Ross, Reeve, Brandi and Thanh look ahead to the South Carolina primary, look back on the history of the death penalty in Texas, and discuss the current state of women's health clinics in the state.

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. 

Michael Morton's tragic wrongful conviction for his wife's murder 25 years ago illustrates the best and worst of science in the courtroom, a judge said on Monday. 

Root's scoop on Rick Perry's working retirement, Aaronson maps poverty in Texas, Aguilar on a voting rights warning shot from the U.S. Attorney General, Galbraith on the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking operations, Grissom on the drop in executions, Hamilton and M. Smith on UT-Austin President Bill Powers' rough year, Murphy and Tan and Dehn on the shortage of psychiatrists and Ramshaw on the federal refusal to exclude operators like Planned Parenthood from family planning programs: The best of our best content from December 12 to 16, 2011.

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.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals took some heat off of Gov. Rick Perry when it issued a stay of execution for Hank Skinner this week. And the governor has avoided any link to another case involving two of his appointees and a botched murder prosecution in Williamson County.

In our nonscientific survey of the state's governmental and political insiders, we asked about big problems, immigration, the death penalty, public education and whether Texans would vote for a Mormon if they agreed with that candidate on issues.

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.

The insiders answered questions from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll for the second week in a row, this time on the death penalty, education, top issues facing Texas, and whether the people they know would vote for a Mormon candidate with whom they agree on issues.

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.

The Texas Youth Commission terminated its contract Friday with a psychologist who testified repeatedly in death penalty cases that Hispanic and black men were more likely to be dangerous in the future.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.