TribCast: Two death penalty cases draw attention in Texas
In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Andrew and Jolie about Texans’ role in the confirmation hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson and two important death penalty cases. Full Story
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![Maggie Luna from Texas Center for Justice and Equity watches a press conference discussing the case of Melissa Lucio and the public push for her clemency at the state Capitol on Thursday, March 24, 2022. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers are pushing for a stay of execution for Melissa Lucio saying that there is enough doubt in her case that it would be a miscarriage of justice to execute her despite the doubts.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court tells Texas to let a condemned man’s pastor touch him and pray aloud during execution
The Supreme Court ruled that the state likely violated death row inmate John Ramirez’s religious liberties when it denied his request to have his pastor lay his hands on him and pray during his upcoming execution. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 1, 2021. Today, the Supreme Court will hear cases regarding abortion in Texas.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Rejecting claims of innocence, judge says Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed should not get a new trial
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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![Rodney Reed was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop.]()
Credit: Courtesy KXAN -
Texas executed Quintin Jones for murdering his great aunt. Supporters questioned if race played a factor in his clemency rejection.
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
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![Interior of execution chamber.]()
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Texas court tosses death sentence in police killing due to intellectual disability
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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![Telford prison in New Boston.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas executes Billy Wardlow, who was 18 when he killed a man. Experts argued that's too young for a death sentence.
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
![Interior of execution chamber.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
U.S. Supreme Court rules Texas death row inmate had an ineffective lawyer, orders new review
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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![The United States Supreme Court in Washington on June 11.]()
Credit: Reynolds Stefani/CNP/ABACA via REUTERS -
Texas inmate Bobby Moore granted parole after decades on death row
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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![Birds fly overhead at the Hilltop prison unit in Gatesville on Nov. 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![John Gardner was sentenced to death for the 2005 murder of his estranged wife, Tammy Dawn Gardner.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Cesar Fierro has been on death row in Texas since 1980 for the 1979 murder of a cab driver in El Paso.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Travis Runnels was sentenced to death for the 2003 murder of prison employee Stanley Wiley.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Rodney Reed is scheduled to be executed next Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Patrick Murphy.]()
Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
![Rodney Reed was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop.]()
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"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. Full Story
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![Randy Halprin, then 23, one of the "Texas Seven" prison escapees, is led out of the Teller County Courthouse after a extradition hearing in Cripple Creek, Colorado on Jan. 26, 2001.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Randall Mayes]()
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Texas executes Billy Crutsinger in Fort Worth slayings of two elderly women
Crutsinger had pushed to stop his execution based on claims of bad lawyering during his trial and in the appellate process. Full Story
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![Billy Crutsinger.]()
Credit: Jenevieve Robbins -
Texas executed Larry Swearingen for a 1998 Texas slaying. His lawyer says bad science got him on death row.
Swearingen consistently maintained his innocence in the strangling death of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter. Texas prosecutors, however, had no doubt he was her killer. Full Story
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![Larry Swearingen.]()
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Texas House OKs bill to ban death penalty for those with severe mental illness
Under the measure, defendants who have active psychotic symptoms of certain mental illnesses at the time of the crime would be ineligible for capital punishment. The bill now heads to the more conservative Senate. Full Story
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![Interior of Death Chamber in Texas.]()
Credit: Jenevieve Robbins/Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Execution stopped for Dexter Johnson, sentenced to death after Harris County rape and murder
Johnson was convicted in the 2007 murders of Maria Aparece and Huy Ngo in Harris County, a crime he committed at 18. He was set for execution Thursday before a court ruled that his new lawyer should have more time to look into federal appellate issues. Full Story
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![Dexter Darnell Johnson.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice