The latest death penalty news from The Texas Tribune.
The latest Texas execution protocols forbid spiritual advisers from praying aloud or touching prisoners as the prisoners are killed. Some members of the high court said they feared overturning the rules would lead to a flood of requests for other religious accommodations during executions. Full Story
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After halting three Texas executions because of limits placed on spiritual advisers in the death chamber, the high court will hear arguments today over what religious rights the state must accord inmates as it kills them. Full Story
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Doubts over Reed’s guilt in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites have lingered for more than 20 years and gained international attention. But a judge decided against recommending a new trial. Full Story
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Rick Rhoades was convicted of killing two brothers 30 years ago, the day after he'd been released from prison on parole. His attorneys argued that racial bias in jury selection denied him a fair trial. Full Story
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Clinton Young was convicted in a 2001 Midland County murder in which he insists he was framed. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said he was denied the right to a fair trial and an impartial judge. Full Story
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John Ramirez was scheduled to die Wednesday. His last request to the state had been to let his pastor hold on to him as he died, something the state denied. The high court wants to hear oral arguments on the matter later this year. Full Story
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A civil liberties group had tried to delay Hummel's death after reporters were excluded from the state’s last execution. Full Story
On Wednesday, the state executed Quintin Jones, 41, for the Tarrant County murder of his great-aunt in 1999. Full Story
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Relatives of Jones and his victim pleaded for the state to spare his life, but the Texas parole board declined. His lawyer argued that was because Jones was Black, since a white man in a similar situation was spared. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court has twice stopped Texas executions over claims that previous prison policies were discriminatory and violated religious freedoms. Full Story
Riles has been deemed mentally incompetent for execution repeatedly in his decades on death row. Full Story
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Bernard and Bourgeois were the ninth and 10th people executed by President Donald Trump’s administration this year. Full Story
Vialva was the seventh man executed in the federal execution chamber this year after a 17-year hiatus of the federal death penalty. Texas, meanwhile, is expected to have a comparatively low number of state executions this year because of the pandemic. Full Story
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals resentenced Juan Lizcano to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is at least the sixth death row inmate whose sentence was reduced after the U.S. Supreme Court slammed Texas' methods for determining intellectual disability. Full Story
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Wardlow had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that he was too young to get the Texas death penalty. His execution was the first in Texas to proceed during the pandemic as the coronavirus rages across the state. Full Story
Gutierrez has long fought for DNA testing he says could prove his innocence in a 1998 Brownsville murder and home robbery. But the high court's ruling centered on Texas prison officials' recent decision to keep religious advisers out of the execution room. Full Story
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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Tracy Beatty requested the court stay his execution, set for next week, after the court halted this week's execution. Full Story
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John Hummel’s lawyer requested a stay of execution in a unique court filing Friday, but Tarrant County officials opposed it. Full Story
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