Two Texas executions scheduled to take place over the next two weeks have been halted. On Friday, October 4, 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) granted a motion for a stay of execution filed by attorneys for Randy Halprin, who had been scheduled for execution on October 10, 2019. Also last week, a trial court withdrew the execution date of Randall Mays to examine his claim of mental incompetence.
Author: Kristin
Kristin Houlé Cuellar is the Executive Director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP).
Today, a majority of judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) rejected a trial judge’s recommendation that Paul Storey’s death sentence be commuted to life in prison after […]
In this edition of our monthly newsletter, you’ll find information about scheduled executions in Texas, including the cases of Randy Halprin and Rodney Reed. Also, check the tour schedule to find out if the powerful documentary film “The Penalty” will be screening in your community this fall.
The State of Texas executed Robert Sparks on September 25 after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal. Although Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed with the decision to deny a […]
For the second time this year, a Texas jury has rejected the death penalty in a capital murder trial. Today, after several hours of deliberation, a Denton County sentenced Daniel […]
On Monday, September 23, 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) stopped the execution of Stephen Barbee in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McCoy v. Louisiana (2018). […]
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State of Texas executes Mark Soliz
Last night, September 10, the State of Texas carried out its sixth execution of the year, putting Mark Anthony Soliz to death for the murder of Nancy Weatherly during a crime spree in Johnson and Tarrant Counties in 2010. During his last words, he apologized to the Weatherly family.
More than 100 Jewish attorneys, the American Jewish Committee, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism have filed an amicus brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in support of a new trial for Randy Halprin. Halprin is scheduled to be executed on October 10, 2019, despite the fact that no court has considered the impact of the judge’s anti-Semitic prejudice against him during his 2003 trial.