The white-out episode is notable because Florida has faced allegations that in at least 35 executions since February 2025, it has used expired drugs and lower dosages of the drugs than required, according to past lawsuits and FDOC medical records.
Author Archives: Nichole Manna
Nichole Manna is The Florida Trib's Senior Investigative Reporter. She has been with the organization since 2023 and has covered the criminal justice system for more than a decade.
Nichole has extensively covered conditions at the Duval County jail and in 2024 received first place from the Green Eyeshade Awards in online investigations for her reporting of medical neglect at the facility. That series of stories was recognized with awards at the local, regional and national level. She took home the first place prize for a feature story in a small newsroom from the Online Journalism Awards in 2025 for her series, ‘Cold-Blooded’, which dissected a 1993 death penalty case and questioned whether the defendant received a fair trial.
Prior to joining The Trib, Nichole was an investigative reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Texas where she was a Livingston Award finalist for a series of stories about a neighborhood with the lowest life expectancy in the state. Her work helped get residents access to free pop-up clinics and they continue to receive help with food disparities.
She is currently working with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network to produce an investigative project.
You can reach her at nichole@floridatrib.org.
Posted inFlorida Election Coverage
On the ballot: Will Florida remain the nation’s death penalty capital?
Gov. Ron DeSantis in his final two years in office has turned Florida into the death penalty capital of the developed world. Since securing their party’s nominations, neither man running to replace him this fall has discussed in detail whether they would keep that distinction.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Update: Gov. DeSantis drops death warrant for man deemed mentally unfit
After a doctor said William Lee Thompson was mentally unwell, the governor appointed a panel to help decide whether Thompson should be executed. Before its findings were released, DeSantis called off the execution.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office failed to produce records in Death Row case, judge writes
Three decades after a Jacksonville man was sentenced to die for killing a teenage drug dealer, the Jacksonville police and prosecutors are facing increasing pressure to produce documents that could undermine the credibility of their key witnesses – and potentially blow up the case.
Posted inCriminal Justice
‘Profoundly sick’ Florida Death Row prisoner pleads for medical care
More than 100 doctors who have reviewed William Lee Thompson’s case are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to reverse his death warrant
Posted inCold Blooded
Lawyer fighting client’s execution gets new job with agency that wants him dead
Efforts by a Jacksonville man to fight his execution were thrown for a loss when his main lawyer took a new job – with the agency that is fighting his efforts.
Posted inCriminal Justice
He Died in a Florida Jail. The Company in Charge Should Have Sent Him to the Hospital, Experts Say.
Most of the state’s jails have stopped contracting with Armor Health companies, which have been sued repeatedly for subpar care. Only one jail, where Brian Tracey died, still uses a company affiliated with Armor.
Posted inCold Blooded, Criminal Justice
State began, then halted, probe into murder conviction that relied on a known liar’s testimony
The aborted review demonstrates the limitations of a unit set up to fanfare, the first of its kind in Florida, to seek justice for the wrongly accused
Posted inCold Blooded
The ‘hanging judge’: Legacy of Jim Crow looms over Jacksonville Death Row case
An examination by The Tributary shows that Judge Hudson Olliff possessed retrograde views on race that were an open secret in Jacksonville’s legal community but less understood by the general public.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local Government
‘Force is ugly, but’: JSO seldom punishes cops accused of abuse
Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers inconsistently report when they’ve injured civilians, thanks in part to a vague use-of-force policy.