In this edition of our monthly alert, you’ll learn about the most recent state to abandon the death penalty. There’s also a legislative recap and details about special events this month in Dallas and Houston.
DNA testing
One execution stayed, another execution date withdrawn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 […]
New report from National Registry of Exonerations: 139 wrongfully convicted individuals exonerated in 2017
According to a new report from the National Registry of Exonerations, 139 wrongfully convicted individuals were exonerated in 2017. This includes four people who had been sentenced to death. The leading cause in last year’s exonerations was official misconduct, particularly concealing exculpatory evidence.
State of Texas executes Robert Pruett
Tonight, October 12, 2017, the State of Texas executed Robert Pruett after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his two remaining appeals. Pruett steadfastly maintained his innocence of the 1999 murder of Corrections Officer Daniel Nagle. This case bears many of the hallmarks of wrongful convictions: no physical evidence tied Pruett to the crime scene; unreliable […]
More than five months pass since last execution in Texas
The death penalty landscape continues to shift in Texas, with no executions occurring here since April 6, 2016. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), the state’s highest criminal court, has stopped the last four scheduled executions; it also halted two other executions earlier in the summer. According to Chuck Lindell with the Austin American-Statesman, […]
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