Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersitting at his regular table at Daddy Sam’s BBQ and Catfish (“You Kill It, I’ll Cook It”) in the East Texas town of Carthage, district attorney Danny Buck Davidson began to realize that he might have some problems prosecuting Bernie Tiede for murder.“Bernie’s a sweet man, Danny Buck,” a waitress said. “He’s done a lot of good things for this town. He’s given poor kids money to go to college and everything.”“You got to admit nobody could sing ‘Amazing Grace’ like Bernie could,” someone else said.The bulldog-faced Danny Buck took a bite of slaw...…Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersitting at his regular table at Daddy Sam’s BBQ and Catfish (“You Kill It, I’ll Cook It”) in the East Texas town of Carthage, district attorney Danny Buck Davidson began to realize that he might have some problems prosecuting Bernie Tiede for murder.“Bernie’s a sweet man, Danny Buck,” a waitress said. “He’s done a lot of good things for this town. He’s given poor kids money to go to college and everything.”“You got to admit nobody could sing ‘Amazing Grace’ like Bernie could,” someone else said.The bulldog-faced Danny Buck took a bite of slaw...WW…

Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersIn 2007, when I first met Jeff Pike, he had just finished an eleven-mile bicycle ride. He was wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes. We were at his two-story home that he had built on some secluded property five miles outside of Conroe, north of Houston. He was a good-looking guy, then 51 years old, and he wore his salt-and-pepper hair in a crewcut. As he handed me a bottled water, he gave me the most cheerful of grins. “Not what you expected, huh?” he asked.Not exactly. At the time, I was told by law enforcement officers that Pike was...…Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersIn 2007, when I first met Jeff Pike, he had just finished an eleven-mile bicycle ride. He was wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes. We were at his two-story home that he had built on some secluded property five miles outside of Conroe, north of Houston. He was a good-looking guy, then 51 years old, and he wore his salt-and-pepper hair in a crewcut. As he handed me a bottled water, he gave me the most cheerful of grins. “Not what you expected, huh?” he asked.Not exactly. At the time, I was told by law enforcement officers that Pike was...WW…

Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFilterse first began frequenting San Bernardo Avenue, in the border city of Laredo, Luera had grown up in a neighborhood near downtown and had attended Raymond & Tirza Martin High School, which happened to be located on San Bernardo, less than half a mile from the prostitute blocks. Growing up, she and her sisters were called las blanquitas (“the whiteys”), because they were biracial. (Their father was Hispanic, and their mother was Scottish.) After high school, Luera had worked for a time as a clerk for the district attorney’s office. But...…Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFilterse first began frequenting San Bernardo Avenue, in the border city of Laredo, Luera had grown up in a neighborhood near downtown and had attended Raymond & Tirza Martin High School, which happened to be located on San Bernardo, less than half a mile from the prostitute blocks. Growing up, she and her sisters were called las blanquitas (“the whiteys”), because they were biracial. (Their father was Hispanic, and their mother was Scottish.) After high school, Luera had worked for a time as a clerk for the district attorney’s office. But...WW…

Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersvery once in a while, Edwin Debrow dreams that he is a boy again. He is standing in a field of freshly mowed grass. It is a warm day, with no clouds in the sky. The sun is on his face. There are no smells of sweat and urine, and there are no sounds of steel doors opening and closing, no guards barking orders, no inmates shouting curses.Edwin bends down and takes off his shoes. He begins to run—he hasn’t been allowed to run for his entire adult life—and his bare feet feel cool against the grass. He smiles. Soon he is laughing out loud. He...…Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersvery once in a while, Edwin Debrow dreams that he is a boy again. He is standing in a field of freshly mowed grass. It is a warm day, with no clouds in the sky. The sun is on his face. There are no smells of sweat and urine, and there are no sounds of steel doors opening and closing, no guards barking orders, no inmates shouting curses.Edwin bends down and takes off his shoes. He begins to run—he hasn’t been allowed to run for his entire adult life—and his bare feet feel cool against the grass. He smiles. Soon he is laughing out loud. He...WW…

When I first drove into the two-stoplight town of Canadian, it reminded me of a lot of small Texas communities I had been to. Canadian is a pretty little place, hidden away in a remote northeastern corner of the Texas Panhandle, set next to a shallow river, surrounded by rolling hills and miles of prairie. As I came into town, I passed by a feed store, a water well drilling company, and an oil well service shop. Canadian is dotted with churches and a couple of cafes where the locals drop in for coffee and greet each other by name. There’s a well-kept rodeo arena and a downtown theater...… When I first drove into the two-stoplight town of Canadian, it reminded me of a lot of small Texas communities I had been to. Canadian is a pretty little place, hidden away in a remote northeastern corner of the Texas Panhandle, set next to a shallow river, surrounded by rolling hills and miles of prairie. As I came into town, I passed by a feed store, a water well drilling company, and an oil well service shop. Canadian is dotted with churches and a couple of cafes where the locals drop in for coffee and greet each other by name. There’s a well-kept rodeo arena and a downtown theater...WW…