In this edition:
Scheduled executions: Edward Busby faces execution on May 14 despite meeting the criteria for intellectual disability
Case updates: Court overturns death sentence of Clarence Jordan nearly 50 years after his original conviction; support for Charles Flores continues to grow as Supreme Court considers whether to review his case; what’s next for Robert Roberson, an innocent man on death row
New report from Texas Defender Service: An Extreme Outlier: Race and the Death Penalty in Tarrant County, the Third Largest County in Texas
Featured events: Houston meet & greet events on May 9 and 23; Texas Primary Run-Off Election on May 26; TCADP Book Group meeting on June 24 (Zoom)
Remembering James Broadnax
“I would like to thank everybody for their love, prayers and support, legal and otherwise, and for all of the effort of fighting for justice in this case. It doesn’t go unnoticed, and we thank you.”
– James Broadnax, April 30, 2026
The State of Texas executed James Broadnax on April 30, despite significant evidence he did not commit the murders of Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler. His cousin confessed to being the shooter, and DNA evidence corroborated his admission. Still, state and federal courts, authorities in Dallas, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and Governor Greg Abbott refused to intervene. TCADP again thanks his legal team for their advocacy and everyone who took action on his behalf.
As we continue to lament the execution of James Broadnax, we must raise our voices against the next execution in Texas, which is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, 2026. Texas is set to put Edward Busby, Jr. to death despite unanimous expert findings, and even the State’s agreement, that he is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution. This directly defies U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
In Atkins v. Virginia, the Court barred the execution of people with intellectual disability. In Moore v. Texas, it reinforced that courts must rely on current medical standards and expert clinical judgment—not lay intuition or judicial guesswork. Yet in Busby’s case, the courts disregarded the unanimous expert findings and substituted their own non-expert views, employing the very type of reasoning the Supreme Court has already condemned.
Busby was sentenced to death in 2005 by a Tarrant County jury for the kidnapping and murder of Laura Lee Crane. He has faced multiple execution dates in the last six years. Busby is now seeking the commutation of his death sentence or a 60-day reprieve.
How you can advocate for clemency for Edward Busby
It is vitally important that we continue to speak out against executions in Texas and raise awareness of the systemic flaws that permeate capital cases. We’re asking you to email the members of the Texas Board and Pardons and Paroles directly at bpp_clemency@tdcj.texas.gov to urge them to recommend clemency for Edward Busby (include his TDCJ #999506 and DOB 07/25/1972 in your appeals). Share your concerns with Governor Greg Abbott: https://gov.texas.gov/contact/. Please send your messages in support of clemency by Monday, May 11, 2026.
To date in 2026, 10 people have been executed nationwide, including three in Texas: Charles Thompson; Cedric Ricks; and James Broadnax. Florida, which put 19 people to death in 2025, has executed six people this year and has another execution scheduled this month. Arizona, Oklahoma, and Tennessee also have scheduled executions in May.
Case updates
Death sentence of Clarence Jordan overturned 50 years after his original conviction
In a significant ruling last month, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the death sentence of Clarence Jordan, a 70-year-old man who has spent nearly five decades on Texas’ death row—one of the longest death sentences in the country. Jordan, who has documented intellectual disability and schizophrenia, was originally sentenced to death in 1978 for the shooting of Joe L. Williams during a robbery in Houston.
The court found that Jordan’s sentence was unconstitutional because the jury was not able to fully consider mitigating evidence related to his mental illness. Despite longstanding concerns about his competency and severe mental health conditions, including IQ scores as low as 56, Jordan’s case went largely unaddressed for decades.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced that his office will not seek a new death sentence, stating, “our duty is to seek justice-not simply to convict.” While his conviction remains in place, Jordan is now expected to be resentenced to life in prison, making him immediately eligible for parole.
Jordan, who is bedridden and suffers from significant medical needs, could now receive more appropriate care and potentially spend his remaining years outside of prison. His case underscores the systemic failures that can leave the most vulnerable individuals, particularly those with severe mental illness and intellectual disability, forgotten in the criminal legal system.
Support for Charles Flores continues to grow as Supreme Court considers whether to review his case
Over the last month, there has been a surge in interest in the case of Charles Don Flores, particularly the support coming from an unlikely source: the magic duo Penn & Teller. Flores has spent more than 25 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. His 1999 conviction in Dallas was based on an unreliable “identification” made by a witness months after she had been “hypnotized” by law enforcement and told that she would “remember more” later.
