โI regret it every dayโ: One of the last remaining members of the Texas 7 talks prison escape, pending execution
Texas Crime Stories takes you back to the brazen prison escape almost 23 years ago that led to the death of an Irving police officer and what one of the remaining members of the Texas 7 has to say now as he sits on death row.
Texas to review prayer, touch requests in executions by case
Texas prison officials say they donโt plan to formally update their rules after last weekโs Supreme Court ruling that indicated states must accommodate the requests of death row inmates who want to have their spiritual advisers pray aloud and touch them during their executions But the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Tuesday that such requests by inmates will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and unless they present a substantial security risk or are โoutrageous,โ they would work...
Religion and the death penalty collide at the Supreme Court
The order from the high court follows two years in which inmates saw some rare success in bringing challenges based on the issue of chaplains in the death chamber. This time, liberal and conservative members of the court normally in disagreement over death penalty issues found common ground not on the death penalty itself but on the issue of religious freedom and how the death penalty is carried out. Dunham said most state execution protocols, which set who is present in the death chamber, do not mention spiritual advisers. For most of the modern history of the U.S. death penalty since the 1970s, spiritual advisers have not been present in execution chambers, he said. The Biden administration is still weighing how it will proceed in death penalty cases.
High court orders continued look at Texas death row case
FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2020, file photo the Supreme Court is seen as sundown in Washington. The Supreme Court is telling a lower court to continue to consider a case brought by a Texas death row inmate protesting a policy that means a chaplain cant accompany him into the death chamber. That change came after the Supreme Court halted the execution of another inmate, Patrick Murphy, who requested a Buddhist adviser be allowed in the chamber. By changing the policy, Texas argued all inmates were being treated the same. Gutierrez is on death row for fatally stabbing an 85-year-old woman.
Judge stays โTexas 7โ gang member execution for 2nd time
A federal judge on Thursday stayed the execution of a โTexas 7โ gang member who was convicted in the killing of a police officer because the state has refused to provide him with a Buddhist chaplain in the death chamber. The U.S. Supreme Court initially blocked Patrick Murphyโs execution in March, saying his religious rights would be violated if no Buddhist chaplain was present. The state had employed only Christian and Muslim chaplains and prohibited non-prison employees inside the death chamber for security reasons. Following the Supreme Courtโs ruling, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in April banned all clergy in death chambers and rescheduled Murphyโs execution for Nov. 13. But U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks stayed Murphyโs execution once again on Thursday, days before he was scheduled for lethal injection.