The latest Texas death row news from The Texas Tribune.
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
A lawyer who worked on the Harris County District Attorney's prosecution team that sent Duane Edward Buck to death row is calling on state officials to halt the execution schedueld for Thursday and allow for a new sentencing trial in the case. Full Story
The former chairman of the Forensic Science Commission on why he believes the governor replaced him and why he argues it is critical for the Texas justice system that the commission finish its investigation into the Willingham arson case. Full Story
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The former chairman of the Forensic Science Commission on why he believes the governor replaced him, whether he thinks political motivations were behind it, and why it is critical that the commission finish the Willingham arson investigation. Full Story
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Phyllis Taylor survived the 1995 shooting spree that ended with two others dead and Duane Buck on death row. Buck is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 15. Today, Taylor asked state officials to halt his execution. Full Story
Lawyers for death row inmate Hank Skinner filed a motion Friday seeking DNA testing under a new Texas law that expands access to such testing. And they have asked the state to withdraw the Nov. 9 execution date set for Skinner. Full Story
Lawyers for death row inmate Duane Edward Buck today asked for clemency based on the statement of a key witness that the fact he was black meant Buck was more likely to be violent in the future. Full Story
In his October 2010 interview with the Tribune, Gov. Rick Perry talked about controversial Cameron Todd Willingham death penalty case — and the broader issue of innocence. Full Story
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New DNA test results in a 25-year-old murder case cast doubt on the conviction of Michael Morton, who was accused of killing his wife, Christine, in their Williamson County home on Aug. 13, 1986. Full Story
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For the fourth time, the state of Texas is scheduled to execute death row inmate Hank Skinner for the 1993 murders of his live-in girlfriend and her two sons, potentially quashing his ability to request DNA testing under a new state law. Full Story