The latest Texas Court Of Criminal Appeals news from The Texas Tribune.
Megan Winfrey has watched as her father and brother were released from jail because the dog-scent evidence used in the murder case against them was deemed faulty. But she remains in prison, awaiting a ruling on her plea for acquittal. Full Story
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Democrat Keith Hampton is focusing his campaign to lead the state’s top criminal court on winning over Republicans. That is the key, he says, to defeating controversial long-time Judge Sharon Keller. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers passed a law they hoped would prevent faulty eyewitness identifications, which have been the leading cause of wrongful convictions. The Innocence Project of Texas is checking to see if the law is being implemented. Full Story
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Michael Morton’s exoneration last year brought to a crescendo in Texas calls for change in the way that prosecutors are regulated. Morton and others discuss whether there is a need for more accountability for state lawyers and how it ought to be accomplished. Full Story
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At least 86 Texans' convictions were overturned between 1989 and 2011. A Tribune analysis finds that in nearly 25 percent of those cases, courts ruled that prosecutors made mistakes. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a death sentence for Manuel Velez, citing inaccurate testimony during Velez's sentencing. Full Story
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Attorneys for the state of Texas and death row inmate Hank Skinner have filed a joint motion with the Court of Criminal Appeals to send his case back to district court so he can obtain DNA testing. Full Story
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Researchers at two law schools Monday released an unprecedented listing of all the exoneration cases from the last 23 years. Only two states had more exonerations than Texas, according to the report. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday stayed the execution of a severely mentally ill inmate convicted of a 1989 robbery and murder at a Fort Worth Steak and Ale restaurant. Full Story
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The latest installment in death row inmate Hank Skinner's quest for DNA testing comes today as his lawyers argue to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that a change in state law should allow for testing in his case. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals heard from Megan Winfrey's lawyer and the San Jacinto County district attorney Wednesday as Winfrey challenges her conviction for a 2004 murder. Full Story
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The state's highest criminal court on Wednesday ordered a lower court to review a death penalty case that involved a psychologist reprimanded last year for using unscientific methods. Full Story
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A Houston lawyer with a long list of high profile clients has been tapped to be the prosecutor in the court of inquiry into possible misconduct in the case of Michael Morton, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1987. Full Story
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Michael Morton's lawyer on the fight to obtain DNA testing that ultimately proved Morton's innocence in the death of his wife. Full Story
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The State Bar of Texas has dismissed a grievance filed against Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley in the case of Michael Morton, whose wrongful conviction for murder was reversed last year. Full Story
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Michael Morton's tragic wrongful conviction for his wife's murder 25 years ago illustrates the best and worst of science in the courtroom, a judge said on Monday. Full Story
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When Michael Morton is officially cleared of wrongful murder charges on Monday, his lawyers will try to do something unprecedented: They will ask for a special inquiry into former prosecutor Ken Anderson's role in his conviction. Full Story
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Leading a national downward trend in the use of the death penalty, Texas has executed just 13 prisoners so far in 2011, the lowest number in more than a decade. And juries meted out only eight new death sentences. Full Story
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Voters choose dozens of important state officials without knowing a thing about them. So they rely on other cues — like political affiliations, pleasing names and who knows what else. Full Story
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The dog-sniffing evidence that led to the conviction of her father for conspiring to commit murder was unreliable enough for him to be released from prison. So why is his daughter, Megan Winfrey, serving a life sentence for the same crime based largely on the same evidence? Full Story
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