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Brandi Grissom

Brandi Grissom’s staff photo

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.

Past Contributions

  • Dying for Care

    By Brandi Grissom

    More than 280 inmates in county jails died from illnesses while in custody over a four-and-a-half-year period, according to data provided by the Texas attorney general and analyzed by The Texas Tribune. Many died of heart conditions, some of cancer or liver and kidney problems and others of afflictions ranging from AIDS to seizure disorders and pneumonia. There are no state standards for health care in county jails, but criminal justice advocates and correctional facility experts say the large number of illness-related deaths prove they're needed. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Red November

    By Brandi Grissom, Reeve Hamilton, Elise Hu, Ross Ramsey, Emily Ramshaw, Morgan Smith, Matt Stiles, Julián Aguilar, David Muto, Kate Galbraith, Becca Aaronson, Julie Chang, Tristan Hallman and Emily Brown

    Rick Perry won his third full term as governor of Texas on Tuesday, defeating former Houston Mayor Bill White by a convincing double-digit margin and positioning himself for a role on the national stage. And he led a Republican army that swept all statewide offices for the fourth election in a row, took out three Democratic U.S. congressmen and was on its way to a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — a mark the GOP hasn't seen since the days following the Civil War. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmerich

  • The Sex Offender is Offended

    By Brandi Grissom

    Marvin Brown is a convicted sex offender who was released from jail in 1999. Today, he's ill and elderly, suffering from diabetes, stage-four renal disease and congestive heart failure. He's had three mini-strokes in the last two months alone. On good days, he walks with a cane. Other times, he gets around with a walker or an electric wheelchair. But according to Gov. Rick Perry, he poses such a threat to society that he has to wear an ankle bracelet so he can be continuously monitored. Brown says that's a violation of his civil rights, and on Tuesday he filed suit in federal court. "They can't give you freedom and then take it away," he says. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Nathan Gonzales: The TT Interview

    By Brandi Grissom

    The political editor of the respected and influential Rothenberg Political Report on how Washington insiders view the Texas governor's race, who's at risk in the state's congressional battles, what redistricting could mean for the major parties and why Republicans are likely to be happy campers one week from today. Full Story 

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    Credit: Brandi Grissom

  • "Pay Now or Pay Later"

    By Brandi Grissom

    Mentally ill offenders and nonviolent criminals are crowding local jails to the point that the facilities could become health hazards and counties are struggling with the cost of housing and caring for the burgeoning population, according to a new report from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • Adrian Garcia: The TT Interview

    By Brandi Grissom

    The first Hispanic sheriff in Harris County history in 2008 on growing up as a child of legal immigrants, how his mom helped change his liberal views about illegal immigration and whether Houston is a sanctuary city. Full Story 

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