/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/04_Jolie_McCullough_MG.jpg)
Jolie McCullough was a reporter at The Texas Tribune from 2015 to 2023. She began as a data visualization journalist and then reported on criminal justice policy, ranging from policing and courts to prisons and the death penalty. She joined the Tribune from the Albuquerque Journal, her hometown newspaper. She previously worked at the Arizona Republic and is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Many reentry services offered to those leaving incarceration — like help with housing and employment — have moved online or been halted since the new coronavirus hit the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f17db901e1d33b81dbcd065652c6eda1/Reentry%20Services%20Jail%20Release%20EG%20TT%2023.jpg)
The state purchased 300,000 oral swab tests from a months-old California company. So far, only highly-infected prisons are using them for mass testing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/98a942c2c99b678c8528cf1acf4c83d4/Telford_TT.jpg)
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said it will begin having prisoners test themselves with a newly approved test. So far, less than 2% of state prisoners have been tested for the virus. More than 1,700 have been infected, and 30 have died. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c238e8eb1bd841564a98c177eede36af/Texas_Prison_TT.jpg)
Some of the nation's biggest COVID-19 outbreaks have been in prisons and jails, and they can quickly spread to surrounding communities. Are Texas prisons doing enough to protect inmates, staff and the public? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/69df9e6ac06f7fbf1128db43e7238bb5/Huntsville%20SF%20TT%2001.jpg)
The high court did not weigh in on the arguments that Gov. Greg Abbott's order went beyond his executive powers in a disaster. Instead, it ruled that the Harris County judges were the wrong plaintiffs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d5167de8622d257bd49f6c3d6e7ceb28/Harris%20County%20Jail%20CR%20TT%2001.jpg)
The ruling temporarily halted a lower court's order that was handed down after inmates at a geriatric prison sued the Texas prison system over its handling of the coronavirus. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7b42c11f7bb14acad8e2c469d036cd8c/Beeville%20Prison%20JW%20TT%2002.jpg)
The Houston judge issued a temporary order against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at a geriatric prison after older inmates sued the prison system over its handling of the coronavirus. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3c0d4a8f567ee2c7e21338eeafbc30d5/Beeville%20Prison%20JW%20TT%2001.jpg)
Relatives of Texas prisoners approved for parole question why their loved ones have to stay in disease-prone facilities while completing programs they say could be done virtually and from home. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3f44494e4d432dabf2f54ec8b8ca50e2/Women%20Prison%20Johnson%20TDC.jpg)
On Friday, a state district judge blocked enforcement of Abbott's order, which prohibits jail release for some inmates without paying bail during the coronavirus pandemic. She cited unconstitutional provisions and executive overreach as reasons for her order. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/32d2332ad37f1bec45ce077d81a16588/Texas%20Supreme%20Court%20MG%20TT%2002.jpg)
The Texas Department of Justice sent a letter to county sheriffs announcing the new policy Saturday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9aafef752dd4eb77786c9354b981da7e/TDCJ%20McConnell%20Unit%20JW%20TT.jpg)