Updated: Supreme Court Denies Stay; Foster to Be Executed
The U.S. Supreme Court denied death row inmate Cleve Foster's fourth request for a stay his execution, which is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Full Story
Brandi Grissom worked at the Tribune from its launch in 2009 until 2014, rising to the rank of managing editor. In addition to editing duties, Grissom led the Tribune's coverage of criminal justice issues. During her tenure at the Tribune, she was chosen as a 2012 City University of New York Center on Media, Crime and Justice/H.F. Guggenheim Journalism Fellow and was a fellow at the 2012 Journalist Law School at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Grissom, along with Tribune multimedia producer Justin Dehn, received a 2012 regional Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting for work on the case of Megan Winfrey, who was acquitted of murder in February 2013 after the Trib’s coverage brought statewide attention the case. Grissom joined the Tribune after four years at the El Paso Times, where she acted as a one-woman Capitol bureau. Grissom won the Associated Press Managing Editors First-Place Award in 2007 for using the Freedom of Information Act to report stories on a variety of government programs and entities, and the ACLU of Texas named her legislative reporter of the year in 2007 for her immigration reporting. She previously served as managing editor at The Daily Texan and has worked for the Alliance Times-Herald, the Taylor Daily Press, the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung and The Associated Press. A native of Alliance, Neb., she has a degree in history from the University of Texas.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied death row inmate Cleve Foster's fourth request for a stay his execution, which is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Full Story
Texas Juvenile Justice Department spokesman Jim Hurley said Jay Kimbrough, who served as interim leader of the agency from May until this month, will be returning to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Full Story
The cost to treat Texas inmates with hepatitis C is expected to soar by as much as 380 percent next year. Legislators, already facing a strained budget, will have to find millions more dollars to pay for this care. Full Story
Democrat Keith Hampton is focusing his campaign to lead the state’s top criminal court on winning over Republicans. That is the key, he says, to defeating controversial long-time Judge Sharon Keller. Full Story
Texas lawmakers passed a law they hoped would prevent faulty eyewitness identifications, which have been the leading cause of wrongful convictions. The Innocence Project of Texas is checking to see if the law is being implemented. Full Story
The state association that represents prosecutors reviewed 91 cases in which Innocence Project researchers identified prosecutor error or misconduct. The organization concluded there were actually only six cases of misconduct. Full Story
Recovering organs from willing convicted murderers may seem like a reasonable method to reduce the organ waiting list, but the proposal is fraught with challenges that make it unlikely to ever be an option. Full Story
For youths who are considered some of the most troubled in the juvenile justice system, the Phoenix Program is a last chance to straighten their paths. For the troubled juvenile system, it may be the road to reform. Full Story
The Texas Juvenile Justice Board on Friday voted to hire Michael Griffiths to be the next leader of the youth justice agency as it struggles to improve security and safety at its juvenile correctional facilities. Full Story
If Rusty Hardin ever thought he was special, he says, he'd lose all the advantages that have made him one of Texas' most successful prosecutors and famous defense lawyers. Now he's taking on a special role: investigating the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton. Full Story