The most violent prisons in the Texas state system share a common factor: They house a high proportion of mentally ill inmates. The Texas Tribune analyzed violent-incident data from 99 state prisons from 2006 to 2012, and found far more incident reports at facilities housing high numbers of mentally ill, violent offenders than at other prisons. Among the five units with the highest number of reports are the state’s three psychiatric facilities. In addition, the William P. Clements Unit, which is not a psychiatric facility, but houses 1,800 mentally ill inmates among a population of 3,500, is in that group, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice data.

Five months after an explosion at West Fertilizer Co., West continues to rebuild and its residents are on the slow and difficult road to recovery. And in Austin, state agencies are starting to implement recommendations to help ensure safe practices at facilities that hold such potentially dangerous materials. For example, State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said that his office is compiling a list of all the facilities in Texas that store 10,000 pounds or more of ammonium nitrate. That information is scheduled to go online in November in the form of a searchable public database.

In an ongoing effort to restore Texans’ faith in the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, state leaders appointed new members to the committee that oversees it. Gov. Rick Perry appointed Angelos Angelou of Austin, founder and principal executive of Angelou Economics; Gerry Geistweidt, a Mason attorney; and Dr. William Rice of Austin, senior vice president of clinical innovation for St. David’s Healthcare and the Central and West Texas Division of the Hospital Corporation of America. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst appointed Houston businessman Ned Holmes; Dr. Craig Rosenfeld of Dallas, chief executive of Collaborative Medical Development; and Amy Mitchell, an attorney at Fulbright and Jaworski and a cancer survivor. A spokesman for House Speaker Joe Straus said the speaker plans to name his three appointees soon. 

Williamson County state district Judge Ken Anderson, who oversaw the wrongful murder conviction of Michael Morton in 1987, submitted a letter to the governor resigning his position effective immediately. Anderson is facing both civil and criminal court proceedings for his role in prosecuting Morton for the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine Morton. Attorneys for Morton allege that Anderson withheld critical evidence that pointed to Morton's innocence and that he lied to the judge about the existence of that evidence. Morton was sentenced to life in prison and spent nearly 25 years behind bars before DNA testing revealed that he was innocent and connected another man to his wife's killing. He was released from prison in 2011.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is offering another way for potential voters to obtain a photo ID needed to vote. Twenty-five mobile locations will begin processing the election identification certificates next week. The documents, which are free for applicants who meet voter requirements and show proof of identity and citizenship, are also available at driver's license offices. The announcement follows a DPS decision two weeks ago to extend the hours of about 50 driver’s license offices to include Saturdays to encourage more citizens to apply for the documents.

Amid widespread reports that she will run for Texas governor, state Sen. Wendy Davis released details about the announcement of her future plans next week. She will make the announcement at 3 p.m. on Oct. 3 in the auditorium where she received her high school diploma in 1981 — the Wiley G. Thomas Coliseum in Haltom City — mirroring the opening event of Kay Bailey Hutchison’s gubernatorial campaign in 2010.