Stories on which I was the primary reporter
Inmate Starves to Death
This story developed from a tip from a death row inmate. The initial tip was off by a bit, but the underlying story was valid. The medical staff at the Kentucky State Penitentiary allowed an inmate on hunger strike to starve to death. This piece, which took several months to report out, required coordination with editors, multiple records requests and letters to other inmates to complete. It won The AP’s beat of the Week as the best story by the news service the week it ran.
https://www.boston.com/news/national-news/2014/04/21/ap-exclusive-kentucky-inmate-starves-to-death
Fallen Star: Jason Kessler went from right-wing darling to pariah after 'Unite the Right'
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/07/30/fallen-star-jason-kessler-went-high-unite-right-pariah-among-other-racists-and-his-hometown
Rand Paul isn't a board-certified doctor
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/national-group-paul-isnt-a-board-certified-doc/
Fallen Star: Jason Kessler went from right-wing darling to pariah after 'Unite the Right'
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/07/30/fallen-star-jason-kessler-went-high-unite-right-pariah-among-other-racists-and-his-hometown
Rand Paul isn't a board-certified doctor
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/national-group-paul-isnt-a-board-certified-doc/
The King of Pot
An enterprise piece that took a bit of time to develop. Two years after a prolific pot grower fled central Kentucky, I spent a day talking to his friends and visiting his old haunts. The piece is as much about the place he’s from as it is the fugitive. http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/world/50759129-68/boone-marijuana-kentucky-area.html.csp
Terror Case-Fingerprints
This story took on a new life after a presidential adviser earlier this year discussed the fictional “Bowling Green Massacre.” I wrote the initial story of the two Iraqi men arrested and charged with terrorism. This story is a follow up that broke the news that the federal government had one of the men’s fingerprints on file as an unknown terrorist before he got into the country.
FBI calls on death row inmate to assist search for victim
This story grew out of correspondence with a federal condemned inmate. Chad Fulks responded to my letters by sending along a sealed order pulling him from death row to help the search for a victim who still hasn't been found. The search was fruitless, but the story made a big splash nationally.Link:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-fbi-used-death-row-inmate-in-search-for-remains-2013oct10-story.html
Death Row inmate hip surgery:
This was enterprise off solid beat reporting. During an interview with a serial killer on Kenucky’s death row, the inmate passed along a tip about the problems he was having getting hip replacement surgery. After he sued, a few records requests turned up more documents and produced a story of how politics and publicity were playing into the condemned man’s health care.
Lawyers-Execution Ethics
A Kentucky inmate sought to be executed for murder. It raised a question explored in this story: What do lawyers do when their client wants to die?
Coach Acquitted
The case of Jason Stinson brought national attention to how high school coaches treat their players. His acquittal made national news. Link: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705330888/Kentucky-coach-acquitted-in-rare-player-death-case.html?pg=all
Deaf Fan Wins Suit
College football is huge in the South. When a deaf fan sued the University of Kentucky for accommodations at football games, it became big news. When he settled, I was the first to report the agreement and terms. Link: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/states/kentucky/2012-02-15-1089021597_x.htm
Steven Green Suicide
For multiple years, I pursued interviews with a former U.S. soldier charged (and later convicted) of killing an Iraqi family in 2006. He eventually gave me the interview and we conducted regular correspondence. When he committed suicide in federal prison, his lawyers passed along the tip exclusively to me. Link: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-soldier-convicted-killing-iraqi-family-dies-222833951.html
Escaped inmate seeks treatment
This was a product of solid beat reporting. After following the case of an escaped inmate with Mafia ties, his claims of having health issues and bolting because he needed medical help made national news. Link: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/07/22/inmate-convicted-gangster-related-killing-claims-escaped-custody-seek-medical-care/SI1ePv7xjmGDBz2SNEcewN/story.html
Last Public Execution in America
A western Kentucky city is home to the last public execution. They aren’t proud of that bit of history. Link: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/08/14/after_75_years_last_public_hanging_haunts_city/
Leon Taylor Execution
Amid chaos in Ferguson, Mo., the local AP bureau didn’t have anyone who could cover an execution. The evening before, I received a call from my editor asking if I could get there to staff it. After coordinating with two regional desks and multiple editors, I made it and handled coverage of Leon Taylor’s lethal injection. Link: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-missouri-executes-leon-taylor-for-1994-killing-2014nov18-story.html
Gay Marriage Ruling
This was an early ruling in the legal battle over same-sex marriage. Along with breaking the news months earlier that a Kentucky couple had filed a challenge to the state’s ban, this story broke the news of the judge’s ruling. Link: http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/news/national/judge-strikes-down-kentuckys-gay-marriage-ban/ngXcS/
Inmate Settlement
This was beat work and a little coordination with an editor to report out how the family of an inmate reached a settlement with the federal government over his death.
Paratrooper Cutbacks
Due to sequestration by Congress, the military has been cutting back on the number of paratroopers and other military units. This piece looks at a couple of historic units that were being shrunk or closed down. Link: http://www.theeaglepost.us/fort_campbell/article_764ad878-5c98-11e3-9b74-0019bb2963f4.html
Chemical Companies Investigated
Working from a tip from a lawyer source, this became the first story nationally to expose the investigation into the makers of an odd, but key, part on automobiles.
Stories/projects on which I was the primary editor
Gibson Explosion
This was a follow on an explosion in a community in south Louisiana. Getting the story tool working with the reporter on multiple records requests, then sifting through documents and photos to pull together the story.
Suicide by cop
A man named Jean Paul Falgout led police on a chase through Houma, La., ending in a standoff and his fatal shooting. Police determined it was “suicide by cop.” I worked with the reporter on filing multiple records requests for documents, photos and video over a six-month period. Once the items were in hand, we sifted through everything to produce the story of what happened that day, along with photos and a video.
Link: http://www.houmatoday.com/news/20160220/man-killed-by-police-pledged-to-die-rather-than-go-to-prison
A Last Run
A highly-touted running back left the University of Alabama, then UNLV before ending up at what is known in athletic circles as “Las Chance University.” He was dismissed from the team and died while returning home to Arkansas. I co-wrote and edited this profile of him, which involved friends, coaches and the player’s own social media feeds to fill out the picture of who this player was and what happened.
The Long Goodbye
South Louisiana is sinking into the Gulf of Mexico. On this story, the senior staff writer and I met periodically during his reporting and writing to shape the story of an island that has almost vanished and the people who call it home.
Link: http://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20160104/News/608081576/HC/
Comair Flight 5191 crash
The crash of a Comair flight from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky., on an otherwise quiet Sunday morning made national headlines. I was working the editing desk that day and edited, made phone calls and directed a team of reporters and photographers in covering the initial hours after the fatal crash. In the ensuing days, I also edited copy from reporters, as well as took part in reporting information about those killed.
