You have a critical role to play in stopping executions in Texas. On this page, you will find the dates of scheduled executions, information on clemency campaigns, and contact information for the Governor of Texas and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. On the days of scheduled executions, we encourage you to take part in vigils in your area. Follow TCADP on X/Twitter @TCADPdotORG for case updates.
Texas Executions in 2023
Scheduled Executions (4)
October 10, 2023: Jedidiah Murphy Contact the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to urge clemency; see details below
October 26, 2023: William Speer
Sign the petition to #SaveWillSpeer (Read about his case below)
November 9, 2023: Brent Brewer
November 16, 2023: David Renteria
https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_scheduled_executions.html
Dates Withdrawn (3)
On March 7, 2023, the 15th Judicial District Court in Grayson County withdrew Andre Thomas’s April 5, 2023 execution date to allow his legal team reasonable time to investigate and prepare a threshold showing that Thomas is incompetent for execution. Read the statement by his attorney.
The March 29, 2023 execution date for Anibal Canales, Jr., has been withdrawn to give his attorneys time to file a subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus.
On April 19, 2023, a district court judge in Collin County withdrew the April 26 execution date for Ivan Cantu after agreeing additional legal proceedings are necessary. Cantu claims his case was tainted by false and misleading testimony.
Executions (5)
On January 10, 2023, the State of Texas executed Robert Fratta after “a dramatic day of back-and-forth court decisions on whether the state could continue using lethal drugs long past their original expiration dates.” Fratta was a former Missouri City police officer convicted of hiring two men to kill his wife, Farah, in 1994. He always maintained his innocence.
On February 1, 2023, the State executed Wesley Ruiz. The Dallas County jurors who sentenced Ruiz to death in 2008 did not hear any information about the horrific life circumstances he endured as a child. There also was evidence that some jurors harbored racially biased views of Hispanic men, which impacted the jury’s deliberations.
On February 8, 2023, the State executed John Balentine without any substantive judicial review of evidence of racial bias among the all-white jurors who sentenced him to death more than two decades ago. His attorneys also harbored racial animus towards Balentine and did virtually nothing to gather information about his childhood and background, which could have impacted the jury’s deliberations.
On March 7, 2023, the State put Gary Green to death for killing his estranged wife, Lovetta Armstead, and her daughter, Jazzmen, in 2009 in Dallas. Evidence developed about Green’s mental health established that his cognitive and mental health challenges diminished his ability to fully understand and regulate his actions.
On March 9, 2023, Texas executed Arthur Brown despite significant evidence of his innocence and intellectual disability. Brown served nearly 30 years on death row after being convicted on the basis of forensic evidence a court later called “plainly flawed,” as well as eyewitness testimony obtained through faulty police techniques.
Active Clemency Campaigns
Support clemency for Jedidiah Murphy
The State of Texas is scheduled to execute Jedidiah Murphy on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, a date recognized globally as World Day Against the Death Penalty.
Murphy was convicted and sentenced to death in 2001 by a Dallas County jury for kidnapping and killing 79-year-old Bertie Cunningham while in the throes of a mental health crisis brought on by years of abandonment, neglect, and abuse.
Murphy immediately accepted responsibility for his crime and expressed profound remorse for the irreplaceable loss and pain his actions have caused. In the 23 years he has spent on death row, he has experienced a genuine spiritual and personal transformation grounded in his Jewish faith. Now, fueled by remorse for his crime, love for his family, a desire to help others, and his religious devotion, he has become a role model to others.
Murphy has filed an application with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in which he asks for the commutation of his death sentence to a lesser penalty or, in the alternative, a 180-day reprieve.
We’re asking you to email the members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles directly at bpp_clemency@tdcj.texas.gov to urge them to recommend clemency for Murphy (you must include his TDCJ #999392and DOB 09/01/1975 in your appeals). Share your concerns with Governor Greg Abbott.
https://gov.texas.gov/contact/
You’ll find a sample email message for the Board, as well as additional information about Murphy, here. Contact the Board before Friday, October 6, 2023.
Save Will Speer
Just three and a half months ago, Texas named Will Speer as the first Inmate Coordinator for the Death Row Faith Based Program. Now, the State plans to execute him on Thursday, October 26, 2023.
Watch a compelling video and sign the petition to #SaveWillSpeer.
Speer’s childhood was marked by severe physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. With no support system or coping mechanisms, he committed a murder at 16. Upon his conviction, he was incarcerated in one of the most dangerous adult prisons in Texas, where he was beaten by other prisoners so severely that he had to be hospitalized for three weeks. To avoid further assault, he eventually joined a prison gang and agreed to kill another prisoner in exchange for the gang’s protection. Speer was sentenced to death in Bowie County in 2001.
