The latest death penalty news from The Texas Tribune.
William Rayford, a 64-year-old death row inmate convicted in the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, was put to death Tuesday night in the second execution of the year in Texas and the nation. Full Story
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The first execution of 2018 in Texas and the nation took place Thursday evening for Houston’s “Tourniquet Killer.” It was the first execution under Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, a Democrat who oversaw the first year in more than 30 without an execution in the county. Full Story
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew White on Thursday called for the abolishment of the death penalty. Full Story
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Weather-related prison evacuations, legal battles over execution drugs and death sentences, and reform efforts at the Texas Legislature led the state's criminal justice headlines in 2017. Full Story
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Texas executed more people than any other state this year, but fewer new death sentences has led to a shrinking death row population. Full Story
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The prosecutor in the death penalty case of a man who didn't kill anyone has asked the parole board and Gov. Greg Abbott to change his sentence to life in prison. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stopped the state's last remaining execution of 2017, sending the San Antonio case back to court to resolve claims of false testimony at trial. Full Story
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Texas executed a Mexican national late Wednesday night despite a flurry of last-minute appeals and objections from his native country and United Nations human rights experts. Full Story
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The top prosecutor in Harris County is proposing a new way for Texas to determine if a death-sentenced inmate is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution: use the current clinical books. Full Story
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A 1995 murder of a Houston woman led a case to the nation's highest court Monday. The U.S Supreme Court heard arguments on the issue of federal funding in death penalty investigations during the appeals process. Full Story
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The execution of Houston's "Tourniquet Killer" was delayed because prosecutors began to fear he would confess to another murder — one for which a fellow death row inmate faces execution next month. Full Story
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The execution of Clinton Young, convicted in a 2001 Midland-area murder, was stopped by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The courts will look into claims that Young's co-defendant lied in his testimony against Young. Full Story
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Anthony Shore, a convicted serial killer, is set to be executed Wednesday evening. His murders in the 1980s and 1990s went unsolved until 2003. Full Story
The man convicted in a 1999 prison guard's murder always said he was framed by corrupt guards and inmates. After rounds of DNA testing that were deemed inconclusive, he was executed Thursday night. Full Story
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Robert Pruett faces his execution Thursday in the 1999 murder of a Texas prison guard. Pruett has consistently argued his innocence in the case, pushing for multiple rounds of DNA testing on crime scene evidence. Full Story
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Hector Medina was sentenced to death in 2008 after killing his two young children. Now, he's getting a new sentencing trial because his lawyer refused to present evidence to persuade jurors to opt for the lesser sentence of life without parole. Full Story
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Hurricane Harvey has delayed the execution of a San Antonio man. Bexar County officials withdrew the execution date because part of the man's defense team works in the Houston area. Full Story
A man convicted in the sexual assault and murder of an 11-year-old girl was set to die next Wednesday. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stopped his execution amid claims of intellectual disability. Full Story
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Texas carried out its fifth execution of the year Thursday evening, putting to death TaiChin Preyor in the 2004 murder of a San Antonio woman. Full Story
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Eight doses of the state's supply of pentobarbital, the only drug used in Texas executions, expired on Thursday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story
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