Tennessee executes Byron Black despite worries about his heart implant The state of Tennessee carried out the execution of Byron Black on Tuesday morning. The 69-year-old was convicted of killing his girlfriend and her

Reporters who witnessed the execution said that Byron Black, who had a heart implant, seemed to be in distress during the execution and said “it’s hurting so bad.” They said Black was breathing and moaning more than previous executions. wpln.org/post/tenness... @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social

Middle School Cheerleaders Made a TikTok Video Portraying a School Shooting. They Were Charged With a Crime. Social videos, memes and retweets are becoming fodder for criminal charges in an era of heightened responses to student threats. Authorities say harsh punishment is necessary, but experts say the crac...

In rural Tennessee, 16 middle schoolers waiting for cheerleading practice to start made a TikTok video seeming to role play a school shooting.

The sheriff's office charged every single one with a crime.

www.propublica.org/article/soci...

Timeline: Tennessee is planning its first lethal injection in years. How did the state get here? On Thursday, Tennessee plans to carry out its first execution since 2019 by means of lethal injection. It's the fourth scheduled execution date since 2020 for

Byron Black is asking Tennessee's governor to commute his death sentence based on his intellectual disability. In 2021 death row inmates gained the right to petition the court for a determination on their disability, but Black's lawyers say he was since denied that chance wpln.org/post/timelin...

Supreme Court upholds Tennessee law that bars gender-affirming care for minors At issue was a Tenneessee law that bars minors from accessing gender-affirming care as they transition from their sex assigned at birth.

JUST IN: The Supreme Court upholds Tennessee law that bars gender-affirming care for minors.

How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.

That superintendent, Richard L. Bean, recently announced he'll be stepping down from the facility that bears his name. @paigepfleger.bsky.social and @mariamelba.bsky.social looked into how Bean was able to hold on to his position for decades:

Still of Last Week Tonight. John Oliver is discussing a Nov. 16, 2023 ProPublica/WPLN story titled "This Youth Detention Center Superintendent Illegally Locks Kids Alone in Cells. No One Has Forced Him to Stop."

Still of Last Week Tonight, spotlighting a quote from youth center superintendent Richard L. Bean, saying "What we do is treat everybody like they're in here for murder. You don't have any problems if you do that."

John Oliver wasn't done with ProPublica & @wpln.bsky.social.

Later in the episode he talked about @paigepfleger.bsky.social's 2023 profile of a TN youth center superintendent who illegally locked kids alone in their cells.

www.propublica.org/article/knox...

You’ll see a familiar byline on the next episode of @lastweektonight.com ❣️

How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.

“He’s just been allowed to go unchecked,” said state Rep. Sam McKenzie of Knoxville. “It was just a bad situation compounded by a rubber-stamp board that really was trying to protect him, and not protect our children.” www.propublica.org/article/rich... @wpln.bsky.social @propublica.org

How the head of an embattled Tennessee youth detention center held on to power for decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations, and the use of seclusion to punish children.

How the head of an embattled Tennessee youth detention center held on to power for decades despite multiple investigations, the use of seclusion

wpln.org/post/how-the... @paigepfleger.bsky.social @wpln.bsky.social

"His former secretary, his personal lawyer, the judge for whom he served as a campaign treasurer and a pallbearer of his wife’s casket all sat on the board over time as voting members."

A maddening story by @paigepfleger.bsky.social & @mariamelba.bsky.social

How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.

Many of the board members were his friends — his former secretary, his personal lawyer, a pallbearer for his wife’s casket. Others didn’t know they were listed as board members until we called them for this story. My latest with @mariamelba.bsky.social: www.propublica.org/article/rich...

How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.

Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.
@paigepfleger.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social w/ @wpln.bsky.social

The Head of a Tennessee Youth Detention Center Will Step Down After “Loss of Confidence” in His Leadership A 2023 investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica found that Richard L. Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells. A new scandal has forced his resignation.

#ICYMI: A 2023 investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica found that Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells. A new scandal has forced his resignation.

How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.

NEW: Only three board members had the power to remove Richard L. Bean as superintendent of the Tennessee juvenile detention center that bears his name.

And for decades, those positions have been held down by his closest friends and allies.

With @wpln.bsky.social

How the head of an embattled Tennessee youth detention center held on to power for decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations, and the use of seclusion to punish children.

Only one county juvenile detention center in Tennessee is governed by a board of trustees. Through scandals and state write-ups, it kept one man in power for decades. wpln.org/post/how-the...

How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.

NEW: How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades @paigepfleger.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social w/ @wpln.bsky.social

How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.

Only three board members had the power to remove Richard L. Bean as superintendent of the Tennessee juvenile detention center that bears his name. And for decades, those positions have been held down by his closest friends and allies. www.propublica.org/article/rich... @mariamelba.bsky.social

@paigepfleger.bsky.social has been on this from the downbeat- honest investigative journalism doing its job!🙌

The Head of a Tennessee Youth Detention Center Will Step Down After “Loss of Confidence” in His Leadership A 2023 investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica found that Richard L. Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells. A new scandal has forced his resignation.