Now, after three decades of incarceration, Speer was selected as one of the original members of a voluntary, application-only immersive Christian program for men on Texas death row. He has deeply studied religion and recommitted his life to a path of faith and service. The tools he learned in the program have enabled him to heal from the trauma he experienced as a child. Speer now ministers to others who are incarcerated, carrying a message of healing, redemption, and love to people in Texas’s prisons.
Despite all that Speer overcame and the positive impact he is making in his historic new role as the first Coordinator for the Faith Based Program, the State plans to execute him in a little over a month.
Speer’s legal team is asking the Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Abbott to spare the life of this man whose soul Texas has worked so hard to save. Join the campaign to #SaveWillSpeer.
Past Clemency Campaigns
On April 19, 2023, a district court judge in Collin County withdrew the April 26 execution date for Ivan Cantu after agreeing additional legal proceedings are necessary. Newly discovered evidence, which was not heard by the jury and has never been considered by any court, casts significant doubt on Cantu’s 2001 conviction in Collin County. Cantu maintains he was wrongly convicted killing two people in Far North Dallas: his cousin James Mosqueda and Mosqueda’s fiancé, Amy Kitchen. Two of the jurors who sentenced him to death want this new evidence to be reviewed, declaring they are disturbed by the prospect they heard false and misleading testimony during the trial.
TCADP thanks everyone who contacted the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Abbott in support of Cantu’s clemency application.
For the past 15 years, Andre Thomas has resided at the Wayne Scott Unit, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s psychiatric facility, where the most mentally ill Texas prisoners are housed. He suffers from schizophrenia and permanently blinded himself by gouging out both of his eyes, on separate occasions. Over the course of his life, Mr. Thomas sought treatment for the symptoms of his severe mental illness, but no one responded to his increasingly desperate pleas for help.
UPDATE: On March 7, 2023, the 15th Judicial District Court in Grayson County withdrew Andre Thomas’s April 5, 2023 execution date to allow his legal team reasonable time to investigate and prepare a threshold showing that Thomas is incompetent for execution. Thanks to everyone who has signed and shared the petition to #SaveAndreThomas. We will be in touch with further developments in this case.
On February 15, 2023, attorneys for Mr. Thomas asked Governor Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute his death sentence to life in prison or, in the alternative, to grant a reprieve to allow the courts to determine whether he is competent for execution, as the Constitution requires. Dozens of Texas mental health professionals and advocates and over 100 Texas faith leaders, along with national Evangelical leaders and the nation’s leading mental health organizations, have filed letters supporting the clemency application.
TCADP appreciates everyone who supported these past clemency campaigns and spoke in opposition to these executions.
On February 8, 2023, the State executed John Balentine without any substantive judicial review of evidence of racial bias among the all-white jurors who sentenced him to death more than two decades ago. His attorneys also harbored racial animus towards Balentine and did virtually nothing to gather information about his childhood and background, which could have impacted the jury’s deliberations.
On February 1, 2023, the State of Texas executed Wesley Ruiz. Ruiz was convicted and sentenced to death for shooting Dallas police officer Mark Nix in 2007 after a car chase that ensued when Officer Nix attempted to stop Ruiz in his vehicle. Ruiz was deeply remorseful for his crime and worked to better himself during his fourteen years on death row. The Dallas County jurors who sentenced him to death in 2008 did not hear any information about the horrific life circumstances he endured as a child. There also was evidence that some jurors harbored racially biased views of Hispanic men, which impacted the jury’s deliberations.
On November 16, 2022, the State of Texas executed Stephen Barbee despite the violation of his constitutional right to a fair trial that occurred when his lawyers unexpectedly and impermissibly conceded his guilt to the jury despite Barbee’s insistence on his innocence. We appreciate everyone who supported his application for clemency and spoke in opposition to his execution.
On October 5, 2022, the State of Texas executed John Ramirez, who was convicted of killing and robbing Pablo Castro in Corpus Christi in 2004. We are truly grateful to everyone who contacted the Board and Governor in support of his application for clemency.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay to Ramiro Gonzales, who was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. It remanded a claim about false testimony by the State’s trial expert regarding recidivism rates. Thanks to everyone who contacted the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Abbott in support of clemency or a reprieve for Ramiro. Read about his case here.
#SaveMelissaLucio
Melissa Lucio, one of six women on death row in Texas, was convicted and sentenced to death in Cameron County in 2008 for causing the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah. There is compelling evidence that Mariah’s death was a tragic accident resulting from a head injury she suffered in a fall—not a homicide.
