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clemency

Breaking: TX Governor commutes death sentence of Thomas Whitaker

On February 22, 2018, just 30 minutes before the execution of Thomas Whitaker was set to begin, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a proclamation sparing his life and commuting his death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It was the first commutation in Texas in more than a decade and only the third since the resumption of executions in 1982.

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commutation intellectual disabilities U.S. Supreme Court

Death sentences reduced to life due to intellectual disabilities

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.