A Texas death row inmate was executed Wednesday — his fourth execution date in a year. Though advocates and his attorneys insisted on Juan Castillo’s innocence, he lost all his fights in court and was put to death for a 2003 San Antonio murder.
death penalty
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Criminal Justice
Harris County appoints investigator to look into former death row inmate’s innocence claim
Nearly three years after his release from prison, Alfred Dewayne Brown is still trying to get state compensation for his years spent on Texas’ death row. On Wednesday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced an independent review of Brown’s innocence claim.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes Erick Davila, who killed two people including a 5-year-old girl
Erick Davila was executed Wednesday evening for a 2008 shooting at a child’s birthday party that left his rival gang member’s mother and 5-year-old daughter dead. His case was heard and ultimately rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.
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Criminal Justice
Exonerated man on Texas request for faster death penalty appeals: “I would have been executed”
Defense lawyers, legal groups and former federal judges also point to cases of people taken off death row as they oppose the state’s push for faster federal death penalty appeals.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes Lubbock “suitcase killer”
Rosendo Rodriguez was executed Tuesday for killing a Lubbock prostitute and tossing her body in a dumpster in a suitcase. His final appeals questioned the medical examiner’s testimony that she was sexually assaulted before her death.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Supreme Court orders lower court to reconsider Texas death row inmate’s appeal for funds to investigate his case
Carlos Ayestas, 48, said he wants to explore evidence of his mental illness, brain injuries or drug use that wasn’t brought up during his trial for the murder of a 67-year-old woman.
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Texas Elections 2018
Three Republicans vie for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals seat, replacing death penalty critic
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.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to Texas lethal injection drugs
Texas death row inmates lost at the U.S. Supreme Court when the high court denied their petition to challenge the state’s execution protocol.
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Criminal Justice
Minutes before execution, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott commutes the sentence of Thomas Whitaker
Gov. Greg Abbott spared the life of a death row inmate less than an hour before his scheduled execution.
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Graphics and data reporting
Here’s an updated look at how many execution drugs Texas has in stock
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice released information Thursday night on the state’s execution drug inventory. The department had stalled release of the records, which show that the expiration date of four doses was changed from January to November. See more details here.
