Texas' 86th Legislative session came to a close last month with criminal justice reform advocates lamenting lost opportunities like the Sandra Bland Act — which died in the House of Representatives thanks to what Texas Monthly called “a fit of idiocy and confusion”— and the failure of marijuana sentencing reform. A session that began with cautious optimism for policies like bail reform, pretrial diversion programming, limiting three-strikes rules, and expanding air conditioning in sweltering prisons ended with bills failing left and right.
![Behind the Negative Headlines, Some Bright Spots for Criminal Justice Reform in Texas](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_featured_image/public/articles/2021-08/Blog%2520say%2520her%2520name%2520071619.jpg?itok=to0AFJof)