Hank Skinner is set to be executed for a 1993 murder he’s always maintained he didn’t commit. He wants the state to test whether his DNA matches evidence found at the scene, but prosecutors say the time to contest his conviction has come and gone. He has less than a month to change their minds.
death penalty
Posted inState Government
Sharon Keller Might Walk
The Chief Justice of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals should not be reprimanded for actions that led to the execution of a death row inmate in 2007: That’s the opinion of the judge who presided over her ethics trial last year. Ben Philpott, reporting for KUT News and the Tribune, filed this story.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Special Master Recommends Reprimand for Keller
Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court, will not be removed from the bench following a trial and review by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Brief: December 3, 2009
The season for speculating is drawing to an end. Politicians, it’s time to stake your claim.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Perry Won’t Grant Thompson Clemency
Gov. Rick Perry won’t grant clemency to Robert Lee Thompson, who was sentenced to death under Texas’ controversial “law of parties.”
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Forensic Science Chairmen Face Off
John Bradley, the Williamson County District Attorney and the newly-appointed chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, spent his morning answering a steady stream of questions from Texas lawmakers. At issue, if and when his panel will re-open the investigation into whether faulty science led to the arson conviction of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed by the state in 2004.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Bradley Makes His Case
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley expected some verbal jousting today at the Senate Criminal Justice Committee about his plans for the Texas Forensic Science Commission. He was right.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Case Open
If you’re waiting for closure on questions of Cameron Todd Willingham’s guilt or innocence, get comfortable. The Texas Forensic Science Commission’s new chair tells the Tribune that he doesn’t yet have the rules or resources to investigate whether faulty science led to the Corsicana man’s conviction and execution.
