Latest Contributions

• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stops another scheduled execution because of the coronavirus

  by Jolie McCullough March 19, 2020

  Tracy Beatty requested the court stay his execution, set for next week, after the court halted this week's execution. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Texas Department of Criminal Justice

• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stops an execution because of coronavirus

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: March 16, 2020

  John Hummel’s lawyer requested a stay of execution in a unique court filing Friday, but Tarrant County officials opposed it. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Texas Department of Criminal Justice

• Texas prisons, youth lockups cancel visitation after coronavirus disaster declaration

  by Jolie McCullough March 13, 2020

  The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said no visitation would be allowed until further instruction Friday. Some county jails, like Harris and Dallas, have also halted visits. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune

• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejects new death penalty trial requested under "junk science" law

  by Jolie McCullough March 11, 2020

  Rigoberto Avila Jr. was sentenced to death in 2001 in the death of his girlfriend's 19-month-old son. In 2018, an El Paso judge recommended he get a new trial because of outdated science used at his trial. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  TDCJ

• New coronavirus evacuees have arrived at Lackland Air Force Base. What happens in Texas' quarantine?

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: March 11, 2020

  The San Antonio base has held hundreds of coronavirus evacuees. With about 100 more arriving Tuesday night and up to 120 more expected Wednesday, here's what the quarantine site is like for those inside and outside the fence line. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Tyler and Rachel Torres / www.thetorrestravels.com

• Joe Biden to earn an estimated 111 of Texas' Democratic primary delegates. Bernie Sanders will get 102.

  by Jolie McCullough March 4, 2020

  The Texas Democratic Party released delegate counts Wednesday evening based on unofficial election results. Texas doles out 228 delegates in the state's Democratic primary election. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  REUTERS/Mark Kauzlarich

• Longtime Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. heads to a runoff

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: March 4, 2020

  The Brownsville Democrat has served in the Senate for nearly three decades. With all polling locations reporting Wednesday morning, he was just shy of the 50% vote mark needed to win outright. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune

• In two Texas prisoner deaths, one former officer is indicted after another's case is cleared

  by Jolie McCullough Feb. 28, 2020

  A former correctional officer was charged with aggravated assault by a public servant Thursday in Walker County, a week after another man was cleared of criminal charges in another inmate homicide. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune

• Texas state crime labs won’t test suspected marijuana in low-level cases

  by Jolie McCullough Feb. 26, 2020

  The Texas Department of Public Safety said last week that it would not perform testing to distinguish between hemp and marijuana in misdemeanor cases. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

• Hemp is booming in Texas. Distinguishing it from marijuana is still a challenge.

  by Todd Wiseman, Jolie McCullough, Justin Dehn and Peyton Young Feb. 24, 2020

  In this video, The Texas Tribune dug into hemp and marijuana with lawmakers, crime lab scientists, criminal defense attorneys and hemp entrepreneurs. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

• As the Texas prison population shrinks, the state is closing two more lockups

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: Feb. 20, 2020

  The closures are expected in the coming months, as the state faces dangerous understaffing in its prisons. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune

• Three Texas inmates have died at the hands of prison officers as use of force continues to rise

  by Jolie McCullough Feb. 7, 2020

  The increase in altercations with inmates comes as Texas' prison population dwindles. In three years, three officers have faced criminal charges in prisoners' deaths. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune

• Texas executes Abel Ochoa, who killed five family members in Dallas shooting

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: Feb. 6, 2020

  Ochoa was sentenced to death after the slayings in Dallas of his relatives, including his two young daughters. His defense argued he was in a cocaine-induced delirium. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  TDCJ

• Austin police chief: We will still ticket, arrest for marijuana

  by Jolie McCullough Jan. 24, 2020

  The day after the Austin City Council unanimously approved stopping arrests and tickets for low-level marijuana cases, police Chief Brian Manley said he will continue to enforce such laws. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  REUTERS/Sergio Flores

• Austin police will stop arrests, tickets in most low-level marijuana cases after unanimous City Council vote

  by Jolie McCullough and Naomi Andu Jan. 23, 2020

  The decision to back away from pursuing criminal charges against people with small amounts of pot comes after state lawmakers legalized hemp last year in a way that threw marijuana prosecution into chaos. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Getty Images/iStockphoto

• Texas carries out nation's first execution of 2020 for domestic violence slaying in Collin County

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: Jan. 15, 2020

  John Gardner, 64, was put to death for the 2005 murder of his estranged wife. His lawyers had argued the crime wasn't eligible for the death penalty. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  TDCJ

• Austin to consider stopping arrests, tickets in low-level marijuana cases after hemp law

  by Alex Samuels and Jolie McCullough Jan. 10, 2020

  Four progressive members of the City Council are pushing the proposal, which needs two more votes to pass. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Getty Images/iStockphoto

• He spent a month in Texas jail accused of hauling 3,350 pounds of marijuana. But lab results say it was legal hemp.

  by Jolie McCullough Jan. 7, 2020

  The man had told a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper that his truck contained hemp, not weed. He was released from detention after a federal crime lab tested the cargo. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Texas Department of Public Safety

• Marijuana prosecutions in Texas have dropped by more than half since lawmakers legalized hemp

  by Jolie McCullough Jan. 3, 2020

  After Texas legalized hemp and threw marijuana prosecution into chaos last year, prosecutors filed far fewer criminal charges, police departments paid for private testing and public crime labs were struggling to catch up. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Getty Images/iStock

• Cesar Fierro spent 40 years on Texas death row. A court tossed his sentence Wednesday for faulty jury instructions.

  by Jolie McCullough Updated: Dec. 18, 2019

  Fierro was sentenced to death in El Paso in 1980 for the murder of a taxi driver. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  TDCJ