The latest death penalty news from The Texas Tribune.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Texas death row inmate Tuesday, sending his case back to the appeals court and invalidating the state's method of determining if a death-sentenced inmate is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution. Full Story
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As Paul Storey's execution looms, one juror is asking the Texas Legislature to clarify the jury instructions in death penalty cases, claiming he didn't know he alone could have stopped the sentence. Full Story
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The state carried out its fourth execution of the year, putting to death 61-year-old James Bigby. He was convicted in the 1987 murders of his friend and a 4-month-old during a killing spree in Fort Worth. Full Story
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State Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, has filed long-shot House Bill 3080, which would prevent offenders proven to have had a severe mental illness at the time of their crime from being sentenced to death in a capital murder case. Full Story
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Texas executed hitman Ronaldo Ruiz late Tuesday night, 25 years after he killed a San Antonio woman for $2,000. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Texas death row inmate Duane Buck, agreeing that his case was prejudiced by an expert trial witness who claimed Buck was more likely to be a future danger because he is black. Full Story
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Rep. James White's House Bill 1676 would create a state-funded office to represent death-sentenced inmates who can’t afford their own lawyer in their direct appeals to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Full Story
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Tilon Carter, 37, received a stay Friday afternoon from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. His execution was set for Tuesday. Full Story
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At least two Texas Democrats and one Republican are pushing to reform the death penalty under the law of parties, which holds those involved in a murder equally responsible, even if they weren't directly involved in the actual killing. Full Story
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Two days before death row inmate John Ramirez was scheduled to be executed, a federal district court in Corpus Christi halted the execution. Full Story
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The death penalty has been slowly on the decline in the U.S. Tough-on-crime Texas has also seen a decline in its use. What could that mean for the future of the penalty here? Full Story
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After a nearly four-hour delay while waiting on final appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, Terry Edwards was executed Thursday night for a robbery turned murder he claimed he did not commit. Full Story
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A man who claims he is innocent is set to be executed Thursday evening in a robbery turned double murder in Dallas County. Full Story
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Every legislative session since 2003, Harold Dutton of Houston has filed at least one bill to end capital punishment in Texas. It’s often been a lonely quest. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday it would review the legal complexities in a Texas death penalty case, where a man killed a 5-year-old and her grandmother. Full Story
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The first execution in Texas and the United States, for the killer of two men in Fort Worth after a fake drug deal, was held Wednesday evening. Full Story
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The 2017 legislative session will open without former state Sen. Rodney Ellis, a 26-year lawmaker who became a criminal justice reform titan in the upper chamber. Full Story
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More than a year after the feds blocked Texas from importing an execution drug, Texas filed a lawsuit demanding a final decision on whether the drugs can be delivered. Full Story
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Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Elsa Alcala, a Republican, said the main reason she won't run is because of the “random and unreliable” results from partisan judicial elections. Full Story
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Use the Tribune's Texas Prison Inmates database to learn more about Texas' prison units and the more than 143,000 inmates housed inside them. Full Story
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