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Texas Death Penalty Blog

Death penalty cases and legislation in Texas and elsewhere.
By "Persian Cowboy"

Post Frequency: 3.3/day

Last Entry: July 21, 2016 at 22:00:00

Sharon Keller Could Be Suspended from Office if Travis County Attorney David Escamilla Files Criminal Charges

Posted on May 07, 2010
Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, may soon be suspended from office according to the Procedural Rules for Removal or Retirement of Judges, if Travis County Attorney David Escamilla files misdemeanor charges in connection with Keller's failure to report millions of dollars in income and property to the Texas Ethics Commission...

Sign Online Petition and Send an Email to DA Rosemary Lehmberg to Help Stop the Execution of David Powell on June 15

Posted on May 06, 2010
Click here to send an email to Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg urging her to ask the judge to withdraw the execution date for David Powell now set for June 15, 2010. Already more than 400 people have signed the online petition and sent an email to Rosemary Lehmberg...

Sharon Keller Should Be Suspended from Office Pending the Outcome of the Formal Proceedings Against Her

Posted on May 06, 2010
Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, should be suspended from office pending the outcome of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct proceedings against her. She faces a public hearing on June 18, but she should be suspended before the hearing...

Hell Hole News #24 - Hank Skinner

Posted on May 04, 2010
HellApril 10, 2010More fun! It has been brought to my attention that some false and undocumented Ť adverse ť allegations, about me and my case are currently circulating on the web. Ordinarily I ignore things like this but I want to expose these coward allegations, usually raised by the haters, so it provides me a unique and excellent opportunity to counter this once and for all...

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Cesar Fierro - an Innocent Man Still On Texas Death Row "gone stark raving mad."Cesar Fierro - an Innocent Man Still On Texas Death Row "gone stark raving mad."Innocent

Posted on May 03, 2010
The Texas Tribune has a database of Texas prisons and prisoners that includes a list of people on Texas death row and where they are housed. 12 death row prisoners are listed as being housed in the Jester IV Psychiatric Unit. One of the 12 is Cesar Fierro, who is one of the people on Texas death row who is mostly likely innocent of the crime for which he has been sentenced to death...

"Last chance to prove my innocence," Skinner tells Medill student-reporters

Posted on May 03, 2010
The Supreme Court on Monday, May 3 once again failed to announce a decision in the Skinner case. No reason was given for the delay, the fourth time the justices have met to consider the case without issuing a ruling. The next date the justices will conference is Thursday, May 13, with announcements of their decisions expected on Monday, May 17...

Sharon Keller Fined $100,000 for Failing to Report Income and Property

Posted on April 30, 2010
Time to start the final countdown for Sharon Keller's time on the bench. Will she resign or be removed by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which will have a hearing on her case on June 18 in response to the complaints filed against her that she has brought discredit to the Texas judiciary by closing the doors of justice to a late appeal by a man set for execution, including one filed by Texas Moratorium Network that was signed by about 1900 people...

Texas executed Samuel Bustamante on April 27; 215th Execution Under Rick Perry

Posted on April 29, 2010
Texas executed Samuel Bustamante on April 27. He was the 454th person executed in Texas since 1982 and the 215th person since Rick Perry became governor.Click here to join the Students Against the Death Penalty's Facebook page to stay informed about the Texas death penalty...

Dallas Morning News Editorial says Forensic Panels Should Meet in Public

Posted on April 29, 2010
The Dallas Morning News had an editorial last week saying that the Texas Forensic Science Commission should hold public meetings of all of its committees, including the committee dealing with the Todd Willingham investigation.We agree and after last Friday's meeting, Texas Moratorium Network started an online petition to allow the public to contact FSC Chair John Bradley and other members of the Commission to urge them to hold public meetings...

poster4tomorrow Holding International Poster Design Contest "Death is Not Justice"

Posted on April 29, 2010
An organization in France, poster4tomorrow, is holding a poster design contest around the theme that "the death penalty is not justice. I don?t want it done in my name, my country, or our world".The call for entires closes on July 18, 2010.Download the competition rules and regulations here...