On April 25, 2022, just two days before her scheduled execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay to Melissa Lucio. The Court ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to consider multiple claims related to new evidence of Melissa’s innocence of the accidental death of her daughter, Mariah.
You can find statements from Melissa Lucio and her attorneys in response to the stay here.
The Court’s Stay Order re: Application for Post-Conviction and Habeas Petition: https://tinyurl.com/42h4zb6n
Melissa Lucio’s First Subsequent Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/2paxuabx
We are grateful to everyone who contacted the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Abbott, signed the Innocence Project petition, shared information about Melissa’s case with your networks, or otherwise took action to #SaveMelissaLucio. We also want to express our appreciation to her legal team and everyone who supported them in the effort to stop this execution. We will continue to monitor her case for new developments and share updates with you.
What is Clemency?
In order for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to consider clemency for a person facing imminent execution, an application for clemency must be filed. The Governor of Texas has the authority to issue a one-time 30-day reprieve but can grant clemency only upon the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. A recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles is not binding, however.
In this comprehensive and illuminating article, Brant Bingamon of the Austin Chronicle takes a deep dive into the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, “regarded as the most secretive agency in state government.”
Since 1976, the Board of Pardons and Paroles has recommended clemency in only five cases where the inmate faced imminent execution. Then-Governor Rick Perry rejected two of those recommendations and allowed the executions to proceed.
- Henry Lee Lucas – Governor George W. Bush commuted his sentence in 1998 due to lingering concerns about his guilt. Lucas died of natural causes in prison in 2001 while serving a life sentence.
- Kelsey Patterson – The Board voted 5-1 for clemency but Governor Rick Perry rejected the recommendation. Patterson had a long-standing diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. He was executed on May 18, 2004.
- Kenneth Foster – Governor Perry commuted Foster’s sentence in 2007 due to concern about a Texas law that allowed capital murder defendants to be tried simultaneously. The Board recommended clemency by a vote of of 6-1. Foster had been convicted under the law of parties for a 1996 murder, even though he was sitting in a car 80 feet away at the time of the crime. He is serving a life sentence.
- Robert Lee Thompson – Governor Perry rejected the Board’s 5-2 recommendation for clemency even though Thompson was not the triggerman in the murder of Mansoor Rahim. He had been convicted under the law of parties. His co-defendant, Sammy Butler, the actual killer of Mr. Rahim, was tried separately and convicted on a lesser charge. Butler is serving a life sentence and will be eligible for parole. Thompson was executed on November 19, 2009.
- Thomas “Bart” Whitaker – On February 22, 2018, Governor Greg Abbott accepted the Board’s unanimous recommendation of clemency for Whitaker, who was scheduled to be executed that same day. It was the first such commutation in Texas since 2007. Whitaker is now serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. Read the Governor’s statement here.
Write the Governor of Texas and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
You are welcome to contact the Board and Governor even when there is no specific clemency campaign. Please note that clemency applications typically are filed 21 days before the execution date, so it is best to send a letter of support around that time. Include the TDCJ #, date of birth, and full name of the person on whose behalf you are writing.
The Board usually informs attorneys of its decision two business days before the execution date.
Here are some general talking points for your letters:
- State your concerns about the inherent flaws and failures of the Texas death penalty system.
- Express outrage and alarm at the high number of executions that continue to take place in Texas.
- Urge the Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend clemency.
Contact information for calls, letters, and emails*
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
Clemency Section
8610 Shoal Creek Boulevard
Austin, Texas 78757
Phone (512) 406-5852
Fax (512) 467-0945
Online Contact: bpp_clemency@tdcj.texas.gov
Current Members:
Chair: David Gutierrez
Elodia Brito
Carmella Jones
Brian Long
Marsha Moberley
Linda Molina
Ed Robertson
*Letters and emails are preferred by the Board.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
Information and Referral Hotline: (800) 843-5789 [for Texas callers]
Information and Referral and Opinion Hotline: (512) 463-1782 [for Austin, Texas and out-of-state callers]
Office of the Governor Main Switchboard: 512-463-2000
Online Contact: https://gov.texas.gov/contact/
The governor can grant clemency only upon the written recommendation of a majority of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, whose members he appoints. He has the limited authority to grant a one-time, 30-day stay of execution.
Execution Watch
“Execution Watch” can be heard on KPFT HD-2 and online here from 6:00 PM CT to 7:00 PM CT on any day an execution is scheduled in Texas.