In this edition:
Scheduled executions: Executions of codefendants set for September
In case you missed it: Death Penalty Information Center’s 2026 Mid-Year Update
Upcoming events: TCADP Book Group Meeting on August 5 (on Zoom) plus in-person events in Abilene, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Waco throughout the month (see below for details)
Advocacy in action: Keep up the pressure on Tennessee Governor Lee
Community remembrance
Today, August 3, we remember the 23 lives taken and 22 others wounded during a racially-motivated mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart in 2019. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the community as they continue to heal.
After three months with no scheduled executions in Texas, the State is set to put two people to death in September. LeJames Norman and Ker’sean Olajuwa Ramey were sentenced to death for the murders of Samuel Roberts, Tiffani Peacock, and Celso Lopez in Edna, Texas (Jackson County) in 2005. Norman was 19 at the time of the crime, Ramey was 20. In a highly unusual move, the State has set the executions of these codefendants just one week apart – on September 16 for Norman and September 23 for Ramey.
We will share information about how to voice your opposition to these executions in the coming weeks.
Texas also has set executions in October and November.
To date in 2026, 19 people have been executed nationwide, including four in Texas. Florida accounts for 12 of these executions, including a rare double execution on July 28. Three states – Alabama, Oklahoma, and Tennessee – are scheduled to carry out executions on August 13, and Florida has another execution set for August 18.
Here are some highlights from the Death Penalty Information Center’s 2026 Mid-Year Update, which was released on July, 8, 2026:
Death row population falls below 2,000
The U.S. death row population has dropped below 2,000 for the first time since the 1980s. According to the Legal Defense Fund, 1,993 people remain on death row – a 47% decline from its peak of 3,726 people on death row in 2001.
Juries continue to reject death sentences
Capital juries imposed at least 19 life sentences during the first half of 2026, compared to 12 new death sentences. Alabama sought the death penalty more often than any other state, yet no new death sentences have been imposed there so far this year.
New death sentences remain uncommon
Only 12 new death sentences were imposed across seven states during the first six months of 2026. Florida imposed the most (4), followed by Arizona and Texas (2 each).
Executions remain concentrated in a handful of states
Only four states carried out executions during the first half of 2026: Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas. Florida carried out more executions than all other states combined.
Racial disparities remain evident
More than half (56%) of the people executed during the first half of 2026 were Black. The report also found that 64% of victims in those cases were white, continuing longstanding racial disparities in the use of the death penalty.
Upcoming events
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 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, recommended by our friend Charles Flores, who is an avid reader. We will discuss this book on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 7:00 PM CT.
Register here to receive book group announcements and meeting links. (Note: If you have signed up for any previous book group meetings, you do not need to register again.)
Book event and happy hour in Waco
Nationally acclaimed reporter and author Pamela Colloff will visit Fabled bookstore (215 S 4th St, Waco, TX 76701) to discuss her new book, Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 7:00 PM. Drawing on her decades of reporting on the criminal justice system, Colloff tells the true story of an audacious con artist who helped send another man to death row for a murder he did not commit. The event is free and open to the public.
Join TCADP and Texas Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty for a happy hour before the book event at Cricket’s Draft House and Grill (211 Mary Ave, Waco) at 5:45 PM to meet other supporters in the area. (Cricket’s is a four-minute walk to Fabled.)
Dallas Human Rights Fair
TCADP and Texas Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty will participate in the Dallas Human Rights Fair on Saturday, August 15, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Visit our information table and attend our workshop to learn how you can help end the death penalty in Texas.
The fair will take place on the 6th floor (East Wing) of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX 75201. The event is free, but registration is required. Learn more and register here.
TCADP luncheon in Austin
The next installment of TCADP’s lunch series at our North Austin office is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, 2026, when we will learn about Charles Don Flores, who has spent more than 25 years on death row for a crime he steadfastly maintains he did not commit.
We will hear from his attorney, Gretchen Sween, his friend, Ali Nichols, and journalist Michelle Pitcher of the Texas Observer, who dug into Charles’s case for season five of The Unforgiven podcast, “Riding Shotgun.”
Join us from 12:00 to 1:00 PM for an hour of education and connection. Lunch will be provided; pre-registration is required. Directions to the office and parking info will be emailed directly to registrants.
Java & Justice in Abilene, Houston, and San Antonio
TCADP is hosting informal meetup events in three cities this month. Stop by anytime to share your reasons for opposing the death penalty and help plan future activities in your community!
Abilene: Tuesday, August 18, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at Mezamiz Coffee House (3909 S. 7th St, Abilene, TX 79605 just off Leggett Dr in The Cloisters)
Greater Houston area: Saturday, August 15, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Noe’s Cafe (2120 Spring Stuebner Rd, Spring, TX 77389)
San Antonio: Saturday, August 29, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM at Sunset Brews (1904 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, 78201)
Join medical professionals, state senators, a former correctional officer, and others in urging the Governor of Tennessee to halt the execution of Darrell Hines on August 13 so that concerns about Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol can be addressed.