What We're Reading

News that caught our attention or cited the Texas Justice Initiative from across the Lone Star State and beyond.
  • How a 63-year-old inmate was the first to die from COVID-19 in the Dallas County jail

    How a 63-year-old inmate was the first to die from COVID-19 in the Dallas County jail

    Published on October 16, 2020

    Reporters for The Dallas Morning News describe how Channel Lee Greer, 63, died of COVID-19 in June, three months after he was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a controlled substance. Dallas County officials announced Greer's death in August and filed a custodial death report in October.

  • 1,010 people have been shot and killed by police in the past year

    1,010 people have been shot and killed by police in the past year

    Published on September 23, 2020

    In its annual summary of shootings by law enforcement, The Washington Post reports that the number of shootings each year has remained steady since The Post's first report five years ago. Additionally, the report states, "the rate at which black Americans are killed by police is more than twice as high as the rate for white Americans."

  • The U.S. Prison System Has Reached 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths

    The U.S. Prison System Has Reached 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths

    Published on August 28, 2020

    Reason Magazine's Scott Shackford reports that the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in American prisons has passed 1,000 (inmates and staff), based on data collected by The Marshall Project.

  • Officer-Involved Shootings Climb in Texas; Blacks, Latinos Disproportionate Victims

    Officer-Involved Shootings Climb in Texas; Blacks, Latinos Disproportionate Victims

    Published on August 27, 2020

    The Center on Media Crime and Justice at John Jay College featured TJI's officer-involved shootings report in their publication, The Crime Report. Reporter Laura Bowen focused on the increasing number of shootings by officers in Texas over the past four years and decreasing survival rates of victims.

  • Bexar County Is No. 2 in Texas for Officer-Involved Shootings; Black Residents Are in the Crosshairs

    Bexar County Is No. 2 in Texas for Officer-Involved Shootings; Black Residents Are in the Crosshairs

    Published on September 9, 2020

    Sanford Nowlin, editor-in-chief for the San Antonio Current, localized TJI's new report on shootings of and by Texas law enforcement for the cover story of his weekly newspaper. Nowlin's story focuses on Bexar County/San Antonio, home to the 2nd-highest number of officer-involved shootings in Texas from 2016-2019.