Listen as Melissa Lucio learns her life has been spared
Lucio learned of her reprieve in a phone call from state Rep. Jeff Leach. Full Story
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Jolie McCullough
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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.
Past Contributions
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![Melissa Lucio prays with a group of Texas lawmakers.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Jeff Leach -
Melissa Lucio’s execution halted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Acknowledging substantive questions about Lucio’s guilt and the fairness of her conviction, the appeals court blocked her Wednesday execution so the case can be further investigated. Full Story
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![Melissa Lucio.]()
Credit: Courtesy of the Lucio family -
Texas executes Carl Buntion, the state’s oldest death row prisoner, for Houston police officer’s murder
Buntion, 78, was sentenced to death for the 1990 murder of a Houston police officer. His Thursday execution was the first Texas has carried out this year. Full Story
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![Huntsville, Texas: Exteriors of the Texas State Penitentiary “Walls Unit” August 20, 2020 in Huntsville, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Facing harsh criticism in the Melissa Lucio case, Texas prosecutor may temporarily spare the woman many believe is innocent
Federal judges, five jurors who convicted her and a roster of family, politicians and celebrities believe there are substantive doubts about whether the death of Lucio’s 2-year-old daughter was even a murder. A prosecutor Tuesday appeared to open the door to canceling her scheduled April 27 execution. Full Story
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![John Lucio, center, tears up as he speaks at a press conference at Dallas City Hall concerning the future of his mother, Melissa Lucio, who is on death row and scheduled to be executed on April 27, 2022. The family is traveling the state and joining state representatives and supporters in fighting for her freedom.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
After pursuing an indictment, Starr County district attorney drops murder charge over self-induced abortion
Texas law exempts a pregnant person from being charged with murder or any lesser homicide charge for an abortion. Full Story
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![The Starr County Jail in Rio Grande City on Saturday. The District Attorney is dropping the charges against Lizelle Herrera, a woman who was indicted with murder for a "self-induced abortion."]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ border operation is meant to stop cartels and smugglers. More often, it arrests migrants for misdemeanor trespassing.
The largest share of Operation Lone Star arrests were of people accused only of trespassing on private property. Many spend months in prison, but the strategy does not appear to have slowed immigration. Full Story
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![A collage of photos of Gov. Abbott, detention facilities, paperwork, the Rio Grande and men in prison uniforms viewed from behind.]()
Credit: Photo illustration by John Whitlock for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune/The Marshall Project. -
More than half of the Texas House wants to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, convicted of killing her toddler
Despite substantive doubts surrounding the cause of her child’s death and a suspect “confession” obtained after hours of interrogation, Lucio is set to be executed next month for killing her 2-year-old daughter. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, speaks during a press conference discussing the case of Melissa Lucio and the public push for her clemency at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 24, 2022. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers are pushing for a stay of execution for Melissa Lucio saying that there is enough doubt in her case that it would be a miscarriage of justice to execute her despite the doubts.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court tells Texas to let a condemned man’s pastor touch him and pray aloud during execution
The Supreme Court ruled that the state likely violated death row inmate John Ramirez’s religious liberties when it denied his request to have his pastor lay his hands on him and pray during his upcoming execution. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 1, 2021. Today, the Supreme Court will hear cases regarding abortion in Texas.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas continues imprisoning migrants without filing charges or appointing lawyers, court filings claim
Months after the problems became apparent, migrants are still being kept in prison in violation of state laws under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security crackdown. Full Story
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![The migrant processing facility adjacent to the Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office in Del Rio on Oct. 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Webb County, a Democratic stronghold, is set to welcome Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial migrant arrests
The county is the most populous to embrace the Republican governor’s “catch-and-jail” policy to arrest people accused of crossing the border illegally for state crimes, including trespassing. Full Story
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![Travelers by foot and vehicle wait to be processed by Customs and Border Protection before entry into Laredo on Nov. 9, 2021. Land borders reopened to vaccinated travelers after 19 months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune