The latest death penalty news from The Texas Tribune.
Reversing his stance in three previous rulings, Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott on Thursday ruled that the state prison system can withhold information about the suppliers of drugs used in lethal injections. Full Story
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A federal appeals court halted the Texas execution of Robert James Campbell just hours before he was to be put to death Tuesday based on questions about whether the 41-year-old inmate is mentally disabled. Full Story
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Defense lawyers say that information about the drug Texas uses in executions – pentobarbital — is shrouded in secrecy. And they worry a dearth of information could lead to cruel and unusual executions. Full Story
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Texas Department of Criminal Justice is storing dozens of vials of the drug used in Tuesday’s botched execution in Oklahoma, raising concerns about the state’s secretive lethal injection process. Full Story
UPDATED: The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has voted not to recommend a posthumous full pardon for Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed a decade ago after being convicted of setting a fire that killed his daughters. Full Story
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Amid national debate over disclosure of information about execution drugs, Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials said they will appeal a judge’s order to reveal the supplier of its execution drugs. Full Story
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UPDATED: The State Bar has begun an investigation of a complaint filed against the prosecutor of former death row inmate Anthony Graves, who who spent 18 years behind bars before being exonerated. Full Story
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During a two-day DNA hearing that ended Tuesday, prosecutors argued tests confirmed Hank Skinner’s guilt in a 20-year-old triple murder, but his lawyers said the results raised too many questions to allow him to be executed. Full Story
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After more than a decade of fighting for DNA tests and two years of analysis on decades-old evidence, a court in Pampa will hear evidence that death row inmate Hank Skinner says should stop his execution. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is reviewing its Death Row Plan, and inmates' rights advocates, along with the prison employees union, are urging less restrictive housing for the condemned. Full Story
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Wednesday night’s execution in Texas of a Mexican national convicted of killing a Houston police officer has given the candidates vying to be the state’s next attorney general an opportunity to weigh in on the death penalty. Full Story
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Lawyers for Iraq War veteran John Thuesen are appealing the former Marine's death sentence for a double murder, arguing that his original trial lawyers didn't adequately explain the post-traumatic stress that Thuesen had suffered. Full Story
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Fallout from the high-profile Michael Morton exoneration along with more prison closures and growing concerns about the mentally ill in Texas prisons dominated criminal justice headlines in 2013. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case of a Florida death row inmate — who claims he does not have the mental capacity to face execution — could provide more guidance to states like Texas. Full Story
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Texans show little faith in big institutions when it comes to privacy rights, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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UPDATED: The Court of Criminal Appeals has ordered a new hearing in the case of Marcus Druery to determine whether he is mentally competent to be executed. Full Story
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A family is fighting to keep jailed the man suspected in their relatives’ deaths, while he pursues a chance to become eligible for parole. Full Story
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M. Smith drops in on state textbook hearings, E. Smith interviews Tom Pauken, Satija on water rationing along the Colorado River, Root probes Dan Patrick’s unexpected investment, KUT’s Philpott sorts out clinic closings, Murphy maps the latest census data, MacLaggan on a welcome turn in poverty, Malewitz finds a race for energy efficiency, Hamilton reports on better grades for Sul Ross, Grissom on bad grades for the death penalty, Batheja on Debra Medina’s dilemma, Aguilar on the glum forecast for immigration reform and Aaronson looks at the latest hurdle for Obamacare: The best of our best for the week of Sept. 16-20, 2013. Full Story
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Despite recent improvements that aim to prevent wrongful convictions, an American Bar Association report released Wednesday says much work remains to ensure fairness in the application of the death penalty in Texas. Full Story
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In a ruling issued Wednesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared that Steven Staley, a mentally ill death row inmate, cannot be forcibly medicated for the purpose of making him competent for execution. Full Story
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