A 2023 investigation from @wpln.bsky.social‬ and ProPublica found the Richard L. Bean detention center was using solitary confinement more than other detention centers in the state.

Sometimes the children were locked up alone for hours or days at a time.

By @paigepfleger.bsky.social‬

The Head of a Tennessee Youth Detention Center Will Step Down After “Loss of Confidence” in His Leadership A 2023 investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica found that Richard L. Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells. A new scandal has forced his resignation.

In 2023, the head of a Tennessee juvenile detention center told us, “What we do is treat everybody like they’re in here for murder. You don’t have a problem if you do that.”

Now, Richard L. Bean is out of a job after the mayor "lost confidence" in him. @paigepfleger.bsky.social @wpln.bsky.social

The Head of a Tennessee Youth Detention Center Will Step Down After “Loss of Confidence” in His Leadership A 2023 investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica found that Richard L. Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells. A new scandal has forced his resignation.

NEW: A 2023 investigation by @wpln.bsky.social and ProPublica found that Richard L. Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells.

A new scandal has forced his resignation.

By @paigepfleger.bsky.social

Really excited to join the new Association of Gun Violence Reporters as the Southern chapter leader. Learn more about the team and how to get involved here: agvr.org/meet-the-team/

The head of Knoxville’s Richard L. Bean detention center will retire after ‘loss of confidence’ in his leadership A 2023 WPLN News and ProPublica investigation found that Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells. A new scandal has forced his resignation.

The superintendent of an East Tennessee juvenile detention center abruptly announced his retirement. A 2023 WPLN News and @propublica.org investigation found that Richard Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells, and a new scandal has forced his resignation. wpln.org/post/the-hea...

2024 News (Large Newsroom) Winners The Education Writers Association announces the 2024 News (Large Newsroom) Winners for its EWA Awards.

Kudos to @aliyyaswaby.bsky.social & @paigepfleger.bsky.social for winning an @edwriters.bsky.social award for stories on Tennessee's crackdown on student threats. "These articles are a masterclass in how to persist when official data and cooperation are scant to nonexistent," judges said. 🎉🎉

A Tennessee School Agreed to Pay $100,000 to Family of 11-Year-Old Student Arrested Under School Threats Law Under the settlement, the Chattanooga charter school also agreed to implement training on how to handle threats of mass violence at school, including differentiating between “clearly innocuous stateme...

NEW: A Tennessee school has agreed to pay $100,000 to the family of an 11-year-old student with autism who was arrested under the state's school threats law, by @aliyyaswaby.bsky.social by @paigepfleger.bsky.social w/ @wpln.bsky.social

A Tennessee School Agreed to Pay $100,000 to Family of 11-Year-Old Student Arrested Under School Threats Law Under the settlement, the Chattanooga charter school also agreed to implement training on how to handle threats of mass violence at school, including differentiating between “clearly innocuous stateme...

NEW: A Chattanooga public charter school has agreed to pay the family of an 11-year-old boy $100,000 to settle a federal lawsuit claiming that it wrongfully reported the student to police for an alleged threat of mass violence.

By @aliyyaswaby.bsky.social & @paigepfleger.bsky.social

Chattanooga school agrees to pay $100,000 after an 11-year-old was arrested under threats of mass violence law Junior was handcuffed and arrested for allegedly making a threat. His family agreed to a settlement in their lawsuit against his school.

Last year, an autistic student was handcuffed and charged with a felony over an alleged threat of mass violence. Now, @paigepfleger.bsky.social and @aliyyaswaby.bsky.social report his Chattanooga school has agreed to pay his family $100,000. wpln.org/post/chattan... @propublica.org

A Tennessee School Expelled a 12-Year-Old for a Social Post. Experts Say It Didn’t Properly Assess If He Made a Threat. The way school officials handled his case also exposes glaring contradictions in two recent state laws that aim to criminalize school threats and require schools to expel students who make them — with...

6/ At a hearing, the student explained why he posted the screenshot: “I just wanted to let people know, feel heroic. I didn’t want more people to get hurt.” www.propublica.org/article/tenn...

1/ The day after the Antioch High shooting, Nashville police arrested a 12-year-old for posting a concerning screenshot on Instagram.

His school was supposed to figure out if it was a valid threat. Instead, the school expelled him with no further investigation.

Tennessee executes Oscar Smith, ending pause on lethal injections The state of Tennessee executed Oscar Franklin Smith Thursday morning. It was the first lethal injection since 2019, and comes on the heels of a third-party inv

“Everything about the death penalty is against the sanctity of life. It’s not pro-life,” one protester said. “Especially in the South where that phrase is used a lot … why isn’t this also an issue? Is this pro-life?” wpln.org/post/tenness... @wpln.bsky.social @thisisnashville.bsky.social