The troops won’t perform law enforcement duties, federal officials said.
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
“A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisons
Moving the most violent and troubled youths to adult prison makes it easier to help others in juvenile facilities, some prosecutors and lawmakers say. Youth justice advocates say Texas is giving up on the children who most need help.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Seven Texas prison employees face dismissal over 16-year-old inmate’s suicide
Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. had been transferred from a Texas youth facility to an adult prison despite a long history of suicidal behavior. Five guards and two supervisors allegedly failed to check on him.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas judge cancels Ivan Cantu execution after new evidence suggests he might be innocent
Two jurors from Cantu’s 2001 double-murder trial now support his appeals, which claim prosecutors relied on false testimony and withheld crucial evidence.
Posted in
Economy
SpaceX’s unmanned Starship explodes over Gulf of Mexico after Texas liftoff
There were no people on board the rocket that took off from South Texas on Thursday morning. SpaceX officials said the incident will still inform the company’s future flights.
Posted in
Politics
The controversial article Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk did not disclose to the Senate
The judge who delivered a high-stakes abortion pills ruling last week removed his name from a law review article during his judicial nomination process, emails show.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Unsealed evidence shows racist comments, threats of violence made by Daniel Perry before killing of Austin protester
Gov. Greg Abbott has said he wants to pardon Perry, who was convicted by a Travis County jury last week.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
With tweet about a pardon, Gov. Greg Abbott injects politics into Texas’ criminal justice system
In an unprecedented use of his power, the Republican governor moved to pardon Daniel Perry less than a day after an Austin jury convicted him in the murder of protester Garrett Foster.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House budgets $545 million for prison air conditioning. The Senate hasn’t offered anything.
Sweltering heat has killed inmates, driven away prison workers and cost taxpayers millions in lawsuits. The House budget would provide air conditioning for 46 prisons, but it’s unclear if the Senate will sign on.
Posted in
Public Education
Limited trans athlete bans in competitive sports would be allowed under proposed Biden administration policy
The proposal was met with mixed reaction from transgender rights activists, with some saying that it provided a welcome set of protections for trans students and others saying the regulations could offer a roadmap for those who want to discriminate.