Driving in the rain without headlights, the reason William McNeil Jr. was pulled over before he was hit and then dragged from his car by Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies, is an exceedingly rare infraction in Duval County. But it is less rare if you are Black like McNeil, according to more than three years of traffic-stop data obtained by The Tributary.
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
Ranking officer during Duval jail death has spotty past
A Jacksonville jail sergeant suspended in the aftermath of the violent death of a chef in April was hired despite having been kicked out of the Marines and having a history of arrests for domestic violence.
Posted inFlorida
U.S. Supreme Court denies appeal for Duval man executed Tuesday
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea to block the execution of a Florida man who was convicted of gunning down a Jacksonville couple more than 30 years ago.
Posted inFlorida
Florida Supreme Court denies Duval Death Row inmate’s appeal ahead of execution
The Florida Supreme Court upheld a decision by a Duval circuit judge that rejected relief for a Death Row inmate – despite signed affidavits by two prosecution witnesses who said they were coerced by the state to lie. Michael Bell is scheduled to die on July 15.
Posted inFlorida
JSO blocks release of emails in days after fatally injured inmate was taken to hospital
In the three days after Charles Faggart, a 31-year-old father and food truck vendor, was rushed to UF Health with fatal injuries from the Duval County jail, Sheriff T.K. Waters sent and received no email – or at least none that the sheriff’s office is willing to disclose – according to heavily redacted records obtained by The Tributary.
Posted inFlorida
Cops had a choice of witnesses. They used the liar to put a Jacksonville man on Death Row
A cache of records recently obtained by The Tributary paints a vivid portrait of Sidney Jones, who was at once a petty thief, burglar, gunman, and liar, as well as a longtime paid police informant whose controlled buys gave cops probable cause for arrests.
Posted inFlorida
Duval judge denies new trial for Death Row inmate scheduled for execution
If put to death, Michael Bell will be the eighth person executed by the state this year.
Posted inFlorida
Witnesses say their lies put a man on Death Row. Then they took it back
On June 16, Henry Edwards signed a detailed affidavit acknowledging that he gave false testimony in a 1995 capital murder case as a favor to a Jacksonville detective – false testimony that put a man on Death Row. On Monday, after prosecutors and a judge told Edwards that recanting his past testimony could lead to criminal charges, he took it all back.
Posted inFlorida
Witnesses in Duval Death Row case say they were coached by detective to lie
The legal team representing Michael Bell submitted handwritten affidavits from both witnesses, each saying he was coached to give false testimony by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective William Bolena.
Posted inJail Conditions
Autopsy into controversial jail death complete, but findings a mystery
That report’s findings about what ultimately caused Faggart’s controversial death will prove consequential, so the report’s completion is a significant step.