death penalty

Recovering organs from willing convicted murderers may seem like a reasonable method to reduce the organ waiting list, but the proposal is fraught with challenges that make it unlikely to ever be an option.

A judge in Montgomery County plans to recommend that the state move forward with the execution of Larry Swearingen, who argues that science proves he is innocent of the 1998 murder for which he was condemned to die.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined a request to stay the execution of Marvin Wilson scheduled for this evening. Wilson’s lawyers argue that he is mentally disabled and should be exempted from the death penalty.

Delma Banks Jr., one of Texas death row’s longest residents, on Wednesday agreed to a life sentence for the 1980 murder of Richard Whitehead. He will be eligible for parole in 12 years.

For Yokamon Hearn’s scheduled execution on July 18, officials plan to administer a lethal dose of pentobarbital instead of the three-drug cocktail that has been used since Texas reinstated the death penalty in 1982.

Kerry Max Cook is battling with prosecutors to clear his name of a 1978 murder conviction, and says his mission is doomed if he must fight in Smith County. That’s where a court ruled misconduct had “tainted this entire matter from the outset.”