver.org/david-wood-e...
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
“I’ve been trying for 30 years to tell people I didn’t do this.”
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: For over a decade, the state has rebuffed attempts by David Wood's attorneys to have additional evidence tested for DNA. His execution is set for March 13.
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: For over a decade, the state has rebuffed attempts by David Wood's attorneys to have additional evidence tested for DNA. His execution is set for March 13.
David Wood, Set for Execution, Says He Was Never the 'Desert Killer'
Wood’s attorneys have requested that more than 100 additional pieces of evidence be tested for DNA, but the state has opposed the request for over a decade.
www.texasobserver.org
March 5, 2025 at 9:08 PM
“I’ve been trying for 30 years to tell people I didn’t do this.”
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: For over a decade, the state has rebuffed attempts by David Wood's attorneys to have additional evidence tested for DNA. His execution is set for March 13.
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: For over a decade, the state has rebuffed attempts by David Wood's attorneys to have additional evidence tested for DNA. His execution is set for March 13.
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
Join @liseolsen.bsky.social on April 9th discussing THE SCIENTIST AND THE SERIAL KILLER, the true story of how one dedicated forensic scientist restored the long-lost identities of the teenaged victims of the “Candy Man.”
More info: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...
@michellepitcher.bsky.social
More info: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...
@michellepitcher.bsky.social
February 21, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Join @liseolsen.bsky.social on April 9th discussing THE SCIENTIST AND THE SERIAL KILLER, the true story of how one dedicated forensic scientist restored the long-lost identities of the teenaged victims of the “Candy Man.”
More info: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...
@michellepitcher.bsky.social
More info: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...
@michellepitcher.bsky.social
Reposted by Michelle Pitcher
From our magazine: Holly M Karibo's new book traces Texas' historic role in the origins of the war on drugs and shifting attitudes towards addiction. @michellepitcher.bsky.social reviewed it for us ...
Inside Fort Worth's Narcotic Farm Experiment
Rehab on the Range tells the story of Texas’ role in one of the largest federal forays into drug treatment.
www.texasobserver.org
February 18, 2025 at 3:04 PM
From our magazine: Holly M Karibo's new book traces Texas' historic role in the origins of the war on drugs and shifting attitudes towards addiction. @michellepitcher.bsky.social reviewed it for us ...