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Randy Travis loses appeal to keep 2012 arrest footage sealed

Judges at the Texas Supreme Court have decided against blocking the release of video footage relating to country veteran Randy Travis’ 2012 arrest for driving while intoxicated (DWI). The singer’s lawyers have been trying to keep the tape sealed from public view since the incident five years ago, when a naked Travis crashed his truck in Tioga and then allegedly verbally threatened officers who arrived at the scene. Members of the media have previously tried to obtain the footage under the Public Information Act, and in 2016, a three-judge panel at the Texas Court of Appeals ruled the tape can be released. Travis’ lawyers appealed the decision, maintaining “the public (does not have) a right to see individuals in the course of a mental health breakdown any more than they have right to see someone in course of an operation on their heart, kidney or brain.” However, on Friday, their latest bid was shot down by the Texas Supreme Court officials. Travis pleaded guilty to one count of DWI in 2013 and was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a fine, as well as serve 30 days in an alcohol treatment facility and perform 100 hours of community service. The star subsequently suffered a massive stroke months later, which robbed him of his voice. He has been in recovery ever since, but the 58-year-old has been making steady progress, and has made a handful of appearances onstage to try and sing again. His latest surprise came on Thursday, when he was an unexpected guest during singer Michael Ray’s CMA Music Festival set in Nashville, Tennessee. Travis was accompanied to the stage by his wife, Mary, as Ray led the crowd in a sing-a-long of his hit “Forever and Ever, Amen.”

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