In this edition of our monthly newsletter, you’ll find information about scheduled executions in Texas, as well as a recap of a recent Supreme Court decision rebuking prosecutors for racially discriminatory practices in a capital murder trial. You’ll also learn about actions that United Methodists in Texas are taking to affirm their church’s opposition to the death penalty.
Tag: Death Penalty
On Friday, May 27, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) granted a stay of execution to Charles Flores, who was scheduled to be put to death Thursday, June 2 […]
In this edition of our monthly e-newsletter, you’ll find updates on several Texas death penalty cases, as well as the results of the Kinder Institute’s latest Houston Area Survey, which finds that 73% of Houstonians support alternatives to the death penalty.
The case of Duane Buck has cast a national spotlight on race and the Texas death penalty for the past month, for good reason: his death sentence is the unconstitutional product of racial discrimination. He was condemned to death after his own trial attorneys inexplicably introduced testimony from a psychologist who stated that Mr. Buck was more likely to be dangerous in the future because he is Black. His case, Buck v. Stephens, is now on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Max Soffar, who spent 35 years on Texas’ death row – died of complications from liver cancer on Sunday, April 24, 2016. He was diagnosed in the fall of 2014, […]
Earlier this month, Amnesty International released its annual global report, “Death Sentences and Executions 2015.” As the name indicates, the report covers the judicial use of the death penalty throughout […]
A Brazos County judge recently deemed that Marcus Druery is incompetent to be executed due to evidence of his severe mental illness, which prevents him from understanding why he is being punished. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted Druery a stay just days before his scheduled execution on August 1, 2012 and later ordered a competency hearing.
Tonight, the State of Texas is scheduled to execute Pablo Vasquez . He was convicted of killing 12-year-old David Cardenas in 1998 in Donna, Texas (Hidalgo County). Vasquez was 20 […]