In a 6-3 opinion, the justices said Terence Andrus had ineffective assistance from his lawyer and that it was unclear if the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals properly considered whether that could have affected his sentence.
Texas death row
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Bobby Moore’s Supreme Court case changed how Texas defines intellectual disabilities. After 40 years in prison, he’s just been granted parole.
Moore was resentenced from the death penalty to life in prison last year after the U.S. Supreme Court determined he was intellectually disabled. Since he had already served 40 years, he was immediately eligible for parole.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas carries out nation’s first execution of 2020 for domestic violence slaying in Collin County
John Gardner, 64, was put to death for the 2005 murder of his estranged wife. His lawyers had argued the crime wasn’t eligible for the death penalty.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Cesar Fierro spent 40 years on Texas death row. A court tossed his sentence Wednesday for faulty jury instructions.
Fierro was sentenced to death in El Paso in 1980 for the murder of a taxi driver.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas executed Travis Runnels for a prison murder. His lawyers said false testimony put him on death row.
A Texas court has twice overturned death sentences because of one man’s false testimony on restrictions placed on prisoners. Runnels argued the same man’s testimony should have stopped his death, too.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas court stops Rodney Reed’s execution to further review claims of innocence
The ruling came hours after the Texas parole board recommended that Gov. Greg Abbott delay Reed’s death for 120 days.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Federal judge delays execution of “Texas Seven” prisoner over claims of religious discrimination
For the second time, a court has stopped Murphy’s execution over concerns that the Texas prison system’s execution procedures discriminate against non-Christian inmates.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas lawmakers ask Gov. Greg Abbott to stop execution of Rodney Reed, whose guilt is widely doubted
Rodney Reed’s guilt in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites has been questioned for decades. A bipartisan group of lawmakers join national calls to stop his upcoming execution.
Posted inState Government
“Texas Seven” member Randy Halprin wins stay of execution amid claim of anti-Semitic judge
Halprin’s lawyers had requested the stay amid allegations that the judge who handled his case made racist and anti-Semitic comments during his time on the bench.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Judge halts execution for man convicted of killing two Henderson County deputies
Randall Mays was scheduled to be executed Oct. 16, but the judge removed the death warrant amid questions that Mays may not be mentally competent to be put to death.