Flores has asked the Supreme Court of the United States to review his case and address whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ persistent refusal to apply state laws designed to prevent the execution of innocent people violates the right to due process guaranteed by the Constitution. In March, Penn & Teller filed a brief with the Court in which they challenge the use of “investigative hypnosis” and warn that the same techniques used by law enforcement in this case is the kind of trickery they employ on stage to manipulate and has no place in the criminal justice system.
Watch this interview with Penn Jillette.
Read this piece in the New York Times (may require a subscription).
Want to learn more about Charles Flores?
– Listen to The Unforgotten podcast, Season Five: “Riding Shotgun,” a partnership between the Texas Observer and Free Range Productions. All six episodes are available to download.
– Watch the recording of “When Due Process Fails: How the Death Penalty Ensnares the Innocent,” a panel discussion hosted by students at Georgetown Law, in partnership with the University of Texas School of Law’s Capital Punishment Center and George Washington Law, on April 6, 2026. The panel brought together Georgetown Law Professor Cliff Sloan, Harvard Law Professor Carol Steiker, death row exoneree Anthony Graves, and Charles Flores’s attorney, Gretchen Sween, for a discussion about his case and the due process concerns it raises.
Please join us in urging the authorities in Texas to grant Charles Flores a new trial. Sign the petition!
Next steps in the case of Robert Roberson
On April 10, 2026, attorneys for the State and Robert Roberson met for a hearing over Zoom before the new presiding judge, 114th District Court Judge Austin Reeve Jackson, to discuss next steps with the case. Roberson’s legal team continues to advocate for a new trial based on changes in the scientific understanding of the since-discredited version of the “Shaken Baby Syndrome” (SBS) hypothesis that was used to convict Roberson in 2003.
Both parties will submit written arguments as to how a changed-science precedent announced in another Texas SBS case in 2024 should affect whether a new trial is recommended for Roberson. Roberson has faced two execution dates in the last two years for a crime that did not occur, the tragic death of his daughter Nikki from serious medical issues that were never investigated at the time.
New report
Texas Defender Service Report: An Extreme Outlier: Race and the Death Penalty in Tarrant County, the Third Largest County in Texas
No one should face execution because of the color of their skin or the zip code in which their case is tried. Yet at a time when most jurisdictions in Texas and around the country are moving away from the death penalty, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office continues to seek the ultimate punishment at a remarkable rate, and almost exclusively against people from racial and ethnic minority groups. A new report from the Texas Defender Service delves into how Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth and part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, is a major driver of the death penalty in Texas—and nationwide. The report provides an overview of the stark racial disparities present in Tarrant County’s capital murder convictions, as well as four policy recommendations that could address these disparities.
Read the full report here.
Featured events
Harris County Meet & Greets
TCADP Harris County Field Organizer Timberly Vogel is hosting two Meet & Greet opportunities in Houston in May! These gatherings are an opportunity to come together with others committed to ending the death penalty, building a more just and equitable system, and supporting impacted families. It’s a space to connect across experiences, share perspectives, and be in community with people working toward meaningful change here in Harris County. Together, we will reflect on the impact of capital punishment, strengthen our collective voice, and build momentum for a more just future.
Whether you’ve been part of TCADP’s work for years or are just beginning to learn more, we would love for you to join us. This will be a relaxed, welcoming environment to build relationships, ask questions, and explore ways to take action locally. Light refreshments will be provided.
Meet & Greet Option 1:
Saturday, May 9, 2026; 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
McCrane Kashmere Library; 5411 Pardee St, Houston, TX 77026
Meet & Greet Option 2:
Saturday, May 23, 2026; 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
The Montrose Center; 401 Branard St 2nd Floor, Houston, TX 77006
RSVP for either event (or both!) here.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Timberly@tcadp.org.
Texas Primary Run-Off Election
Texas will hold its 2026 runoff elections on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The winners of the runoff elections will head to the general election in November. Early voting in the runoff will take place from Monday, May 18, 2026, to Friday, May 22, 2026. A total of 38 races will have runoffs because the candidates in those races didn’t receive more than 50% of the vote during the March 3 primary.
If you voted in the Republican or Democratic primary in March, you can only vote in that same party’s runoff elections. If you didn’t vote in March, you can choose to vote in either party’s runoff.
TCADP Book Group
The TCADP Book Group meets every six to eight weeks on Zoom and reads a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs. Our next book selection is Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection by Corinna Barrett Lain. We will discuss this book on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 7:00 PM CT on Zoom.
As a special guest, Professor Lain, who served as the keynote speaker at the TCADP 2026 Annual Conference, will be joining us! You won’t want to miss out on this rich discussion.
Register here to receive book group announcements and meeting links. (Note: If you have signed up for previous book group meetings, you do not need to register again.)
Thank you for standing with us in the relentless pursuit of justice in Texas!