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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

Defenseless

Posted on May 19, 2010
That's the title of Brandi Grissom's lengthy examination of Texas indigent defense system. LINK It's a must read. Here's the opening: Texas is reaching a crisis point, putting itself at risk of a civil rights lawsuit ? or worse, a...

Texas Execution

Posted on May 19, 2010
Texas is scheduled to carry out its 10th execution of the year, tonight in Huntsville. It would be the state's 457th execution since 1982. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America, accounting for more than...

Texas Execution - Mississippi Execution; More Set for Thursday

Posted on May 19, 2010
Texas carried out its 10th execution of the year, tonight in Huntsville. It was the state's 457th execution since 1982. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America, accounting for more than 37% of the nation's...

A Roundup of Cost Items

Posted on May 18, 2010
Chicago Public Radio station WBEZ-FM reports, "Cook County Attorneys Running Out of Money to Try Death Penalty Cases," produced by Tony Arnold Defense attorneys and prosecutors with Cook County are running out of money to defend cases involving the death...

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Witness to an Execution

Posted on May 18, 2010
"Bishop Reflects on Death Penalty Following Execution," is written by Dave Gossett for the Intelligencer of Wheeling, West Virginia. It wasn't easy for Bishop R. Daniel Conlon to watch Michael Beuke lie strapped down on the gurney in the Lucasville...

News Coverage of the Graham Ruling

Posted on May 18, 2010
"Justices Limit Life Sentences for Juveniles," is the title of Adam Liptak's report in the New York Times. The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that juveniles who commit crimes in which no one is killed may not be sentenced to...

Editorials Praise Graham Ruling

Posted on May 18, 2010
Today's New York Times carries the editorial, "A New Standard of Decency." Monday?s welcome Supreme Court decision, banning sentences of life without parole for juvenile criminals who do not commit murder, recognizes that children mature and should not be irrevocably...

A Lawyer Known Best for Losing Capital Cases

Posted on May 18, 2010
That's the title of Adam Liptak's Sidebar column in today's New York Times. LINK It's a must-read. Here are several excerpts: A good way to end up on death row in Texas is to be accused of a capital crime...

Drug Shortage May Imperil Executions in Arizona

Posted on May 17, 2010
That's the title of Michael Kiefer's report in Sunday's Arizona Republic. LINK A worldwide shortage of a drug used in lethal-injection procedures could jeopardize future executions in Arizona. The shortage became evident last week during a federal court hearing in...

Bryan Stevenson on Today's Graham Ruling

Posted on May 17, 2010
Bryan Stevenson, Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, argued the companion case, Sullivan v. Florida in the Supreme Court. EJI has issued a news release, "Court Strikes Down LWOP for Juvenile Non-Homicide. Decision Called 'A Significant Victory for Children'...

Opinion Roundup

Posted on May 17, 2010
"Death penalty too costly, doesn?t deter murderers," is the editorial in Connecticut's Norwich Bulletin. There were 135 murders committed in Connecticut in 2006, the highest amount reported since 1998, which also had 135 murders. But the 2006 figure is the...

More on the Kevin Keith Case

Posted on May 17, 2010
"Evidence of innocence: Kevin Keith sits on Ohio's death row as the eyewitness case against him continues to erode," is the title of an editorial in Akron Beacon Journal. It appeared in Friday's edition. The successful prosecution of Kevin Keith...

Supreme Court Rules on Juvenile Sentencing

Posted on May 17, 2010
The Supreme Court has ruled out life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders convicted of nonhomicidal crimes. The ruling in Graham v. Florida is in Adobe .pdf format. The initial AP dispatch is, "High court rules out life sentences for...

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Calls for Review of All on State's Death Row

Posted on May 17, 2010
"Death Row cases should be reviewed, justice says," is the title of Alan Johnson's report. It appeared in Saturday's Columbus Dispatch. The "father of Ohio's death penalty," Supreme Court Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, says all current Death Row cases should...

A New Book From Scott Christianson

Posted on May 17, 2010
New York-based scholar Scott Christianson's latest book is The Last Gasp: The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber. It's published by the University of California Press. The Last Gasp takes us to the dark side of human history...

