Lawyers for Randy Halprin, a member of the “Texas Seven,” are requesting a stay of his execution amid allegations that the judge who handled his case made racist and anti-Semitic comments during his time on the bench.
Texas Court Of Criminal Appeals
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Despite bipartisan support, Texas bill tackling intellectual disability in death penalty cases fails
Negotiators in the House and Senate couldn’t come to an agreement on a bill addressing how Texas handles capital murder defendants who may be intellectually disabled. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing people with intellectual disabilities amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas executes John William King in racist dragging death of James Byrd Jr.
King and two other white men were convicted in the brutal East Texas murder of Byrd, who was black. King was the second man executed for the crime; another man is serving a life sentence.
Posted inState Government
Texas court stops execution of Mark Robertson after claims of racist jury selection
The court issued a stay of Thursday’s execution after his lawyers argued that Robertson’s original trial lawyer discriminated against potential jurors who were black.
Posted in
Courts
Greg Abbott tells state agencies to continue to “follow the spirit” of Texas’ open meetings law
A day earlier, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals struck down a provision of the law that makes it a crime for public officials to deliberate privately in small groups.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas’ highest criminal court strikes down provision of Open Meetings Act as “unconstitutionally vague”
The ruling only pertains to a slice of the law, but open government advocates say the decision “removes a powerful disincentive” put in place to keep public officials from hiding public business.
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Texas Legislature 2019
After Texas’ second Supreme Court loss in a death penalty case, reform bill lands key GOP support
The chairs of two House committees signed on as joint authors of a bill that would set the method of determining if a capital murder defendant is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
For the second time, U.S. Supreme Court reverses death sentence decision for Texas inmate Bobby Moore
This time, the majority of the justices said Moore has shown he is intellectually disabled.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Eight years on Texas’ highest criminal court turned Elsa Alcala into a death penalty skeptic. How will the court change without her?
Judge Elsa Alcala ended her tenure critical of the death penalty and often pleading for policy changes from the state Legislature.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas court throws out 1987 murder conviction; declares North Texas man “actually innocent”
The Court of Criminal Appeals said Steven Mark Chaney’s conviction was based partly on faulty science.
