death penalty

TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey April 2, 2011

Tan's wall-to-wall coverage of the budget (with more from the rest of the Trib crew, interviews with some of the freshmen seeing this up close for the first time and a map of how it works), Philpott on the similarities between budget worries in Texas and those elsewhere, M. Smith explains school finance, Ramshaw on the dwindling insurance options for orphans, Grissom on legal fights over the drugs used for state executions, Aguilar on the run-up to the debate over sanctuary cities, Stiles maps the diversity of Texas counties, Galbraith on efforts to recycle plastic bags and Hamilton on calls for "entrepreneurship" at the University of Texas: The best of our best content from March 28 to April 1, 2011. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Muliadi Soenaryo
Judge Denies Death Penalty Drug Challenge

By Brandi Grissom April 1, 2011

Travis County District Court Judge Stephen Yelenosky this afternoon denied the request of two death row inmates to temporarily halt executions with Texas' new lethal injection drug. Lawyers for Cleve Foster and Humberto Leal said they would immediately appeal the judge's decision. Full Story
Execution Drug Switch Ignites Controversy

By Brandi Grissom April 1, 2011

Texas' decision to change one of the drugs used for lethal injections has sparked a lawsuit, calls for federal investigation of the criminal justice department and pleas from the drugmaker not to use its product for executions. Full Story
Lawyers Allege Texas Executes Prisoners With Illegally Obtained Drugs

By Brandi Grissom March 30, 2011

Lawyers for two Texas death row inmates today asked state and federal law enforcement to investigate whether prison officials illegally obtained death penalty drugs the state used in nearly all of its 466 executions. Full Story
Death Row Inmates Sue Over Lethal Injection Drug

By Brandi Grissom March 29, 2011

Two death row inmates sued the state today, arguing that the decision to use a new lethal injection drug was made too secretly and too hastily. Full Story
AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Touring the Texas Prison Museum

By Caleb Bryant Miller March 28, 2011

Former "Walls Unit" warden Jim Willett narrates a photographic tour of the Texas Prison Museum, where he is the executive director. Full Story

Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller
Looking Back on a Life as a Death House Warden

By Brandi Grissom March 28, 2011

Jim Willett had not intended to spend the better part of his adult life working in Texas’ sprawling prison system. But the business student turned prison guard worked 30 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and oversaw 89 executions. Full Story
Texas Decides on Substitute Execution Drug

By Brandi Grissom March 16, 2011

Cleve Foster will be the first Texas inmate to receive the anesthetic drug pentobarbital — instead of sodium thiopental — in the three-drug cocktail that will be used in his execution on April 5. Full Story
Execution Set for April, but State Out of Key Drug

By Brandi Grissom March 9, 2011

The next execution is scheduled to take place April 5 — less than a month from now — but the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not yet decided which drug it will use to replace sodium thiopental, one of three used in the state's execution protocol. Full Story
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 69

By Reeve Hamilton March 2, 2011

On this week's episode, Evan, Reeve, Ben and Brandi discuss Gov. Rick Perry's Twitter feed, the state's changing demographics and issues of innocence. Full Story
Rev. Carroll Pickett: The TT Interview

By Brandi Grissom Feb. 28, 2011

Rev. Carroll Pickett holds the world record for witnessing the most state executions as a chaplain. He saw 95 men die by lethal injection during his career as the death house chaplain. Full Story

Credit: Brandi Grissom
Rev. Carroll Pickett: The TT Interview

By Brandi Grissom Feb. 28, 2011

The onetime death house chaplain on what it was like to witness the most state executions of anyone in his job (95, by lethal injection), what changed his mind about the death penalty and why lawmakers should continue to fund the chaplain program. Full Story
UT/TT Poll: Texans Are Ready to Roll the Dice

By Ross Ramsey Feb. 23, 2011

A majority of the state's voters say they're ready for full-blown casino gambling, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva
Religious Leaders Advocate for Ex-Veteran's Clemency

By Aziza Musa Feb. 16, 2011

Today, a week before his son is scheduled to die, Columbus Adams and a host of religious leaders asked the state to forgive Timothy Adams. His son, he said, never committed a crime before the day he lost control during an argument with his wife and killed their son. Full Story

Credit: Courtesy www.timothywayneadams.com
Veteran Who Shot Baby Seeks Clemency

By Brandi Grissom Feb. 7, 2011

He was an Army veteran and a Houston security guard who had never been arrested until February 2002, when a fight with his wife sent Timothy Adams into a suicidal spiral. During a stand-off with police, Adams fatally shot his 19-month-old son twice in the chest — landing him a spot on death row. Full Story

Credit: Courtesy www.timothywayneadams.com
Will Europe Thwart Texas Executions?

By Brandi Grissom Feb. 5, 2011

Texas has enough supplies of a key drug to carry out only two more executions. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is exploring its options, including what other states are doing. But the drug alternatives are limited and would most likely still leave Texas reliant on nations that oppose the death penalty. Full Story
Last Words: "All Right, Warden, Let's Do It."

By Brandi Grissom Feb. 5, 2011

Before prison officials administer the lethal cocktail of drugs used to carry out executions, the condemned may say their final piece. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice keeps a record of these last statements. Full Story
Texplainer: Could Texas Fire Up Old Sparky?

By Brandi Grissom Feb. 5, 2011

The short answer is yes — and no. It's still around, and would work if it was plugged in. But it can't be used for executions in Texas anymore. Full Story

Credit: Courtesy Jim Willett, Texas Prison Museum director
TribBlog: TDCJ On the Hunt for Execution Drug

By Brandi Grissom Jan. 21, 2011

Texas officials have enough execution drugs to carry out the death sentences of two inmates scheduled for lethal injection in February. But they will have to find another sodium thiopental supplier or a different drug to use after March. Full Story
TribBlog: Texas Juries Gave Only 8 Death Sentences in 2010

By Brandi Grissom Dec. 13, 2010

Texas juries sentenced just eight people to death in 2010, the smallest number since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment here in 1976, according to a report published today by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Full Story