By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – A Texas man who served 30 years in prison for a rape and robbery he did not commit had his conviction overturned Tuesday after having served 30 years in prison, more time than any other DNA exoneree in his state.
Cornelius Dupree Jr., 51, was formally cleared of the aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon conviction that had kept him behind bars from December 1979 until July of 2010. He served 30 years of his 75-year sentence before making parole in July. About a week later, DNA test results came back proving his innocence.
"It's a joy to be free again," Dupree said after the ruling in a Dallas courtroom.
Dupree is the longest-serving DNA exoneree in Texas, which has freed 41 wrongly convicted inmates through DNA since 2001 - more than any other state.
Vote expected on more waste for Texas nuke dump
Environmental groups failed to sway a federal judge in Austin who refused to block a vote on a plan to allow three dozen states to dump low-level radioactive waste in West Texas.
The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission was scheduled to meet Tuesday in Andrews and vote on the proposal.
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by environmentalists and last week's ruling by a state district judge that put the measure on hold. Sparks noted that the commission had received about 5,000 comments on the measure.
The dump in Andrews County is owned by Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists. The site currently only accepts waste from Texas, Vermont and the federal government.
The company has said the facility is safe and secure, proving a permanent disposal option.
LBB recommends comptroller negotiate tax breaks
A report by the Legislative Budget Board recommends the state's comptroller, not local school districts, be in charge of negotiating school property tax breaks for businesses to attract big investments.
The Austin American-Statesman reported, for its Tuesday editions, that examples of large-scale investments are wind farms or manufacturing plants.
The report says: "School districts should not be made responsible for economic development."
Texas lawmakers who convene next Tuesday face a projected budget shortfall of as much as $20 billion.
Current Texas law allows school boards to negotiate and approve the deals, which the state then reviews.
The 2001 Legislature passed the Texas Economic Development Act because the state's heavy reliance on property taxes was making it difficult to attract large industrial projects, for which property taxes are a major expense.
Conservative activists want new speaker
Conservative activists in Texas are urging lawmakers to dump Republican House Speaker Joe Straus in favor of a more conservative legislator.
The head of the Texas Eagle Forum, Pat Carlson, wrote a letter Monday calling on lawmakers to vote against Straus when the Texas Legislature reconvenes on Jan. 11. She said the group, which advocates for socially conservative positions on issues like gay rights and abortion, will keep track of how legislators vote in the speaker's race. Two conservative Republicans, Warren Chisum of Pampa and Ken Paxton of McKinney, are vying to replace Straus.
The Texas Alliance for Life, a leading Texas anti-abortion group, endorsed Paxton.
Straus has touted his own support from conservatives. He's said he has enough votes to be re-elected to a second term at the helm of the Texas House.