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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

More on the Ohio Review Proposal

Posted on June 01, 2010
"Should all death row inmates be there?" is the title of Sharon Coolidge's report in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Supreme Court Justice Paul E. Pfeifer helped write Ohio's death penalty law in 1981, lifting the moratorium on state-sanctioned killing. Now, with...

Friday

Posted on May 28, 2010
I will be at the Bill of Rights Course today. The CLE program is cosponsored by the Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section and the State Bar of Texas. Please take the opportunity to visit some of the wonderful sites in...

Getting Facts Straight in Texas Murder Case

Posted on May 27, 2010
That's the title of an editorial in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram concerning the case of Hank Skinner. LINKTexas Death Row inmate Henry W. "Hank" Skinner, convicted in 1995 of a gruesome triple murder in Gray County, has spent years trying...

Judge Fine Remains on Case in Harris County

Posted on May 27, 2010
"DA's effort to recuse judge in murder case rejected," is the title of Brian Rogers report in today's Houston Chronicle. A Houston judge who declared the procedures surrounding the death penalty unconstitutional in March, then rescinded his ruling to hear...

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Bishop Scott Jones on Capital Punishhment

Posted on May 26, 2010
His essay, "Why I oppose capital punishment: 4 reasons beyond UMC's position," is in Faith in Action, the newsletter of the United Methodist Church General Board of Church & Society. From time to time, we United Methodists voice our beliefs...

Adam Cohen on the Hank Skinner Case

Posted on May 26, 2010
Cohen writes, "In Death-Penalty Cases, Innocence Has to Matter," for Time magazine. He's a lawyer, a former Time writer, and a former New York Times editorial board member. Here are extended excerpts: Hank Skinner, who is on death row in...

Texas Execution

Posted on May 26, 2010
Texas carried out its 11th execution of the year, last night in Huntsville. It was the state's 458th execution since 1982. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America, accounting for more than 37% of the...

Mark Osler on Capital Punishment

Posted on May 26, 2010
"Jesus Christ, Capital Defendant," is the title of his latest essay on Huffington Post. Osler is a professor at Baylor Law and a former prosecutor. In the Fall of 2000, I moved from Detroit to Waco, Texas, leaving a job...

Texas Execution

Posted on May 25, 2010
Texas is scheduled to carry out its 1tth execution of the year, tonight in Huntsville. It would be the state's 458th execution since 1982. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America, accounting for more than...

El Paso Fires County's Medical Examiner

Posted on May 25, 2010
Dr. Paul Shrode's inflated resume already had him in hot water. His work in an Ohio death penalty case was the tipping point. The El Paso Times reports, "County fires Chief Medical Examiner Paul Shrode: Ohio Parole Board's ruling spurs...

News Coverage of Hank Skinner Cert Grant

Posted on May 25, 2010
Brandi Grissom writes, "Justice Delayed," for the Texas Tribune. Death row inmate Hank Skinner bought himself some time Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up a technical issue in his case, but legal experts say he's unlikely...

Editorial Roundup

Posted on May 25, 2010
"Execution pace shouldn't be rising," is the title of an editorial in today Middletown Journal in Ohio. There?s something decidedly odd about Ohio?s death penalty situation. Having executed five people this year, with another six scheduled, and with two more...

Texas, the Death Penalty, and God's Will

Posted on May 25, 2010
That's the title of a post by Pastor Matt Idom at Huffington Post. LINK He's the Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church of Bryan, Texas; where he posts his sermons. Regarding the murder trial that has dominated our local...

Innocence Now

Posted on May 24, 2010
That's the title of an editorial in the Sunday edition of the Tallahassee Democrat urging the creation of a Florida Innocence Commission. It's subtitled, "Integrity of justice system is at stake." Florida's judicial system and its taxpayers will both have...

Will the Old South See a Wave of Executions This Year

Posted on May 24, 2010
News articles from Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee examine execution dates and death warrants that may be signed soon. The Tennessean reports, "TN may execute 4 death row inmates in the next year," written by Clay Carey. Tennessee could execute four...

