As former Gov. Mark White ended his argument before the Willingham court of inquiry calling for a change in the way the state carries out the death penalty, an appellate court issued an order demanding that Judge Charlie Baird stop the hearing.
Texas death row
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Hank Skinner’s Last Chance
The U.S. Supreme Court heard testimony Wednesday in a case that could have far-reaching ramifications for criminal justice nationally. Lawyers for Henry “Hank” Skinner maintain that the Texas death row inmate has a civil right to access DNA evidence that could exonerate him in the 1993 murders of his live-in girlfriend and her two sons. Lawyers for the state argue that Skinner exhausted his opportunity to analyze potentially exculpatory evidence when his defense team declined to request testing at his original trial, fearing that the results might be incriminating.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Inquiring Minds
Judge Charlie Baird will decide today whether to recuse himself from an investigation into the innocence of Cameron Todd Willingham, the Corsicana man executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his three young daughters. But with or without Baird, a bigger question is in play: Is a court of inquiry the appropriate venue to consider Willingham’s guilt or innocence?
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Keller Cleared
A specially appointed court of review vacated the State Commission on Judicial Conduct’s sanction of Sharon Keller today, saying the state board acted unconstitutionally in reprimanding the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: More Waiting for Willingham
Navarro County prosecutor R. Lowell Thompson’s request that Judge Charlie Baird recuse himself from the Cameron Todd Willingham court of inquiry hearing wasn’t decided today.
Posted in
State Government
The Fire Next Time
Under the leadership of Williamson County DA John Bradley, the Texas Forensic Science Commission has waged a masterful war of attrition in the Cameron Todd Willingham case: Stall long enough, and public interest in the internationally controversial capital punishment case — along with political liability for any missteps — will fade away. But the commission’s latest delay, while pushing the resolution of the Willingham investigation securely after the general election, comes against Bradley’s wishes and could represent a sea change on the board that until now has resisted making any broader inquiries into the state’s arson convictions.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Still No Conclusion on Willingham
The Texas Forensic Science Commission has delayed its decision on the Cameron Todd Willingham case one more time — and now, it’s scheduled for after the Nov. 2 election.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Supreme Court Says No to Keller
On the same day the Texas Supreme Court denied Judge Sharon Keller’s request for intervention in her sanction from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, she has filed a second request to appeal the commission’s decision.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Keller’s Appeal Invalid, SCJC Says
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct is taking on Judge Sharon Keller’s appeal of its sanction.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Keller Appeals
Judge Sharon Keller says that in sanctioning her, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct “acted in a lawless, unconstitutional manner.”
