In this edition of our monthly newsletter, you’ll find information about a slew of virtual events this month, including two TCADP webinars on “future dangerousness.” We also share findings from an important new report on race and the death penalty and updates on the cases of two men who will be removed from death row based on evidence of intellectual disability.
intellectual disabilities
Bobby Moore, who spent 40 years on death row, granted parole
Bobby Moore was removed from death row in December 2019 after years of legal wrangling and two reversals by the U.S. Supreme Court related to his intellectual disability, which made him ineligible for execution. Yesterday – 40 years after a Harris County jury sentenced him to death – he was granted parole by the Texas […]
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stays execution of Randall Mays
On May 7, 2020, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) granted a stay of execution to Randall Mays and remanded his intellectual disability claim to the trial court for a review on the merits. Mays was set to be put to death on May 13, 2020. It was the third execution date he has […]
TCADP May 2020 Newsletter: COVID-19 continues to impact use of death penalty in Texas
This edition of our monthly newsletter addresses the continued impact of COVID-19 on use of the death penalty and prison conditions in Texas. It also includes updates on cases involving intellectual disability claims, federal executions, and use of the death penalty worldwide.
U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stays execution of Dexter Johnson
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has granted a stay of execution to Dexter Johnson, less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to be put to death, based on evidence of his intellectual disability. It is the second time in five months a federal court has intervened in this case and stopped Johnson’s execution.
U.S. Supreme Court finds Bobby Moore should be exempt from death penalty based on intellectual disability
Today, February 19, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a per curiam decision in the case of Moore v. Texas, finding that Bobby James Moore is intellectually disabled and should be exempt from the death penalty. Moore has been on death row in Texas since 1980. This is the second time the Supreme Court has […]
One execution stayed, another execution date withdrawn
Late in the day on Friday, October 5, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) stayed the execution of Juan Segundo based on a claim of intellectual disability. He was scheduled to be put to death on Wednesday, October 10 for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Vanessa Villa in 1986 in Fort Worth. According to […]
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refuses to exempt Bobby Moore from the death penalty
Despite a groundswell of support from a broad coalition, as well as an acknowledgment of Bobby Moore’s intellectual disability by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled last week that Moore should not be exempt from the death penalty.