Listen as Melissa Lucio learns her life has been spared
Lucio learned of her reprieve in a phone call from state Rep. Jeff Leach. Full Story
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![Melissa Lucio prays with a group of Texas lawmakers.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Jeff Leach -
Melissa Lucio’s execution halted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Acknowledging substantive questions about Lucio’s guilt and the fairness of her conviction, the appeals court blocked her Wednesday execution so the case can be further investigated. Full Story
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![Melissa Lucio.]()
Credit: Courtesy of the Lucio family -
Texas executes Carl Buntion, the state’s oldest death row prisoner, for Houston police officer’s murder
Buntion, 78, was sentenced to death for the 1990 murder of a Houston police officer. His Thursday execution was the first Texas has carried out this year. Full Story
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![Huntsville, Texas: Exteriors of the Texas State Penitentiary “Walls Unit” August 20, 2020 in Huntsville, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Prosecutor moves to stop execution of inmate whose religious freedom case reached U.S. Supreme Court
The Nueces County district attorney, Mark A. Gonzalez, has moved to withdraw the death warrant for John Henry Ramirez, convicted of a 2004 robbery and murder. Full Story
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![Nueces County District Attorney Mark A. Gonzalez speaks at a panel during the 2019 Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Facing harsh criticism in the Melissa Lucio case, Texas prosecutor may temporarily spare the woman many believe is innocent
Federal judges, five jurors who convicted her and a roster of family, politicians and celebrities believe there are substantive doubts about whether the death of Lucio’s 2-year-old daughter was even a murder. A prosecutor Tuesday appeared to open the door to canceling her scheduled April 27 execution. Full Story
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![John Lucio, center, tears up as he speaks at a press conference at Dallas City Hall concerning the future of his mother, Melissa Lucio, who is on death row and scheduled to be executed on April 27, 2022. The family is traveling the state and joining state representatives and supporters in fighting for her freedom.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Two death penalty cases draw attention in Texas
In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Andrew and Jolie about Texans’ role in the confirmation hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson and two important death penalty cases. Full Story
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![Maggie Luna from Texas Center for Justice and Equity watches a press conference discussing the case of Melissa Lucio and the public push for her clemency at the state Capitol on Thursday, March 24, 2022. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers are pushing for a stay of execution for Melissa Lucio saying that there is enough doubt in her case that it would be a miscarriage of justice to execute her despite the doubts.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
More than half of the Texas House wants to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, convicted of killing her toddler
Despite substantive doubts surrounding the cause of her child’s death and a suspect “confession” obtained after hours of interrogation, Lucio is set to be executed next month for killing her 2-year-old daughter. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, speaks during a press conference discussing the case of Melissa Lucio and the public push for her clemency at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 24, 2022. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers are pushing for a stay of execution for Melissa Lucio saying that there is enough doubt in her case that it would be a miscarriage of justice to execute her despite the doubts.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court tells Texas to let a condemned man’s pastor touch him and pray aloud during execution
The Supreme Court ruled that the state likely violated death row inmate John Ramirez’s religious liberties when it denied his request to have his pastor lay his hands on him and pray during his upcoming execution. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 1, 2021. Today, the Supreme Court will hear cases regarding abortion in Texas.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s a look at Justice Stephen Breyer’s legacy on Texas cases
The justice struck down a Texas-led challenge to the Affordable Care Act, wrote the majority opinion in a ruling that stopped abortion restrictions in 2013 and was the swing vote in a case that helped keep a Texas Capitol monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Full Story
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![Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer arrives for the swearing in ceremony of Judge Neil Gorsuch as an Associate Supreme Court Justice in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 10, 2017.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts -
Spared execution once, Texas prisoner Kenneth Foster could face death penalty again after cellmate's death
Foster had been the getaway driver, not the triggerman, in a killing that first put him on death row. Former Gov. Rick Perry commuted his death sentence to life in prison in 2007. Full Story
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![The exterior of Huntsville Unit, a prison in Huntsville, on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court justices appear reluctant to loosen restrictions on religious advisers during Texas executions
The latest Texas execution protocols forbid spiritual advisers from praying aloud or touching prisoners as the prisoners are killed. Some members of the high court said they feared overturning the rules would lead to a flood of requests for other religious accommodations during executions. Full Story
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![Supreme Court police officers walk alongside protective barriers in Washington D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court weighs religion’s place in the Texas death chamber
After halting three Texas executions because of limits placed on spiritual advisers in the death chamber, the high court will hear arguments today over what religious rights the state must accord inmates as it kills them. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Rejecting claims of innocence, judge says Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed should not get a new trial
Doubts over Reed’s guilt in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites have lingered for more than 20 years and gained international attention. But a judge decided against recommending a new trial. Full Story
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![Rodney Reed was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop.]()
Credit: Courtesy KXAN -
Texas executes Pasadena double murderer in third lethal injection this year
Rick Rhoades was convicted of killing two brothers 30 years ago, the day after he'd been released from prison on parole. His attorneys argued that racial bias in jury selection denied him a fair trial. Full Story
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![Interior of Death Chamber by Texas Department of Criminal Justice.]()
Credit: Photo Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas court tosses out conviction, death sentence after discovering a prosecutor also worked for the judge
Clinton Young was convicted in a 2001 Midland County murder in which he insists he was framed. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said he was denied the right to a fair trial and an impartial judge. Full Story
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![The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
For third time in recent years, U.S. Supreme Court halts a Texas execution over rules for religious advisers in the death chamber
John Ramirez was scheduled to die Wednesday. His last request to the state had been to let his pastor hold on to him as he died, something the state denied. The high court wants to hear oral arguments on the matter later this year. Full Story
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![Interior of execution chamber.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Texas executes John Hummel for murdering his family in 2009
A civil liberties group had tried to delay Hummel's death after reporters were excluded from the state’s last execution. Full Story
![Interior of Death Chamber by Texas Department of Criminal Justice.]()
Credit: Photo Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
For the first time in more than 40 years, media were not allowed to witness a Texas execution
On Wednesday, the state executed Quintin Jones, 41, for the Tarrant County murder of his great-aunt in 1999. Full Story
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![Interior of Death Chamber in Texas.]()
Credit: Jenevieve Robbins/Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Texas executed Quintin Jones for murdering his great aunt. Supporters questioned if race played a factor in his clemency rejection.
Relatives of Jones and his victim pleaded for the state to spare his life, but the Texas parole board declined. His lawyer argued that was because Jones was Black, since a white man in a similar situation was spared. Full Story
![Interior of execution chamber.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Texas prisons reverse course, will allow religious advisers in execution chamber
The U.S. Supreme Court has twice stopped Texas executions over claims that previous prison policies were discriminatory and violated religious freedoms. Full Story
![Interior of execution chamber.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice