Prosecutor Nidia Ventura is juggling about 1,200 felony cases, a crushing workload with effects felt throughout Harris County’s criminal justice system.
Clare Amari
Clare Amari covers public safety for the Houston Landing. Clare previously worked as an investigative reporter for The Greenville News in South Carolina, where she reported on police use of force, gender-based violence and sexual abuse allegations at a local cheerleading gym. A native of New York suburbs, Clare graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Oxford, and she has received journalism awards for her work in Ohio and South Carolina. In her free time, Clare enjoys watching Premier League soccer, trying new wines, and researching her roots in Sicily and Appalachian Ohio.
Posted inPublic Safety
Dickinson police gave a man a brain bleed. City officials say they covered it up.
Dickinson leaders are calling for accountability after an investigation concluded multiple members of the city’s police department engaged in misconduct, including the former police chief.
Posted inPublic Safety
‘I’m still a human being’: A Houston man fights for justice in his long-neglected appeal
Tommy Taylor is one of over 100 defendants who filed criminal appeals in Harris County, only to see those appeals inexplicably languish.
Posted inPolitics & Government
Houston-area GOP senators stand behind Ken Paxton, vote to acquit on impeachment charges
Five of Greater Houston’s six Republican state senators supported the embattled Texas attorney general Saturday, helping him avoid conviction.
Posted inPublic Safety
Texas court grants new sentencing hearing to Houston man on death row for 35 years
Syed Rabbani, whose appeal was among the 100-plus Harris County cases allowed to languish for years, could be taken off death row.
Posted inPublic Safety
Federal judge throws out lawsuit challenging Harris County’s felony bail system
A federal judge’s ruling Thursday disappointed advocates who argued that many lower-income people are illegally held in jail pre-trial.
Posted inPublic Safety
Prosecutors, advocates concerned that backlogged crime lab is delaying murder trials
The backlog at the Houston Forensic Science Center is causing major delays in prosecuting murder cases in Harris County, the district attorney’s office said ahead of a new law aimed at speeding up murder prosecutions. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg joined prosecutors and advocates for law enforcement and crime victims at a news conference […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Community lauds efforts to curb prostitution, illegal activity in Bissonnet Street ‘Track’
Residents, city officials and police say efforts to curb illegal activity in “the Track,” a notorious area along Bissonnet in Houston, have been working.
Posted inPublic Safety
Bulletproof machines, demolition tactics helped end police standoff with Terran Green
Police used heavily armed vehicles and high-tech surveillance to end a dramatic standoff in northeast Harris County with the man accused of shooting three police officers.
Posted inPublic Safety
‘We have to say something’: Families, advocates call for change at Harris County Jail
Relatives of those impacted by deaths and injuries at the downtown facility argued Saturday that major reforms are needed to improve safety.