In this edition:
Scheduled executions: Texas set to execute Matthew Johnson on May 20
In case you missed it: New reports document global use of the death penalty and exonerations in the United States in 2024; Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reduces another death sentence due to evidence of intellectual disability
In memoriam: TCADP mourns the passing of Sister Cecile Roeger, O.P.
Featured events: National Day of Prayer Interfaith Vigil today, May 1, at 10:00 AM CT
Quote of the month
“Capital executions, far from bringing justice, fuel a sense of revenge that becomes a dangerous poison for the body of our civil societies. States should focus on allowing prisoners the opportunity to truly change their lives, rather than investing money and resources in their execution, as if they were human beings no longer worthy of living and to be disposed of.”
– Pope Francis’s preface to A Christian on Death Row: My Commitment to Those Condemned by Dale Recinella, July 18, 2024
The State of Texas is scheduled to execute Matthew Johnson on May 20, 2025. In 2013, a Dallas County jury convicted him of robbing a convenience store and killing clerk Nancy Harris in Garland. We will provide guidance on how you can express your opposition to this execution in a separate email.
To date this year, 14 people have been executed nationwide in seven states. This includes three men in Texas: Steven Nelson; Richard Tabler; and Moises Mendoza. David Wood, who was scheduled to be put to death on March 13, 2025, received a stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after he raised eight claims, including that he is actually innocent and that the State obtained its conviction by presenting false testimony and suppressing exculpatory evidence.
Three other states have scheduled executions in May: Florida; Indiana; and Tennessee. Oscar Smith may be the first person put to death in Tennessee since February 2020. Currently, Texas does not have any other scheduled executions.
Use of the death penalty worldwide in 2024
Global use of the death penalty increased last year, according to a new report by Amnesty International. In 2024, there were 1,518 reported executions, a sharp increase of 32% from 1,153 executions in 2023. These figures exclude the potentially thousands of executions in China and North Korea, where information remains a state secret. It was also the highest year on record since 2015, which had 1,634 executions.
The higher number of executions is due primarily to increases in Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, which together accounted for 91% of all recorded executions. The United States ranked seventh globally in executions. Despite this, developments continue to show the world is moving toward abolition. In 2024, Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes, Zambia ratified abolition, and executions were recorded in just 15 countries, a record low. Read Death sentences and executions in 2024.
Texas accounted for the most exonerations in 2024
The 2024 Annual Report from the National Registry of Exonerations details the 147 exonerations in the United States in 2024. Official misconduct occurred in at least 104 exonerations, and 37% of exonerations involved no-crime cases. The report found a disproportionate impact on people of color, with 78% of exonerations involving people of color; nearly 60% of exonerees are Black. The average time wrongfully imprisoned was 13.5 years.
Texas had the most exonerations of any state with 26; this includes 17 cases tied to the misconduct of Gerald Goines, a former narcotics officer with the Houston Police Department. The report found that 63% of exonerations involved help from a professional exonerator. Payments in the form of state compensation or civil damage awards to exonerees since 1989 now exceed $4.6 billion. Read the full report.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals removes Larry Estrada from death row after 27 years
On April 16, 2025, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) granted relief to Larry Estrada based on his claim of intellectual disability and ordered his sentence be changed to life in prison. Estrada was convicted in Harris County in 1998 of killing a clerk during a convenience store robbery; he was 18 at the time of the crime and 19 when sentenced to death. The Texas CCA ruling came after the parties agreed that Estrada meets the standard for intellectual disability and is therefore ineligible for execution; in June 2024, the trial court judge recommended relief. Nineteen people have been removed from death row in Texas since 2017 due to evidence of intellectual disability. More than one-third of these cases came from Harris County.
TCADP is deeply saddened by the passing of Sister Cecile Roeger, O.P. Sister Ceil was one of our most steadfast supporters. As the Promoter of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation of the Dominican Sisters of Houston (best job title ever), she was dedicated to the cause of abolition. Sister Ceil joined with other faith leaders in advocating for individuals facing execution, organized educational programs, and hosted vigils, among many other actions. She was truly a lovely person, and we will miss her greatly.
In 2016, TCADP honored Sister Ceil and the Dominican Sisters of Houston with the David P. Atwood Founder’s Award in gratitude for their longtime support for TCADP and commitment to abolishing the death penalty.
Featured events
Join TCADP, Texas CCATDP, partner organizations, and faith leaders today, May 1, 2025, at 10:00 AM CT, for a virtual gathering of prayer and reflection on this National Day of Prayer. We’ll stand united across faiths, affiliations, and cultures with one shared purpose: to intercede for life, mercy, and justice, and to put faith in action against capital punishment.
RSVP for the Zoom link here: https://forms.gle/nEGZdzQrv5MVD9ws5.
Thank you for being a catalyst for change in Texas!