Friday

Posted on May 14, 2010
I'll be traveling today. Posts will resume this evening.

Texas Execution

Posted on May 14, 2010
Texas carried out its second execution in two consecutive days, last night in Huntsville. It was the state's ninth execution of 2010; the 456th Texas execution since 1982. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America,...

The Weis Case in Georgia - Representation in Crisis

Posted on May 13, 2010
Bill Rankin writes, "Supreme Court asked to decide Georgia death-penalty appeal," for today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to hear a case that could decide whether Georgia can afford the death penalty. On Tuesday, lawyers for...

High Court Fails in Hood Appeal

Posted on May 13, 2010
That's the title of an editorial in today's San Antonio Express-News on the Charles Dean Hood case. LINKThe Texas Court of Criminal Appeals made a mockery of justice when it ruled last year that convicted murderer Charles Dean Hood was...

Texas Executions - Ohio Execution

Posted on May 13, 2010
Texas carried out its eighth execution of 2010, last night in Huntsville. It was the 455th Texas execution since 1982. Another execution is scheduled for tonight. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America, accounting for...

Louisiana Legislation Would OK Waiver of Appeals

Posted on May 12, 2010
"Senate panel backs appeal waiver," is the title of Mark Ballard's report in today's Baton Rouge Advocate. A Senate committee advanced legislation Tuesday that was executed killer Gerald J. Bordelon?s dying wish: that those facing the death penalty can waive...

More on the Tennessee Case of Gaile Owens

Posted on May 12, 2010
SaraKay Smullens posts, "A Letter to Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen: Mercy for Gaile Owens," on Huffington Post. Smullens is a family therapist and educator. Dear Governor Bredesen, I write to ask that you offer mercy to Gaile Owens. You well...

Confusion Abounds in Mental Health Defenses

Posted on May 12, 2010
Martha Deller writes, "Appellate rulings sought to set guidelines for mental impairment defenses," for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It's a must-read for those interested in the intersection of mental illness and the criminal justice system. No one knows for certain...

Continued Criticism of Forensic Science Commission

Posted on May 12, 2010
"Texas lawmakers say commission dragging its feet on fatal fire probe," is the title of Yamil Berard's report in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Where can you spot proof that junk science was used in the analysis of a crime? That...

A Shortage of Thiopental Sodium - But Not in Texas

Posted on May 11, 2010
The AP reports, "Worldwide shortage of death penalty drug threatened upcoming Ohio execution," by Andrew Welsh-Huggins. It's via the Republic of Columbus, Indiana. A worldwide shortage of an anesthetic used in lethal injections across the country almost kept Ohio from...

New Report Issued in Reggie Clemons

Posted on May 11, 2010
Amnesty International has issued, "Death by Prosecutorial Misconduct and A 'Stacked' Jury." It's in Adobe .pdf format. AI issued a news release announcing the report, "Amnesty International Calls on Missouri to Commute Death Sentence in Reggie Clemons Case...

5th Circuit Judge Notes "Kafkaesque" Result in Capital Case

Posted on May 10, 2010
That's the title of John Council's report in today's Texas Lawyer. LINK In a decision one judge referred to as "Kafkaesque," a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that new evidence of a prison inmate's alleged mental retardation...

Crime & Capital Punishment Issues in the Maryland Governor's Race

Posted on May 10, 2010
Saturday's Washington Post reported, "Ehrlich takes issue with O'Malley's delays on death penalty." It's written by John Wagner. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has repeatedly fallen short in his attempts to persuade lawmakers to abolish capital punishment...

Lethal Injection Roundup

Posted on May 10, 2010
There is news to report from Kentucky and Ohio. The AP reports, "Inmates challenge new execution method in Kentucky," via the Lexington Herald-Leader. It's written by Brett Barrouquere. Kentucky's lethal injection protocol was set to take effect Friday, but three...

Obama to Nominate Kagan as Justice

Posted on May 10, 2010
That's the title of the New York Times headline. LINK The article is by Peter Baker and Jeff Zeleny. President Obama will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan as the nation?s 112th justice, choosing his own chief advocate before the Supreme...

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