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.
Category: intellectual disabilities
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) has stayed the execution of Steven Long to allow for further review of Long’s claims of intellectual disability. This marks the fourth case […]
Two men have been removed from death row in Texas in recent weeks based on evidence of their intellectual disabilities. The commutations stem from the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Moore v. Texas, which requires the state to use current medical standards in assessing intellectual disabilities.
Today, March 28, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state of Texas must use current medical standards for determining whether a person is intellectually disabled and therefore exempt […]