Johnson was convicted in the 2007 murders of Maria Aparece and Huy Ngo in Harris County, a crime he committed at 18. He was set for execution Thursday before a court ruled that his new lawyer should have more time to look into federal appellate issues.
Texas death row
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House offers a new way to determine whether a defendant has intellectual disabilities — and is ineligible for execution
The lower chamber gave initial approval to a bill creating a pretrial process to determine if a capital murder defendant is intellectually disabled — more than 15 years after the U.S. Supreme Court said executing such prisoners is 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
Criminal Justice
Prosecutor declares freed Texas death row inmate Alfred Dewayne Brown innocent, paving way for state compensation
Brown was freed from nearly a decade on death row in 2015, but because he was never declared “actually innocent,” he couldn’t get compensation for wrongful imprisonment — until Friday.
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Criminal Justice
Texas executes Billie Coble, the oldest man put to death in the state during modern era of the death penalty
As the state put the 70-year-old to death, his son banged on the death chamber window. After an altercation with law enforcement, Coble’s son and another relative were removed from the witness room and arrested.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Texas still doesn’t have a law on intellectual disability and the death penalty. Will that change this year?
Nearly two decades after the U.S. Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional to execute those with intellectual disabilities, Texas still has no process on determining the condition — leaving life-and-death decisions in the hands of courts with very different methods.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Thirty years after the killing of a Houston police officer, Texas executes Robert Jennings
Jennings was put to death Wednesday for the 1988 murder of Elston Howard. The long sentence was complicated by constantly evolving death penalty laws.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas court stops first execution of 2019, citing changes in intellectual disability law and bite-mark science
Blaine Milam was convicted in the 2008 East Texas death of his girlfriend’s 13-month-old baby.
Posted in
Guides
What does race have to do with the death penalty in Texas?
More than 72 percent of those on death row in Texas are people of color. Studies show race plays a role in the state’s harshest punishment.
