INSIDER
Texas executes Brazoria County man for stomping death of infant son
Read full article: Texas executes Brazoria County man for stomping death of infant sonTravis James Mullis was sentenced to death in 2011 for killing his 3-month-old son in Galveston. He was the fourth person executed in Texas this year.
Bipartisan Texas House majority urges clemency for man facing execution in shaken baby case
Read full article: Bipartisan Texas House majority urges clemency for man facing execution in shaken baby caseLawmakers cite new scientific evidence that they say proves Robert Roberson, who is set for execution on Oct. 17, did not kill his daughter.
When the science crumbles, Texas law says a conviction could, too. That rarely happens.
Read full article: When the science crumbles, Texas law says a conviction could, too. That rarely happens.Texas’ 2013 law that allows for new trials in cases with flawed scientific evidence was pioneering. But the state’s highest criminal court has rejected most of those challenges.
Texas’ highest criminal court declines to stop execution of man accused in shaken baby case
Read full article: Texas’ highest criminal court declines to stop execution of man accused in shaken baby caseLawyers for Robert Roberson say the science used to sentence him to death is questionable and that prior health issues could explain the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2002.
Texas criminal appeals court removes Tomas Gallo from death row because of his intellectual disability
Read full article: Texas criminal appeals court removes Tomas Gallo from death row because of his intellectual disabilityThe court re-sentenced Gallo to life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter.
Ken Paxton successfully ousts three Republican criminal appeal court judges
Read full article: Ken Paxton successfully ousts three Republican criminal appeal court judgesThree incumbent judges with nearly a century of criminal law experience fell victim to Paxton’s political revenge tour after they ruled against the attorney general in a 2021 voter fraud case.
Texas executes Ivan Cantu for Dallas murders despite doubts of his guilt
Read full article: Texas executes Ivan Cantu for Dallas murders despite doubts of his guiltFaith leaders and jurors from the original trial launched a public campaign to reconsider recanted testimony in Cantu’s case. Texas courts declined.
Paxton’s push to oust incumbents puts spotlight on Court of Criminal Appeals primaries
Read full article: Paxton’s push to oust incumbents puts spotlight on Court of Criminal Appeals primariesThe attorney general has tried to supplant eight Republican judges on the court after they rejected his efforts to unilaterally prosecute voter fraud. The judges are now pushing back.
Texas’ top criminal court halts William Speer’s execution hours before he was scheduled to die
Read full article: Texas’ top criminal court halts William Speer’s execution hours before he was scheduled to dieSpeer has been on death row for decades after strangling another inmate at a Texas prison. The victim’s sister and faith leaders have both called on the parole board to halt the execution.
Ken Paxton moves one step closer to trial on long-delayed securities fraud charges
Read full article: Ken Paxton moves one step closer to trial on long-delayed securities fraud chargesThe impeached attorney general appeared in a Houston courtroom, where lawyers from both sides agreed to return in October to set an expected trial date on charges that have been pending since 2015.
Texas courts struggle to resolve criminal appeals that got lost in Harris County for decades
Read full article: Texas courts struggle to resolve criminal appeals that got lost in Harris County for decadesOverlooked in the churn of one of the country’s busiest courthouses, the forgotten appeals included two death penalty cases, and one from a man who’s already finished his 20-year sentence.
Texas’ highest criminal court emphatically rejects death row inmate Rodney Reed’s claim of innocence
Read full article: Texas’ highest criminal court emphatically rejects death row inmate Rodney Reed’s claim of innocenceReed, a Black man on death row for more than 25 years, has gained international support for his claims that he did not kill 19-year-old Stacey Stites, a white woman. Another appeal over DNA testing of evidence is still pending.
Texas Republicans, once allied with prosecutors, seek to rein them in
Read full article: Texas Republicans, once allied with prosecutors, seek to rein them inSome local district and county attorneys have said they will not pursue abortion-related cases, or prioritize certain drug, property and election crimes.
Questions about validity of shaken baby syndrome not enough to give Texas death row inmate new trial, court rules
Read full article: Questions about validity of shaken baby syndrome not enough to give Texas death row inmate new trial, court rulesRobert Roberson was sentenced to death for killing his 2-year-old daughter. Experts have since backtracked on the science used in part to win his conviction.
Texas executes Robert Fratta after high courts reject challenges to expired lethal injection drugs
Read full article: Texas executes Robert Fratta after high courts reject challenges to expired lethal injection drugsFratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers unsuccessfully challenged Texas’ routine of extending the expiration dates of its lethal drugs, a practice begun when many pharmacies began refusing to provide doses for executions.
U.S. Supreme Court tells Texas to reconsider executing man convicted with faulty DNA evidence
Read full article: U.S. Supreme Court tells Texas to reconsider executing man convicted with faulty DNA evidenceAreli Escobar was sentenced to death in 2011 for an Austin murder, but even prosecutors now agree his conviction relied heavily on faulty DNA testing by the discredited Travis County crime lab.
Travis County judges can’t hear appeals from migrants arrested under Texas border security push, court rules
Read full article: Travis County judges can’t hear appeals from migrants arrested under Texas border security push, court rulesThe Court of Criminal Appeals scuttled nearly 450 cases, saying migrants arrested for trespassing in Kinney County can’t ask Austin judges to hear their appeals.
Republican dominance continues for the two highest courts in Texas
Read full article: Republican dominance continues for the two highest courts in TexasThree seats were up for election in the Texas Supreme Court, which handles civil cases, and three in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Democrats haven’t been elected to either court since the late 1990s.
What to know before voting for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judges
Read full article: What to know before voting for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judgesTexans will vote on three seats for the state’s highest criminal court in November. Here’s what the court does, who is running for office and what issues candidates are running on.
Execution halted as court questions whether Ramiro Gonzales should have been sentenced to life in prison
Read full article: Execution halted as court questions whether Ramiro Gonzales should have been sentenced to life in prisonThe jury sentenced Gonzales to death after a prosecution expert testified that he posed a future danger to society. The expert now says his data was wrong.
Crystal Mason’s contentious illegal voting conviction must be reconsidered, criminal appeals court says
Read full article: Crystal Mason’s contentious illegal voting conviction must be reconsidered, criminal appeals court saysMason said she didn’t know she was ineligible to vote when she cast a provisional ballot in 2016, but she was sentenced to five years in prison. Now, the Court of Criminal Appeals says an appellate court that affirmed her conviction must look again at the evidence of Mason’s intent.
Texas continues imprisoning migrants without filing charges or appointing lawyers, court filings claim
Read full article: Texas continues imprisoning migrants without filing charges or appointing lawyers, court filings claimMonths after the problems became apparent, migrants are still being kept in prison in violation of state laws under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security crackdown.
Texas Republicans pressure court to reverse decision blocking attorney general from prosecuting election cases
Read full article: Texas Republicans pressure court to reverse decision blocking attorney general from prosecuting election casesRepublicans from Gov. Greg Abbott on down are pressuring the all-GOP Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse a December ruling that gutted the attorney general’s power to go after election cases on his own.
Texas executes Pasadena double murderer in third lethal injection this year
Read full article: Texas executes Pasadena double murderer in third lethal injection this yearRick 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.
Texas court tosses out conviction, death sentence after discovering a prosecutor also worked for the judge
Read full article: Texas court tosses out conviction, death sentence after discovering a prosecutor also worked for the judgeClinton 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.