U.S. Supreme Court to hear Texas death penalty challenge
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding intellectual disability and executions in Moore v. Texas. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Bobby Moore, a man who has been on death row since 1980, in March 2017.]()
Credit: TDCJ/AbbyLivingston -
Republicans sweep Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals races
Republicans running in three Texas Supreme Court races and three Texas Court of Criminal Appeals races enjoyed strong victories on Tuesday. Full Story
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Most embrace some reforms in Court of Criminal Appeals races
Almost all of the candidates for the state's highest criminal court agree the justice system should change how it handles drug cases and mental illness. Full Story
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![Mary Lou Keel a felony trial court judge in Harris County, is running for Place 2 on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals against incumbent Larry Meyers.]()
Credit: Meyers: Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth Star-Telegram -
Texas Will See Lowest Number of Executions in 20 Years
At most, Texas will have executed eight men by the close of 2016, the lowest number since 1996. Full Story
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![Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.]()
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Execution of Man Who Killed Neighbors is State's First in Months
Barney Fuller's execution Wednesday for the 2003 shooting deaths in rural East Texas ended Texas' longest gap between executions since 2008. Full Story
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![Barney Ronald Fuller Jr. was executed Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
U.S. Supreme Court Seems Receptive to Death Case Appeal
A psychologist testified at Duane Buck's trial that blacks are more dangerous than whites. Buck wants a new sentencing trial. Full Story
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![Former Texas death row inmate Duane Buck]()
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Texas Death Row Appeal Hinges on Racial Testimony
The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday will hear an appeal from death row inmate Duane Buck, whose trial included racially discriminatory testimony. Full Story
![Former Texas death row inmate Duane Buck]()
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Texas Sees an Unusual Lull in Executions
It's been more than five months since the last execution in Texas, an unusual gap for the nation's most prolific death penalty state. Full Story
![Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.]()
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Execution Halted for Jeff Wood, Who Never Killed Anyone
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has halted the execution of Jeff Wood — a man who never killed anyone — six days before he was set to die by lethal injection. Full Story
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![Texas death row inmate, Jeffrey Lee Wood.]()
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Conservative Lawmaker Battling to Stop a Texas Execution
State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, a staunch conservative, is trying to stop the upcoming execution of Jeff Wood, who was sentenced to death even though he killed no one. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, is hoping to stop the upcoming execution of Jeff Wood.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Prison Guard's Convicted Killer Wins Another Execution Stay
Robert Lynn Pruett, convicted in the 1999 stabbing death of a state correctional officer, has won another stay of execution from a Court of Criminal Appeals judge. His lethal injection was set for August 23. Full Story
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![Robert Pruett, seen here in a 2013 interview, was sentenced to death in 2002 for the murder of correctional officer Daniel Nagle.]()
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Texas Prepares to Execute A Man Who Killed No One
Jeff Wood was outside in a pickup when his partner killed a Kerrville convenience store clerk in 1996, but he was sentenced to death under Texas' felony murder statute, commonly known as the law of parties. Full Story
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![Mitzie and Danny Wood, parents of Jeff Wood, at a rally in July 2016 at the Governor's mansion. Their son, Jeff, was sent to death row under the controversial law of parties statute.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Report Finds Almost 7,000 In-Custody Deaths in Texas
Almost 7,000 individuals in Texas have died in police custody or behind bars over the past 10 years, according to an online report released Wednesday by a University of Texas at Austin research institute. Nearly 2,000 of them had not been convicted of a crime. Full Story
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Rally Questions Death Penalty for Texas Man Who Didn't Pull Trigger
Relatives and supporters of death row inmate Jeff Wood rallied Saturday outside the Governor's Mansion, saying that Wood should not be executed for capital murder under Texas' law of parties. Full Story
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![Supporters of Jeff Wood gathered on July 23, 2016, in front of the Governor's Mansion to rally against his scheduled August execution.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Investigators Identify Inmate Suspected in Prison Guard's Death
Inmate Dillion Gage Compton, 21, who worked in the prison's kitchen area, attacked and killed correctional officer Mari Johnson, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice alleged in a statement Monday. Full Story
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![Dillion Gage Compton allegedly attacked and killed Correctional Officer Mari Johnson on Saturday, July 16th, 2016, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.]()
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Greg Abbott: Targeted Killing of Police Officers Should Be a Hate Crime in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott's proposal comes after weeks of targeted killings of police officers and growing tension over disproportionate encounters between black Americans and law enforcement. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott accepts Site Selection's 2015 Governor's Cup Award on behalf of the state of Texas on March 9, 2016.]()
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Execution Delayed After State Didn't Retest Lethal Drugs
A Texas execution set for next week has been delayed indefinitely because the state wasn't able to retest the purity of the lethal drugs in time. Full Story
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Wrongful Convictions Have Cost Texans More Than $93 Million
Texas has paid 101 men and women who were wrongfully sent to prison $93.6 million over the past 25 years, state data shows. The tab stands to grow as those wrongfully imprisoned individuals age and more people join the list. Full Story
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![Michael Morton sits beside his mother, Patricia Morton, during an emotional press conference in October 2011 after a judge agreed to release him on personal bond after he spent nearly 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife. Recently tested DNA indicates another man committed the 1986 killing.]()
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Appeals Court Halts Texas Man's Execution in Shaken Baby Syndrome Case
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday halted the upcoming execution of Robert Roberson. Roberson's legal team argues that Roberson's conviction in the death of his daughter was based on junk science. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson III is a Texas death row inmate.]()
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Former Officer Escapes Death Sentence in Police Chief's Murder
After a five-day sentencing trial, David Risner, a former police officer, was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the shooting death of Little River-Academy Police Chief Lee Dixon. Full Story
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![David Risner (left) and Chief Lee Dixon.]()
Credit: Bell County Jail records / Courtesy Family