Two death row inmates sued the state today, arguing that the decision to use a new lethal injection drug was made too secretly and too hastily.
Texas death row
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Rev. Carroll Pickett: The TT Interview
Rev. Carroll Pickett holds the world record for witnessing the most state executions as a chaplain. He saw 95 men die by lethal injection during his career as the death house chaplain.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Rev. Carroll Pickett: The TT Interview
The onetime death house chaplain on what it was like to witness the most state executions of anyone in his job (95, by lethal injection), what changed his mind about the death penalty and why lawmakers should continue to fund the chaplain program.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Religious Leaders Advocate for Ex-Veteran’s Clemency
Today, a week before his son is scheduled to die, Columbus Adams and a host of religious leaders asked the state to forgive Timothy Adams. His son, he said, never committed a crime before the day he lost control during an argument with his wife and killed their son.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Veteran Who Shot Baby Seeks Clemency
He was an Army veteran and a Houston security guard who had never been arrested until February 2002, when a fight with his wife sent Timothy Adams into a suicidal spiral. During a stand-off with police, Adams fatally shot his 19-month-old son twice in the chest — landing him a spot on death row.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Will Europe Thwart Texas Executions?
Texas has enough supplies of a key drug to carry out only two more executions. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is exploring its options, including what other states are doing. But the drug alternatives are limited and would most likely still leave Texas reliant on nations that oppose the death penalty.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Last Words: “All Right, Warden, Let’s Do It.”
Before prison officials administer the lethal cocktail of drugs used to carry out executions, the condemned may say their final piece. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice keeps a record of these last statements.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: TDCJ On the Hunt for Execution Drug
Texas officials have enough execution drugs to carry out the death sentences of two inmates scheduled for lethal injection in February. But they will have to find another sodium thiopental supplier or a different drug to use after March.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Fire Experts Testify at Forensic Panel
Watch the Innocence Project livestream of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which gathers today in Austin to question arson experts on the evidence used to hand Cameron Todd Willingham the death penalty in 1992.
Posted inState Government
TribBlog: Court Says Judge Can’t Continue Willingham Inquiry
Judge Charlie Baird abused his discretion when he didn’t recuse himself from considering a motion challenging his authority to conduct a court of inquiry in the Cameron Todd Willingham case, according to a ruling issued today.
