Averie Bishop, whose reign ended Saturday, was the first Asian American to win the contest in its 85 years. She spent her year with the crown as an outspoken avatar for a rapidly diversifying Texas.
Jolie McCullough
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas’ highest criminal court emphatically rejects death row inmate Rodney Reed’s claim of innocence
Reed, a Black man on death row for more than 25 years, has gained international support for his claims that he did not kill 19-year-old Stacey Stites, a white woman. Another appeal over DNA testing of evidence is still pending.
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Criminal Justice
Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state seldom acknowledges heat as a cause of death
Since a heat wave gripped Texas, at least nine inmates, including two men in their 30s, have died of heart attacks or unknown causes in prisons lacking air conditioning. It’s been 11 years since the state last classified a death as heat-related.
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Courts
Preference can be given to tribes in adoption and foster placement of Native American children, U.S. Supreme Court rules
Texas had joined with other plaintiffs in arguing that provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act were unconstitutional racial discrimination.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Facing youth prison crisis, Texas lawmakers opt to build new facilities and funnel more kids to adult system
For more than a decade, Texas has been trying to slim down its youth prison system, which has been plagued by years of abuse scandals. This Legislature is reversing that course.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Republican priorities on school choice, border fail, but late-night compromises resurrect others
Rushed agreements and suspended rules rescue legislation on the electric grid and economic incentives for companies, and work is still being done on a property tax proposal.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Legislature passes bill reining in “rogue” prosecutors
The GOP priority legislation could remove prosecutors from office if they don’t pursue certain crimes. The bill gained traction after some Democratic district attorneys said they would not prosecute abortion-related crimes.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Despite budget surplus, Texas Legislature makes little money available for prison air conditioning
Stifling heat has killed inmates and exacerbated employee turnover in Texas prisons. But funding for air conditioning was whittled down in the draft budget released Thursday.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate moves to create new immigration enforcement unit, allow state police to arrest for border crossings
The House has already passed the bill, but the two chambers will need to iron out the differences in their versions before it is sent to Gov. Greg Abbott.
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Uvalde school shooting
A year after the Uvalde school shooting, officers who botched response face few consequences
A Washington Post investigation finds numerous higher-ranking officers who made critical decisions remain on the job.