Following a hearing today in federal court in Amarillo, a lawyer for death row inmate Hank Skinner said it will likely be up to the state courts to decide a fight over DNA testing in his case. Skinner is scheduled to be executed Nov. 9.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
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Criminal Justice
TribLive: A Conversation with Susan Combs
At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the health of the Texas economy, her agency’s data breach, her shifting position on abortion and more.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Hamilton on efforts to boost faculty productivity, Grissom on newly uncovered evidence in an old murder case, Galbraith on a wind-powered construction boom, Dehn unfurls the new Texas Tribune Weekend Insider, Aguilar on this year’s record number of deportations, Ramshaw and Tan on budget cuts and cervical cancer screenings, M. Smith on local control over student grades, Root and Ramshaw on Rick Perry’s latest debate performance, Philpott on an issue that didn’t get its due in that debate and Titus and Murphy on fundraising and spending in congressional races: The best of our best content from October 17 to 21, 2011.
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Criminal Justice
Updated: Morton Lawyers: Former DAs’ Claims “Wholly Deficient”
Michael Morton’s legal team responded today to claims from the exonerated man’s original prosecutors that they cannot be forced to testify as part of an inquiry into how Morton was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife.
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Criminal Justice
From Botched Morton Case, Hope Emerges in Cold Murder Inquiry
Jesse and Caitlin Baker recently learned of the most dramatic development in the mystery of their mother’s murder in nearly two decades of probing for clues. The DNA discovery has prompted new hopes for long-awaited answers.
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Criminal Justice
Morton Prosecutor Says He’s Victim of Media War
Mike Davis, one of the original prosecutors in the 1987 murder case against Michael Morton, said in court filings today that he is the victim of a media war between Morton’s lawyers and Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley.
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Criminal Justice
TribLive: Combs on the Data Breach
At this morning’s TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the data breach on her agency’s web site that inadvertently exposed the personal information of 3.5 million state employees and retirees.
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Criminal Justice
Bradley Announces Special Prosecutor in Morton Case
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley this morning announced the appointment of the Texas Attorney General as special prosecutor in the Michael Morton case. A special grand jury is also being formed, he said.
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Criminal Justice
Updated: Bradley Withdraws Motion to Expedite Morton Case
The Williamson County district attorney this afternoon withdrew a motion he had filed seeking to quickly dismiss the Michael Morton case. Morton’s attorneys worried that he was attempting to quash investigation of allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
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Criminal Justice
Experts Say Morton Case Shows Justice System Still Needs Reform
In the wake of Michael Morton’s release from prison last week based on DNA testing that shows someone else killed his wife 25 years ago, defense lawyers are calling for reforms to ensure prosecutors must turn over exculpatory evidence.