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Criminal Law

StandDown Texas Project

Texas-centric examination of conditions, reform initiatives, and emerging issues related to best practices in the indigent criminal justice system with particular attention to issues involving capital punishment and the administration of the death penalty.
By StandDown Texas Project

Post Frequency: 49.3/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 14:21:29

Religion and the Death Penalty - Opinion Roundup

Posted on April 10, 2009
Because StandDown is Texas-centric, let's start with El Paso attorney Ouisa Davis' El Paso Times OpEd, "Let's push for moratorium on death penalty in Texas." Losing a loved one to death is a tragic, painful experience. The pain is even...

Constitutional Rights Always Matter

Posted on April 09, 2009
That's the title of Linda Campbell's latest column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. LINK Despite his given name, Khristian Oliver was not heartened to learn that jurors in Nacogdoches consulted their Bibles in the room where they decided to sentence....

Restorative Justice

Posted on April 08, 2009
That's the topic of a symposium at UT Law that will be held Thursday, April 23. The full title is, "Restorative Justice: Putting a Spotlight on Harm & the Personal Dimensions of Crime." The keynote, "Restorative Justice: Putting a Spotlight...

Picking Cotton

Posted on April 08, 2009
That's the title of a powerful new book by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton. The subtitle is, Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption. It's available now for purchase from Amazon.com. Thompson-Cannino wrongly identified Ronald Cotton as her rapist; testimony that...

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The Autobiograph of an Execution

Posted on April 08, 2009
That's the title of a new book by David Dow, the University of Houston Law Center professor and Director of the Innocence Network at UH. It's scheduled to be published in February 2010. "Live From Death Row," is Leon Neyfakh's...

Indigent Defense in Georgia

Posted on April 08, 2009
"Lawyerless defendants file lawsuit," is Bill Rankin's report in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A lawsuit filed Tuesday calls for prosecutions to be halted against a number of northeast Georgia defendants until they are provided lawyers to represent them...

More Reviews of Cahill's Saint

Posted on April 07, 2009
Today's Christian Science Monitor has the review, "A Saint on Death Row." The book is reviewed by Jane Lampman. Dominique Green, a poor black man from Houston, could easily have ended up like others executed on Texas?s Death Row: buried...

Connecticut

Posted on April 07, 2009
Today's Hartford Courant carries the editorial, "Do away with death penalty." A legislative committee has taken a brave step toward abolishing Connecticut's death penalty, a law that is all but unworkable, not to mention expensive, unfair and risky. By unfair,...

Colorado House to Debate Repeal April 15

Posted on April 07, 2009
The Denver Post report is, "Groups back bill to abolish death penalty," by Jessica Fender. A coalition of religious leaders, defense lawyers and families of unsolved- murder victims gathered Monday at the Capitol to voice support for a bill abolishing...

More from the Dallas Morning News

Posted on April 07, 2009
Let's start with Charles Terrell's letter to the editor, "Take pains to spare innocent," in response to a Morning News editorial. Terrell is the former Chair of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. When the state's new death row facility...

An Invitation from the Dallas Morning News

Posted on April 07, 2009
"Judge Keller coverage: Are we missing anything?," is reporter Russ Dunklin's post at the Dallas Morning News' DMN Investigates Blog. The investigation team's Steve McGonigle broke news last week that the Texas' highest criminal court judge, Sharon Keller, failed to...

August 17

Posted on April 07, 2009
That's the date set for a trial of CCA Presiding Judge Sharon Keller by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct. "Keller trial to begin in mid-August," is Chuck Lindell's report in today's Austin American-Statesman. Here's an extended excerpt: Mark it...

Oregon

Posted on April 07, 2009
"A golden opportunity to end the death penalty," is William Long's OpEd in the Oregonian. Long is the author of A Tortured History: The Story of Capital Punishment in Oregon. Easy to overlook in the heady enthusiasm among death penalty...

New Hampshire

Posted on April 07, 2009
"Death penalty is impossible to fairly administer," is the title of New Hampshire attorney Andru Volinsky's OpEd in the Sunday Corcord Monitor. A death penalty trial is a battle for the jury's focus. The prosecutors, who must prove the elements...

Alabama Legislation on Execution Witnesses

Posted on April 07, 2009
"Alabama considers allowing more witnesses to executions," is the editorial in today's Birmingham News. Executions in America were once public events, witnessed at times by thousands of people who came just to see the spectacle. But as more people grew...