Republican Judge in Houston Jailed Wife of Acquitted Murder Defendant for Expressing Relief After Verdict Announced

Posted on April 29, 2010
Rick Casey of the Houston Chronicle writes in his column today about a Republican judge in Houston who jailed the wife of a defendant who had just been acquitted of murder for reacting to the acquittal with relief. Judge Susan Brown of Houston's 185th Criminal Court (see photo left), whose insensitivity and callousness brings to mind Judge Sharon Keller, is being opposed in the November election by Democrat Vivian King...

Tell Forensic Science Commission to Hold Public Meetings of Todd Willingham Investigation Committee

Posted on April 26, 2010
Please sign the email petition urging Chair Bradley and other members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission to make all of its committee meetings open to the public and the media.The "Investigative Committee on the Willingham/Willis Case" of the Texas Forensic Science Commission is holding secret, private, closed door meetings without any public notice to discuss the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation...

Cameron Todd Willingham Case: A Summary of David Grann's New Yorker Article

Posted on April 25, 2010
Created by Jeffrey medellin. (Prezi link).prezi-player { width: 550px; } .prezi-player-links { text-align: center; }Willingham on Prezi

Write Forensic Science Commission to Demand All Subcommittee Meetings are Public and Not Held in Secret Behind Closed Doors

Posted on April 24, 2010
If you believe that all subcommittee meetings of the Texas Forensic Science Commission should be public and not private, secret closed door meetings, then please join us in writing commission Chair John Bradley (photo left) and other members urging them to make the meetings public and to post notices on their website of when and where the subcommittee meetings will take place...

Happy Birthday to Mumia Abu-Jamal

Posted on April 24, 2010
HOUSTON EVENT FOR MUMIAfeaturing: SPOKEN WORDS BY MARCELL MURPHY AND BLACK SNOWCake & Ice CreamPlus, Urgent Strategy SessionFILM: In Prison My Whole LifeThe court system has closed its doors to the possibility of a new trial for Mumia and has left only two alternatives for him: execution or life in prison without parole...

Facts of Capital Punishment and Mental Disability or Mental Illness

Posted on April 23, 2010
A collection of clips created by five students at The University of Texas at Austin showing how the media portrays mentally ill or mentally disabled persons facing capital punishment. This video hopes to correct the misrepresentation of the said subject by bringing out the facts...

Texas Executed 453rd Person Since 1982; 214th Under Governor Rick Perry

Posted on April 23, 2010
Texas executed its 453rd person since 1982 and the 214th person since Governor Rick Perry took office in 2000. The next Texas execution is April 27 when Samuel Bustamante is set to die.From the Houston Chronicle:A Texas inmate convicted of fatally shooting an El Paso high school senior after robbing and sexually assaulting her was executed Thursday evening in the nation's busiest death penalty state...

Innocence Project Streaming Texas Forensic Science Commission Meeting Live - Willingham Case to be Discussed

Posted on April 23, 2010
The Texas Forensic Science Commission meeting is being streamed live on the website of the Innocence Project. Click on this link to go to a page on the IP site during the meeting to watch it. For background information on the Todd Willingham case, visit www...

Execution Watch: William Joseph Berkley

Posted on April 21, 2010
Texas plans to execute German native William Josef Berkley Thursday. Execution Watch will provide live coverage from Huntsville, present a legal analysis of the case, and interview Arizona death row exoneree Paris Carriger. No punishment is the subject of more propaganda than the death penalty...

Write Letter to DA Rosemary Lehmberg Urging Her to Seek Withdrawal of Execution Date for David Powell

Posted on April 21, 2010
If you live in Travis County, and especially if you are a member of an Austin Democratic Club, please write a personal letter and ask your club to send its own letter to District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg urging her to seek withdrawal of the execution date for David Powell now set for June 15, 2010...

