Past Contributions

• As the death toll in stifling Texas prisons climbs, congressional Democrats ask for investigation

  By Jolie McCullough Aug. 21, 2023

  Most Texas prisons lack air conditioning. At least 41 prisoners have died of heart-related or undetermined causes since the unrelenting heat wave began. Full Story 

• Ken Paxton’s team said there was no evidence to support impeachment. The House published nearly 4,000 pages.

  By Zach Despart, Patrick Svitek, Jolie McCullough, Kate McGee and Alejandro Serrano Updated: Aug. 18, 2023

  The Senate, which is conducting the trial, published the exhibits Thursday night. House impeachment managers say Paxton abused his office to help friend and political donor Nate Paul. Full Story 

• A prison guard says she was forced to stay at her post during labor pains. Texas is fighting compensation for her stillbirth.

  By Jolie McCullough Aug. 11, 2023

  The seven-months-pregnant officer reported contraction-like pains at work, but said she wasn’t allowed to leave for hours. The anti-abortion state is fighting her lawsuit, in part by saying her fetus didn’t clearly have rights. Full Story 

• Facing sex discrimination claims, Texas begins jailing migrant women under border crackdown

  By Jolie McCullough July 26, 2023

  Operation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws. Full Story 

• Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisons

  By Jolie McCullough July 18, 2023

  Several lawmakers supported a call for Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back immediately to approve air conditioning for prisons, which the Legislature declined to do during its regular session. Full Story 

• Investigation finds no fraud by Texas prison contractor that was paid despite cutting inmate therapy services

  By Jolie McCullough July 13, 2023

  Management & Training Corporation had been accused of defrauding the state by charging for services it didn’t provide and directing prisoners to falsify paperwork about their treatment. Full Story 

• Texas courts struggle to resolve criminal appeals that got lost in Harris County for decades

  By Jolie McCullough July 6, 2023

  Overlooked in the churn of one of the country’s busiest courthouses, the forgotten appeals included two death penalty cases, and one from a man who’s already finished his 20-year sentence. Full Story 

• Texas’ highest criminal court emphatically rejects death row inmate Rodney Reed’s claim of innocence

  By Jolie McCullough June 28, 2023

  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. Full Story 

• Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state seldom acknowledges heat as a cause of death

  By Jolie McCullough Updated: June 28, 2023

  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. Full Story 

• Facing youth prison crisis, Texas lawmakers opt to build new facilities and funnel more kids to adult system

  By Jolie McCullough June 2, 2023

  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. Full Story