The latest death penalty news from The Texas Tribune.
In a major turn in one of the country’s most-noted death penalty cases, the State Bar of Texas has filed a formal accusation of misconduct against the county prosecutor who convicted Cameron Todd Willingham. Full Story
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A Mexican Mafia hit man convicted for his part in the 1998 capital murder of a San Antonio woman was executed Wednesday evening, leaving the state prison system with only enough pentobarbital for one more execution. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which is nearly out of its current lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, has stockpiled the sedative midazolam. That drug could be part of a backup execution method in Texas, but it is at the center of a legal challenge. Full Story
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The state's highest criminal court on Monday issued a stay of execution for Rodney Reed so new evidence can be considered that defense attorneys say proves their client's innocence. Full Story
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Lawyers for death row inmate Rodney Reed, convicted in 1998 for murdering 19-year-old Giddings cashier Stacey Stites, say new evidence proves his innocence. They're asking courts to take another look at his case. Full Story
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Donald Keith Newbury, 52, who was part of the "Texas Seven" gang of prison fugitives, was executed Wednesday night for the 2000 murder of an Irving police officer. Full Story
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The Court of Criminal Appeals has suspended a criminal defense lawyer, arguing that he filed motions to stop executions too late. The move is part of a ongoing feud in Texas between such lawyers and judges who rule on their claims. Full Story
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Since capital punishment was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, the cost of carrying out a death penalty trial has risen steadily. Full Story
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This week in the Roundup: A Texas inmate with a history of schizophrenia receives a stay of execution, and Gov. Rick Perry and his successor, current Attorney General Greg Abbott, take turns addressing immigration. Full Story
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The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday halted the execution of a Texas death row inmate with a history of schizophrenia, just hours before he was to be put to death in Huntsville. Full Story
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The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles won't recommend a reprieve for convicted killer Scott Panetti, leaving it up to Gov. Rick Perry to decide if he will delay Wednesday's scheduled execution of the schizophrenic death row inmate. Full Story
A Republican judge on Texas’ highest criminal court says he now opposes the death penalty. Full Story
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UPDATED: Texas’ highest criminal court has again refused to halt schizophrenic death row inmate Scott Panetti’s looming execution. Full Story
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The fact that Scott Panetti is facing lethal injection on Dec. 3 despite a 30-year history of documented mental illness demonstrates that the ambiguities of the legal standard of “competency” he helped to define are far from resolved. Full Story
UPDATED: A 38-year-old Arlington woman was executed Wednesday for the starvation death of her girlfriend’s son. Lisa Ann Coleman is the sixth woman to be executed in the state since 1982. Full Story
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UPDATED: Texas death row inmate Willie Tyrone Trottie was executed by lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville for the 1993 murders of his ex-girlfriend and her brother. Full Story
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The latest battle over the efficacy of lethal injection drugs made by compounding pharmacies surfaced on Tuesday in an eleventh-hour appeal filed on behalf of a Texas inmate scheduled to be put to death on Wednesday. Full Story
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The former Burleson district attorney who sent Anthony Graves to death row in 1994 will now face a formal hearing on allegations prosecutorial misconduct by the State Bar of Texas. Full Story
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Texas voters believe men make more than women for equal work, and they support three exceptions to abortion bans, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. But the overall numbers hide gender differences. Full Story
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Lawyers for the state and for death row inmate Henry Skinner on Friday filed proposed findings to a Pampa judge who is considering whether DNA tests on crime scene evidence should preclude his execution. Full Story
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