Civil rights groups and ethicists allege that 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones violated judicial codes of conduct during a February speech in which she reportedly said some minority groups are “predisposed to crime.”
Brandi Grissom
Brandi Grissom worked at the Tribune from its launch in 2009 until 2014, rising to the rank of managing editor. In addition to editing duties, Grissom led the Tribune's coverage of criminal justice issues. During her tenure at the Tribune, she was chosen as a 2012 City University of New York Center on Media, Crime and Justice/H.F. Guggenheim Journalism Fellow and was a fellow at the 2012 Journalist Law School at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Grissom, along with Tribune multimedia producer Justin Dehn, received a 2012 regional Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting for work on the case of Megan Winfrey, who was acquitted of murder in February 2013 after the Trib’s coverage brought statewide attention the case. Grissom joined the Tribune after four years at the El Paso Times, where she acted as a one-woman Capitol bureau. Grissom won the Associated Press Managing Editors First-Place Award in 2007 for using the Freedom of Information Act to report stories on a variety of government programs and entities, and the ACLU of Texas named her legislative reporter of the year in 2007 for her immigration reporting. She previously served as managing editor at The Daily Texan and has worked for the Alliance Times-Herald, the Taylor Daily Press, the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung and The Associated Press. A native of Alliance, Neb., she has a degree in history from the University of Texas.
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Criminal Justice
Video: Acquittals Leave 2004 Murder Unsolved
Megan Winfrey spent six years behind bars before she was acquitted of murder. Now, she is hoping to help solve the mystery of who brutally killed school janitor Murray Burr in 2004.
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Criminal Justice
Despite Acquittal, Winfrey Struggles Outside Prison
Megan Winfrey spent six years — nearly all of the 25-year-old’s adult life — behind bars before she was acquitted of murder. She faces the colossal challenge of starting her life without compensation for the years she lost in prison.
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Criminal Justice
Bill, Budget Expand Authority of Forensic Science Commission
Legislators are planning to give the Texas Forensic Science Commission authority to review many more labs and types of forensic analysis and to double the agency’s budget, hoping it will become a national model.
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Criminal Justice
House Tentatively OKs Bill to Review Solitary Confinement
UPDATED: The House on Tuesday tentatively approved a bill that would require a now-defunct legislative oversight committee to hire a third party to review solitary confinement conditions in Texas prisons and juvenile lockups.
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Criminal Justice
Bill Lets Police Take Guns From Those in Mental Crisis
Police would have new authority to take firearms away from Texans who are in a mental crisis under a bill the House approved on Tuesday that is now headed to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk.
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Criminal Justice
House Backs Mental Health Jail Diversion Program
The House on Monday approved Senate Bill 1185 by Sen. Joan Huffman, which would create a pilot program that connects mentally ill inmates with social, clinical, housing and welfare services during the first weeks after the person’s release from jail.
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Criminal Justice
Innocence Commission Clash Impacting Other Bills
A battle over legislation that would create an innocence commission to review wrongful conviction has turned personal — and potentially deadly for a handful of bills authored by state Sen. Joan Huffman.
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Health care
Legislators Devote New Funding to Mental Health
Legislators are preparing to dedicate hundreds of millions more dollars to mental health care for the first time in years. Haven for Hope in San Antonio serves as a model of the services and success they aim to emulate.
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Criminal Justice
Perry Signs Michael Morton Act
With exoneree Michael Morton by his side, Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed a measure that aims to avoid wrongful convictions by preventing prosecutors from suppressing evidence.
