Preston Hughes Executed for 1988 Murder
Preston Hughes was executed Thursday night for the fatal 1988 stabbing of two youths in Houston. Hughes was the second Texas inmate executed in two days. Full Story
The latest death penalty news from The Texas Tribune.
Preston Hughes was executed Thursday night for the fatal 1988 stabbing of two youths in Houston. Hughes was the second Texas inmate executed in two days. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the case of Carlos Trevino, who contends that the high court's decision last year's to guarantee effective habeas representation should apply in Texas as it does elsewhere. Full Story
Preston Hughes III, who faces a Nov. 15 execution date, trusts several advocates without legal training more than his court-appointed attorney. The conflict between advocates and attorneys is not unusual in death penalty cases. Full Story
The surviving relatives of Cameron Todd Willingham have sent an application for pardon, hoping to clear his name eight years after his execution for a 1991 fire that killed his three young children. Full Story
Prison investigator A.P. Merillat's court testimony about the violence inmates serving life sentences can inflict has helped send at least 15 murderers to death row. Now, his credibility has been condemned by the state’s highest criminal court. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court denied death row inmate Cleve Foster's fourth request for a stay his execution, which is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Full Story
Democrat Keith Hampton is focusing his campaign to lead the state’s top criminal court on winning over Republicans. That is the key, he says, to defeating controversial long-time Judge Sharon Keller. Full Story
Recovering organs from willing convicted murderers may seem like a reasonable method to reduce the organ waiting list, but the proposal is fraught with challenges that make it unlikely to ever be an option. Full Story
A judge in Montgomery County plans to recommend that the state move forward with the execution of Larry Swearingen, who argues that science proves he is innocent of the 1998 murder for which he was condemned to die. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court declined a request to stay the execution of Marvin Wilson scheduled for this evening. Wilson's lawyers argue that he is mentally disabled and should be exempted from the death penalty. Full Story
Delma Banks Jr., one of Texas death row's longest residents, on Wednesday agreed to a life sentence for the 1980 murder of Richard Whitehead. He will be eligible for parole in 12 years. Full Story
Williamson County officials have arrested a 53-year-old former Garland resident in the 1980 murder of Mildred McKinney. The Williamson County Sheriff's Office says it identified the DNA and a fingerprint of Steven Alan Thomas at the crime scene. Full Story
For Yokamon Hearn's scheduled execution on July 18, officials plan to administer a lethal dose of pentobarbital instead of the three-drug cocktail that has been used since Texas reinstated the death penalty in 1982. Full Story
Kerry Max Cook is battling with prosecutors to clear his name of a 1978 murder conviction, and says his mission is doomed if he must fight in Smith County. That's where a court ruled misconduct had “tainted this entire matter from the outset.” Full Story
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a death sentence for Manuel Velez, citing inaccurate testimony during Velez's sentencing. Full Story
Our primary night scoreboard and liveblog, Aguilar on runoff strategy, Root and Batheja on Round two of Dewhurst vs. Cruz, M. Smith on how public education candidates fared, Ramshaw on what surprised pundits and pollsters, Galbraith on concerns over our electric grid, Aaronson on which government entities have access to your personal info, Grissom with the latest on the Hank Skinner case, Ramsey on Hispanic Republicans and part three of Tan's family planning series: The best of our best content from May 28 to June 1, 2012. Full Story
Texans favor the death penalty, even with the alternative of life without parole. They are also nominally in favor of abortion rights and are more likely than not to favor medically assisted suicide for terminal patients. Full Story
Researchers at two law schools Monday released an unprecedented listing of all the exoneration cases from the last 23 years. Only two states had more exonerations than Texas, according to the report. Full Story
The Columbia University law professor on the in-depth investigation his team conducted that they believe revealed that Carlos DeLuna did not commit the murder for which he was executed in 1989. Full Story
An administrative judge has again denied Kerry Max Cook's request to move his case out of Smith County, a decision the former death row inmate worries will doom his fight to legally prove his innocence. Full Story