The latest Texas death row news from The Texas Tribune.
After a nearly four-hour delay while waiting on final appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, Terry Edwards was executed Thursday night for a robbery turned murder he claimed he did not commit. Full Story
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Every legislative session since 2003, Harold Dutton of Houston has filed at least one bill to end capital punishment in Texas. It’s often been a lonely quest. Full Story
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Use the Tribune's Texas Prison Inmates database to learn more about Texas' prison units and the more than 143,000 inmates housed inside them. 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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The state's highest criminal court on Wednesday ordered a lower court to review a death penalty case that involved a psychologist reprimanded last year for using unscientific methods. Full Story
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Thirty-five years ago today, the state of Utah restarted the death penalty in the United States when Gary Gilmore was executed. Texas followed suit in 1982 and since then has executed 477 men and women, more than any other state. Full Story
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As we prepare to ring in the new year, we take a look back at some of our most-viewed videos of 2011. Full Story
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Leading a national downward trend in the use of the death penalty, Texas has executed just 13 prisoners so far in 2011, the lowest number in more than a decade. And juries meted out only eight new death sentences. Full Story
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Texas ranks third in the number of exonerations in the United States since 1989, according to data compiled by Mother Jones. Take a look at how Texas compares to other states across the nation with this map. Full Story
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today granted a stay of execution for Hank Skinner, who has been seeking DNA testing for a decade. Skinner was set to be executed on Wednesday. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court today denied the appeal of Texas death row inmate Duane Buck, who was seeking a retrial based on race-related testimony given during the sentencing phase of his 1997 trial. Full Story
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Facing a Wednesday execution date, convicted murderer Hank Skinner is again appealing to the state's highest criminal court to allow for new DNA tests he says could exonerate him. But the court previously has ruled against him — twice. Full Story
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A Gray County District Court today denied DNA testing that death row inmate Hank Skinner has been seeking for a decade. Skinner's lawyers plan to appeal the decision. His execution is scheduled for Wednesday. Full Story
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More than a dozen current and former lawmakers, prosecutors, judges, police officers and even a former Texas governor sent a letter today calling on Gov. Rick Perry to allow for DNA testing death row inmate Hank Skinner says could prove his innocence. Full Story
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Following a hearing today in federal court in Amarillo, a lawyer for death row inmate Hank Skinner said it will likely be up to the state courts to decide a fight over DNA testing in his case. Skinner is scheduled to be executed Nov. 9. Full Story
Michael Morton, who served 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife Christine, now will be released after DNA evidence linked another man to the crime and to another murder 16 months later. Full Story
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The long-standing tradition of allowing death row inmates one last meal of their choosing before they enter the execution chamber ends today, said Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story
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At about 7:40 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of Duane Edward Buck. His trial was one of several cases in which a psychologist told jurors that his race made him more dangerous. Full Story
Tonight, Texas is scheduled to execute its 11th death row inmate this year. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, controversy surrounding the inmate's case could put the spotlight back on Gov. Rick Perry's death penalty record, which has received national attention in recent weeks. Full Story
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles today voted against recommending clemency for Duane Edward Buck, rejecting the pleas of his lawyers, a victim he shot and a prosecutor who was on the team that sentenced him to death. Full Story