Robert Pruett faces his execution Thursday in the 1999 murder of a Texas prison guard. Pruett has consistently argued his innocence in the case, pushing for multiple rounds of DNA testing on crime scene evidence.
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
Death row inmate gets new sentencing hearing because lawyer refused to present his case
Hector Medina was sentenced to death in 2008 after killing his two young children. Now, he’s getting a new sentencing trial because his lawyer refused to present evidence to persuade jurors to opt for the lesser sentence of life without parole.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Appellate judges show concern over Harris County bail practices, court ruling
Harris County fought for its bail system in front of a panel of three federal appellate judges Tuesday morning. The County is asking the court to overturn a lower judge’s ruling that called its pretrial processes unconstitutional.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
How Harris County’s federal bail lawsuit spreads beyond Houston
Texas counties are watching to see how Harris County’s fight against court-ordered bail practices will affect them.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas’ murder rate went up again last year, remains relatively low
Violent crimes — including murder — jumped up again last year in Texas and across the nation, according to new FBI data. It’s the second year violent crime has increased from record low levels in 2014.
Posted in
Now on the Books
Texas teens to be trained next year on police interactions
High schoolers, new drivers and police will all need to receive training on police interactions under a new law — but not until next fall.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Hundreds of Harvey prison evacuees start transfer to cooler Texas facilities
A federal judge’s order that some prison inmates relocated amid Hurricane Harvey’s flooding be moved into air-conditioned units is prompting a big prisoner shakeup.
Posted in
Now on the Books
How some see Texas as the “gold standard” against wrongful convictions
This year, Texas legislators continued efforts to prevent wrongful convictions by passing a law focused on fixing unreliable jailhouse informants, unfair police station lineups and coerced confessions.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
As a result of Hurricane Harvey, 600 more Texas prisoners getting AC
As Hurricane Harvey approached Texas, state prison officials moved thousands of inmates to higher ground. But now that the storm has passed, about 600 of the evacuees gained protection from hot conditions in their cells thanks to an ongoing federal lawsuit.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Texas congressman concerned about Beaumont prisoners after Harvey
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, an Austin Democrat, is asking about prisoner safety in Beaumont after Hurricane Harvey. Inmates stayed put at state and federal prisons while the city lost its water supply for about a week.
