Our Impact

Together with local, state, and national partners, TCADP works to reduce use of the death penalty in Texas. Here’s a snapshot of our impact in 2023:


Hosted the TCADP 2023 Annual Conference: 25 Years of Igniting Change on February 25, 2023. It was our first in-person conference since 2020 and TCADP’s 25th consecutive annual gathering. More than 140 people, hailing from all corners of Texas, heard from keynote speaker, Anthony Graves, and from a panel of capital defense attorneys. During the conference, we honored six individuals who have made significant contributions towards efforts to end the death penalty in Texas.


Supported the legal teams for more than a dozen men on death row, including nine with execution dates. With the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Texas, we hosted a petition in support of clemency for Andre Thomas (pictured here), a man with severe mental illness who faced execution on April 5, 2023. Thankfully, a judge withdrew that date to give his legal team time to investigate and prepare a threshold showing that Thomas is mentally incompetent for execution. And with Texas Defender Service, we co-sponsored a petition to save Will Speer, who received a last-minute stay of execution.

TCADP also hosted Anatomy of a Wrongful Conviction: The Case of Charles Don Flores in Dallas County to bring attention to the plight of a man who has spent more than 20 years on death row for a crime he maintains he did not commit. 

Worked with Lobby Corps members to communicate support for abolishing the death penalty in Texas to state lawmakers during the 88th Texas Legislature.


Participated in multiple community events in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, including Martin Luther King Day, Jr. activities, Juneteenth, and the Cesar E. Chavez March for Justice and hosted World Day Against the Death Penalty events in October in Austin, College Station, Corpus Christ, Dallas, El Paso, and Fort Worth. TCADP also continues to host a virtual book group and support events sponsored by our Organizational Affiliates.

Released Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2023: The Year in Review on December 14, 2023, and secured coverage in media outlets including the Houston Chronicle, HuffPost, The Hill, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, the Austin American-Statesman, and Houston Public Media.