More on the Hank Skinner Cert Grant

Posted on May 24, 2010
Rob Owen, counsel of record for Hank Skinner, has issued a statement following this morning's decision by the Supreme Court to review the case: "We are pleased that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Mr. Skinner's appeal. That decision...

More on the Weis Case in Georgia

Posted on May 24, 2010
Marcia Coyle writes, "Ga. Murder Case Shines Spotlight on Nation's Indigent Defense Systems." Jamie Weis, accused in 2006 of killing an elderly neighbor, had two state-appointed lawyers defending him from capital murder charges for more than a year. When the...

Supreme Court to Review Hank Skinner Case

Posted on May 24, 2010
The initial AP report is, "Supreme Court to review case of Texas death row inmate who wants DNA testing," via the Los Angeles Times. The Court will hear the case in its next term, which begins in October. The Supreme...

FBI Reports Violent Crime Down in 2009

Posted on May 24, 2010
The Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report for 2009 is available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Preliminary figures indicate that, as a whole, law enforcement agencies throughout the Nation reported a decrease of 5.5 percent in the number of violent...

Broad National Editorial Support for Graham Ruling on Juvenile Sentencing

Posted on May 22, 2010
Since the Supreme Court issued Graham v. Florida on Monday, there has been broad national praise for the ruling by editorial boards. That's been especially true in Florida, where the record showed that most juvenile life without parole sentences had....

More From Ohio

Posted on May 21, 2010
Today's News-Herald of Northern Ohio carries the editorial, "Details needed for death row review." If one Ohio Supreme Court justice has his way, the line waiting on death row may get a little shorter. Justice Paul Pfeifer, who played a...

Executions in Mississppi and Virginia

Posted on May 21, 2010
Last night, Mississippi and Virginia carried out executions. This week has seen four executions in the span of two days. That's the heaviest concentration since July 2003 when five men were executed over a period of three consecutive days. The...

Rick Casey on Juvenile Sentencing

Posted on May 21, 2010
His column in today's Houston Chronicle is, "That liberal legislature ... in Texas." The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday barred sentences of life without parole for juveniles who committed crimes other than murder. The vote was 5-4. This will surprise...

Mental Illness, the Criminal Justice System, and the Death Penalty in North Carolina

Posted on May 20, 2010
"Lady justice shows split personality in 2 cases," is the title of Myron Pitts column in today's Fayetteville Observer. On July 17, 1988, Michael Hayes shot 13 people passing by his parents' store in Forsyth County, killing four. The rampage...

California Democratic Party Platform: Repeal

Posted on May 20, 2010
Bob Egelko reports, "Dems want to scrap death penalty in California," on the front page of today's San Francisco Chronicle. The California Democratic Party is calling for abolition of the death penalty, defying conventional political wisdom and raising an issue...

The Lethal Injection Challenge in Kentucky

Posted on May 20, 2010
The AP reports, "Ky. judge weighs challenge to lethal injection." It's written by Brett Barrouquere and appears in today's Lexington Herald-Leader. A state judge said Wednesday he would soon decide whether three death row inmates have properly challenged the way...

Oklahoma Governor Approves Third Capital Commutation

Posted on May 20, 2010
"Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry approves clemency recommendation," is the title of Michael McNutt's report in today's Oklahoman. An inmate on death row for 23 years who was scheduled to be executed earlier this year had his death penalty sentence commuted....

The Execution of David Powell Will Not Serve justice

Posted on May 20, 2010
That's what Michael King writes in the current issue of the Austin Chronicle, "Point Austin: Let David Live." It's a must-read. How much pain is enough to make up for irreparable harm? ? David Powell If all goes according to...

Fresh Debate on North Carolina's Racial Justice Act

Posted on May 19, 2010
Today's Greensboro News-Record carries the editorial, "Is bias law misused?" The state's controversial Racial Justice Act, enacted in August to ensure sentencing in capital cases is based on law, not racial bias, may need tweaking in the General Assembly...

Clemency Issues in Ohio, Utah

Posted on May 19, 2010
"Strickland has to decide killer's fate," is the title of Alan Johnson's report in the Columbus Dispatch. When does one murderer deserve to live while others die? That's the weighty question the Ohio Parole Board handed Gov. Ted Strickland yesterday....

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