Texas executed a Mexican national late Wednesday night despite a flurry of last-minute appeals and objections from his native country and United Nations human rights experts.
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
For Sutherland Springs residents, mass shootings seemed a world away — before Sunday
Mass shootings have become common throughout the nation, but when a community of only about 650 people lost 26 in one event Sunday morning, everyone in Sutherland Springs was impacted.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
At least 26 dead after worst mass shooting in Texas history at San Antonio-area church
A lone gunman killed at least 26 people and injured many more at a church in Sutherland Springs. The tiny town was left reeling from the deadliest shooting at a place of worship in American history.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Prosecutor asks for current medical standards in death penalty evaluations
The top prosecutor in Harris County is proposing a new way for Texas to determine if a death-sentenced inmate is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution: use the current clinical books.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
U.S. Supreme Court examines investigatory funding in Texas death penalty case
A 1995 murder of a Houston woman led a case to the nation’s highest court Monday. The U.S Supreme Court heard arguments on the issue of federal funding in death penalty investigations during the appeals process.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
How Harvey-affected kids in jail or on probation are getting help in Houston
Dozens of minors in jail or on probation in Harris County are facing new hurdles after Hurricane Harvey. A local nonprofit is expanding to help youth in the criminal justice system who’ve lost everything in the storm.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Potential new murder confession delays Texas serial killer’s execution
The execution of Houston’s “Tourniquet Killer” was delayed because prosecutors began to fear he would confess to another murder — one for which a fellow death row inmate faces execution next month.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas court halts execution to review claims that co-defendant lied at trial
The execution of Clinton Young, convicted in a 2001 Midland-area murder, was stopped by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The courts will look into claims that Young’s co-defendant lied in his testimony against Young.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Houston serial killer faces execution this week
Anthony Shore, a convicted serial killer, is set to be executed Wednesday evening. His murders in the 1980s and 1990s went unsolved until 2003.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas executes Robert Pruett, who insisted on innocence in prison guard’s murder
The man convicted in a 1999 prison guard’s murder always said he was framed by corrupt guards and inmates. After rounds of DNA testing that were deemed inconclusive, he was executed Thursday night.