American Exceptionalism Jeopardy

Posted on April 21, 2010
This project is about the theory of American Exceptionalism which gives reasons as to why the US still uses the death penalty. The goal of this project is to inform the public about the death penalty in America and get feedback about the information we present...

Todd Willingham Case: Public Comment Period at Next Meeting of Texas Forensic Science Commission April 23 in Dallas Area

Posted on April 17, 2010
The Texas Forensic Science Commission has posted its agenda for its meeting in Irving, Texas on April 23, 2010 at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, 221 E. Las Colinas Blvd, Irving, Texas (Map and directions). The meeting starts at 9:30 AM, but is expected to last all day and the public comment period will be at the end of the meeting...

Report and Photos from Karen Sage Victory Party in Race to Replace Retiring Judge Charlie Baird

Posted on April 17, 2010
Mary Tuma has an article in the Community Impact Newspaper about Karen Sage's impressive runoff victory over Mindy Montford in the race to replace retiring judge Charlie Baird (photo left with Karen at victory party) for Travis County District Court 299...

Justice John Paul Stevens Co-wrote Opinion Re-instating Death Penalty, Then Later Became Strong Critic of Death Penalty

Posted on April 14, 2010
The Catholic News Service points out that retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is currently the court's strongest death penalty critic, but that was not always true. In 1976, he co-wrote the 7-2 majority decision that reinstated the death penalty and ruled it again constitutional after it had been ruled unconstitutional in 1972...

Houston Sends Someone to Death Row for First Time Since 2007

Posted on April 14, 2010
Harris County (Houston) today sent someone to death row for first time in two years. Death sentences have been declining for more than a decade across the country, but now there is one more. The last time Harris County sent someone to death row was November 2007...

Tonight in Houston: Lynching Then, Lynching Now

Posted on April 14, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 7pm, at the Univ of Houston, Central Campus, University Center A National Speaking Tour of the CEDP Panelists include: Mark Clements - Police torture victim and former IL juvenile life without parole prisoner Lily Hughes - Longstanding anti-death penalty activist and CEDP board member Njeri Shakur - Longstanding anti-death penalty activist and organizer for the Abolition MovementMarisol Ramirez - Member of the Abolition Movement and wife of Juan Ramirez, sentenced to death under Texas' Law of Parties, even though he kllled no oneUpdates: on Hank Skinner, David Powell, Nanon Williams, Mumia's Birthday Celebration and Strategy Meeting, Judge Fine's hearing on DP, Forensic Science Commission MeetingPresenting the CEDP's National Speaking Tour for 2009 - 2010...

Texas Forensic Science Commission to Discuss Todd Willingham Case at Meeting April 23

Posted on April 12, 2010
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that the Texas Forensic Science Commission will reopen discussion of the Todd Willingham case at its meeting April 23 in Irving. The meeting will be held at the: Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas221 E. Las Colinas Blvd...

Video of Keith Hampton - Democratic Candidate for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Posted on April 08, 2010
Watch video of Keith Hampton.Campaign WebsiteKeith Hampton on FacebookKeith Hampton on TwitterA Lifetime of ServiceIf elected, Keith Hampton will be the only judge who has handled death penalty cases in all stages of litigation ? from accusation, trial, appeal and all post-conviction proceedings, including appearing before the Supreme Court of the United States...

2010 Death Penalty Expansion Bills Defeated in Maryland

Posted on April 07, 2010
Say thanks to legislators who voted against 2010 expansion bills!Momentum against the death penalty continued into the 2010 legislative session as ALL bills to expand Maryland?s law were rejected in committees in both houses by wide margins...

The Lamron: Student attends Anti-Death Penalty conference in Texas

Posted on April 07, 2010
Below is an article in The Lamron, the student newspaper of SUNY-Geneseo, written by Colleen Farrell, one of the students who attended the 2010 Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break organized by Students Against the Death Penalty and Texas Moratorium Network...

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