The latest texas court of criminal appeals news from The Texas Tribune.
Judge Elsa Alcala of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is a zealous opinion writer and critic of death penalty law. But after seven years on the bench, she's stepping down. Here are the three Republicans who are vying for her seat. Full Story
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Both sides revealed the outlines of their cases Monday in a federal court trial testing Texas' nearly 150-year-old system of statewide elections to the state's two highest courts. Full Story
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Weather-related prison evacuations, legal battles over execution drugs and death sentences, and reform efforts at the Texas Legislature led the state's criminal justice headlines in 2017. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stopped the state's last remaining execution of 2017, sending the San Antonio case back to court to resolve claims of false testimony at trial. Full Story
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Sharon Keller, the longtime presiding judge of Texas' Court of Criminal Appeals, has tried to move on from several past ethical controversies — including blocking the last-minute appeal of a 2007 execution. A primary challenger hopes voters will reconsider them. Full Story
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Hector Medina was sentenced to death in 2008 after killing his two young children. Now, he's getting a new sentencing trial because his lawyer refused to present evidence to persuade jurors to opt for the lesser sentence of life without parole. Full Story
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The special prosecutors in the securities fraud case against Attorney General Ken Paxton are asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse a lower court's ruling that voided a six-figure invoice they submitted. Full Story
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A man convicted in the sexual assault and murder of an 11-year-old girl was set to die next Wednesday. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stopped his execution amid claims of intellectual disability. Full Story
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With two days left before TaiChin Preyor's scheduled execution, his lawyers have tried just about everything to stop it. That includes alleging that his previous counsel committed fraud. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday halted the execution of a man convicted in the murder of a McKinney real estate agent in 2007. Full Story
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A Fort Worth man who claims he did not intentionally kill an 89-year-old man had his looming execution halted Friday afternoon. Full Story
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A death row inmate convicted in a Texas prison guard's murder lost another appeal Wednesday at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Texas death row inmate Tuesday, sending his case back to the appeals court and invalidating the state's method of determining if a death-sentenced inmate is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution. Full Story
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In his State of the Judiciary address Wednesday, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht discussed bail reform, the cost of legal expenses, mental health issues and a host of other topics. Full Story
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At least two Texas Democrats and one Republican are pushing to reform the death penalty under the law of parties, which holds those involved in a murder equally responsible, even if they weren't directly involved in the actual killing. Full Story
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A man who claims he is innocent is set to be executed Thursday evening in a robbery turned double murder in Dallas County. 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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A Texas case shows that as cameras become more omnipresent, disputes over how such recordings are handled and analyzed are more likely to arise. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out the conviction and death sentence of a Waco man Friday after ruling that the trial court's admission of text messages was unconstitutional because they were seized without a warrant. Full Story
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John Battaglia shot and killed his two young daughters in 2001. He now has another chance to prove he is mentally incompetent to be executed. Full Story
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