about me
I am an investigative reporter for the Southern Poverty Law Center, where I cover civil rights violations in the South. Here, I have written about the poultry industry, use of force by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, civil asset forfeiture and prison health care. Prior to moving to Montgomery in 2016, I was an investigative reporter in Washington, D.C. covering the congressional delegation from Texas and money-in-politics.
Reports under my byline have led to two Ethics Committee investigations involving misconduct by 11 members of Congress. They also led to the federal conviction of a former congressman on nearly two-dozen corruption charges. I graduated from the University of Alabama in 2013 and was editor-in-chief of the Crimson White from 2012 to 2013.
Investigations
Covid-19 in alabama prisons - Southern poverty law Center
My colleagues and I innovated quickly when the coronavirus pandemic hit, turning to a brand new dataset containing information on Alabama’s incarcerated population for a series of investigative stories. We used these data to produce reports that held the state accountable for its failure to grant parole and mandatory releases amid the pandemic, despite public health experts’ dire warnings.
Alabama prisons hold more than 1,100 older people at greater COVID-19 risk
First person to die in Alabama’s prisons with COVID-19 spent more than four decades behind bars
Second man to die with coronavirus in Alabama prisons suffered years with chronic illnesses
Hundreds of people denied parole in Alabama as pandemic worsened
opportunity costs - Southern poverty law Center
My reporting partner and I revealed serious flaws in Alabama’s loosely regulated, user-funded community corrections programs.
Opportunity Costs: Unequal Justice in Alabama’s Community Corrections Programs
Community corrections program struggles to break even as some clients feel the pain
STOCKMAN - houston chronicle
These stories exposed corruption in the office of former Texas Rep. Steve Stockman and ultimately led to his conviction in federal court.
The kill line - southern poverty law center
A gruesome industrial accident at an Alabama poultry plant killed a man working there through a prison work release program in 2017. Through deep reporting I revealed how Frank Ellington came to be at the spot near the factory’s Kill Line where he died. I also uncovered his co-workers’ safety concerns before his death and dozens of other injuries to incarcerated poultry workers across several Southern states.
The Kill Line: Should prisons be in business with one of the most dangerous industries in America?
Why incarcerated poultry workers deserve better (commentary for The Marshall Project)
Baku Bucks & turkey trips - houston chronicle and opensecrets.org
These reports resulted in the largest U.S. House of Representatives ethics investigation in nearly a decade. Lawmakers no longer take corrupt, privately sponsored trips to Turkey or Azerbaijan.
Ethics chair received contributions from donors linked to groups in Azerbaijan probe
Travel by ethics panel members adds wrinkle to Azerbaijan probe
Ethics watchdogs call for halt to lawmakers' privately sponsored overseas travel
Ethics probe halts congressional travel to Turkey; free trips overall have slowed
Other work
Southern Poverty Law Center
First person to die in Alabama’s prisons with COVID-19 spent more than four decades behind bars
Arbitrary & excessive: Marijuana trafficking sentences in Alabama
Despite horrific prison stay, a mother comes to understand addiction
After a hard-won sentence reduction, Huntsville man’s court debt is another obstacle to freedom
Creative writing class in prison was ‘light’ in the darkness
An Alabama man died. Then cash-strapped prosecutors fought his family for his house
[Report] Alabama’s War on Marijuana: Assessing the Fiscal and Human Toll of Criminalization
ICE came for their fathers and mothers. Now these Mississippi families will live in poverty
A Mississippi police officer called ICE during a routine stop. Then an ICE agent shot an unarmed man
Police body camera footage obtained by SPLC shows aftermath of ICE shooting
Profits vs. Prisoners: How the largest U.S. prison health care provider puts lives in danger
opensecrets.org
Mike Huckabee's super PAC pays Mike Huckabee's company nearly $30,000
Women charged in UN bribery case were donors to Rep. Calvert
Old campaign money flows to former intelligence chair’s new group, and former staffers
Actually, Hillary Clinton’s Wall Street money? More than double that 3 percent.
LLC gifts are making up a bigger share of super PACs’ fundraising hauls
UBS, accused of helping tax evaders, leads the way in foreign-connected PAC giving
Clinton raises historic share — and amount — of campaign cash from women
Education
the University of Alabama
B.A. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Graduated May 2013