A 64-year-old Jacksonville man who was arrested on a charge of trespassing on private property and defying an order to leave died in the Duval County jail while in isolation.
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
Duval jail death toll hits 14 this year after 2 more reported
Two recent in-custody deaths at Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office—Walter James Matthews and Robert Shaffer—raise critical concerns about inmate healthcare, bringing this year’s toll to 14 at Duval County jail.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Jacksonville to pay $200k to settle lawsuit over police shooting of FAMU student
Taxpayers will foot a $200,000 bill to settle a lawsuit against the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for the police killing of FAMU student Jamee Johnson.
Posted inFlorida
U.S. DOJ agrees with Jacksonville sheriff that brutal arrest didn’t break law
The U.S. Department of Justice said that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s recent arrest of a 24-year-old that caught national attention in September because of its brutality “does not give a rise to a prosecutable violation of the federal civil rights laws.”
Posted inFlorida
U.S. DOJ says it is ‘monitoring’ brutal arrest by Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers
The U.S. Department of Justice said it is “monitoring” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s brutal arrest of a 24-year-old man who suffered a head injury and a ruptured kidney.
Posted inFlorida
Former Duval jail medical provider, Armor, says it can’t pay millions in debt
Armor Health Management, one of the nation’s largest jail medical providers, can’t pay its debts and has turned its assets over for liquidation, allowing another company to potentially take over its lucrative contract in a Texas jail and manage several of its other entities.
Posted inFlorida
Jacksonville sheriff defends 4 officers who brutally arrested 24-year-old
Just days after the incident, Sheriff T.K. Waters held a news conference Monday where he said that based on the information they have now, the officers acted appropriately and in compliance with the law and JSO policy when they beat Le’keian Woods. All officers have returned to work, despite an administrative review still pending.
Posted inJail Conditions
From Armor to NaphCare: Unraveling the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s jail health deals
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office inks a secretive jail health contract with NaphCare after canceling Armor Correctional’s deal.
Posted inJail Conditions
Jacksonville jail records 12th death of the year, first under new medical provider
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office recorded its 12th inmate death for 2023 and the first under its new medical provider, Naphcare.
Posted inFlorida
$6.3 million wake-up call: Judge finds former Duval jail medical provider liable for COVID-19 outbreak
State judge rules Armor Correctional Health Services liable for Duval County Jail’s 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, ordering $6.3M in damages to affected officers and spouses. This decision follows The Tributary’s reporting on the tripling of inmate deaths under Armor.