Ohio

Posted on April 06, 2009
Last week, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray released the annual, Capital Crimes Annual Report: State and Federal Cases, 2008. The report's release prompted the AP report, "Ohio AG: Death appeals too long, can avert justice," via the Coshocton Tribune...

Opinion Roundup

Posted on April 06, 2009
We have editorials from Maryland and Florida; commentary from Florida, Illinois and Washington. Let's begin with the Frederick News-Post editorial, "Lingering death." It appeared in the Friday edition. Death-penalty legislation had a high profile in this year's session of the...

Repeal the Repeal in New Mexico?

Posted on April 06, 2009
"New PAC aims to repeal the death penalty repeal," is Heath Haussamen's report this morning in the New Mexico Independent. Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White has formed a political action committee aimed at repealing the New Mexico death penalty repeal...

Georgia Legislative Session Ends

Posted on April 06, 2009
"Public defender overhaul rejected," is the AP headline via the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. A proposal that would give lawmakers more control over the public defender system failed to pass the Legislature. The Senate already has voted to strip the public defender...

Colorado House to Debate Repeal

Posted on April 06, 2009
"State bills meet fate," is Joe Hanel's report in the Saturday edition of the Durango Herald. Friday was execution day at the Capitol for bills that sought to spend money. With the state budget in shambles, the Legislature's two appropriations...

More from Washington State

Posted on April 03, 2009
"State's execution team resigns, fearing identities would be reveale," is today's Seattle Times report. Four people who have volunteered to administer lethal injections to death-row inmates at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla quit their positions this week, apparently...

CCA Issues Stay for Jose Briseno

Posted on April 03, 2009
"Texas inmate set to die next week wins reprieve," is the AP report via the Dallas Morning News. Jose Briseno, 51, was scheduled for lethal injection Tuesday for gunning down Dimmit County Sheriff Ben "Doc" Murray at the 68-year-old sheriff's...

Washington State's Lethal Injection Team Resigns

Posted on April 02, 2009
That's the title of a report today at KUOW-FM by Patricia Murphy. You can listen to the report at the LINK The members of Washington state's execution team have resigned. The members stepped down because they feared their anonymity was...

Lethal Injection Legislation Moving Again in Arkansas

Posted on April 02, 2009
"Bill on lethal injections altered, sent to Senate," is Charlie Frago's Arkansas Democrat Gazette report, in today's edition. A state Senate panel, satisfied with an amendment that requires public disclosure of the chemicals and procedures in lethal injections, endorsed a...

Opponents Focus On Cost In Death Penalty Debate

Posted on April 02, 2009
That's the title of Martin Kaste's report yesterday on NPR's Morning Edition. You can listen to the report at the LINK New Mexico repealed its death penalty in mid-March, and the Maryland Legislature has passed strict new limits on when...

More on Tx CCA Judge Sharon Keller & Editorial Criticism

Posted on April 02, 2009
I'll be catching up with some coverage from yesterday in this post, but let's start with editorials from Fort Worth and Lufkin. Today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram carries the editorial, "Who pays the legal fees for judges charged with ethical violations?"...

Wednesday

Posted on April 01, 2009
I'll be traveling much of Wednesday. Posts will resume as WiFi hotspots allow. Be sure to check out the Daily Must Reads and others in the left column webroll.

Connecticut

Posted on April 01, 2009
"Legislative Committee Votes To Abolish Death Penalty," is Jon Lender's report for the Hartford Courant. A bill to abolish the death penalty won approval from the legislature's judiciary committee Tuesday night ? with proponents saying that Connecticut's capital punishment law...

Supreme Court Victory in Harbison v. Bell

Posted on April 01, 2009
"Court: Gov't should pay lawyers for clemency work," is the breaking AP report. The Supreme Court said Wednesday the government should pay federally appointed lawyers for working on state clemency requests for death row inmates. Convicted murderer Edward Jerome Harbison...

News from the Harris County District Attorney's Office

Posted on March 31, 2009
"Prosecutors disciplined in jury flap," is Brian Roger's report in last Friday's Houston Chronicle. Saying they were negligent and incompetent when they struck seven blacks from the jury pool in a recent murder trial, Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos...

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