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Criminal Law

StandDown Texas Project

Texas-centric examination of conditions, reform initiatives, and emerging issues related to best practices in the indigent criminal justice system with particular attention to issues involving capital punishment and the administration of the death penalty.
By StandDown Texas Project

Post Frequency: 49.3/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 14:21:29

In North Carolina

Posted on July 23, 2009
"Death penalty bill barely gets by committee," is the AP report via today's Winston-Salem Journal. N.C. House legislators again have narrowly approved legislation designed to prevent a murder suspect or death-row prisoner with severe mental illness from facing capital punishment...

Reevaluating Lineups

Posted on July 22, 2009
That's the title of a report issued last week by the Innocence Project. It's subtitled, "Why Witnesses Make Mistakes and How to Reduce the Chance of a Misidentification." Here's an excerpt from the executive summary: Over 175 people have been...

The Sentencing Project's Report on Lifers in Prison

Posted on July 22, 2009
The Sentencing Project report, "No Exit: The Expanding Use of Life Sentences In America," states that 1 in 11 prisoners are now serving life sentences. A summary of the report is here. Here's an excerpt:A new report released by The...

CNN Examines Troy Davis Case

Posted on July 22, 2009
It was featured last night on CNN's AC 360 program. You can watch Gary Tuchman's report, "Death Row Mistake?" Earlier coverage of the controversial case begins here.

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The Legacy of the Brian Nichols Trial

Posted on July 22, 2009
Today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution carries the report, "Murderer Nichol?s tab: $3 million and growing," written by Rhonda Cook and Steve Visser. Here's an extended excerpt: It cost more than more $3 million to give courthouse killer Brian Nichols a fair trial...

Ohio Execution Was 1,000th Lethal Injection in US

Posted on July 22, 2009
"Ohio killer's lethal injection marks 1,000th in US," is Matt Leingang's AP report via Google News. A man who went on a 1992 Christmas holiday killing spree that left six people dead, including an 18-year-old mother gunned down at a...

Roderick Newton's Execution Date Expected to Be Withdrawn

Posted on July 22, 2009
"Man convicted in Dallas County slaying expected to get reprieve from execution," is Michael Graczyk's AP report via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A convicted killer scheduled for execution this week for an abduction and slaying a decade ago will likely...

Connecticut

Posted on July 21, 2009
Hartford Courant reporter Daniela Altimar has posted, "A renewed push to end the death penalty in Connecticut." Emboldened by a series of victories in the legislature earlier this year, a coalition of groups is launching a new campaign against the...

Sotomayor Responds to GOP Follow-up Questions

Posted on July 21, 2009
That's the title of a National Law Journal report by Tony Mauro. LINK Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday that she has "no personal views about the death penalty that would interfere with my obligation...

Allan Butcher Retires as Magistrate; Will Continue Indigent Defense Research

Posted on July 21, 2009
"Respected magistrate hangs up his robes but will continue his research at UT-Arlington," is the title of Martha Deller's report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Allan Butcher was known as one of the top death-penalty attorneys in Texas ? and...

Senate Adds Death Penalty Amendment to Kill Hate Crimes Legislation

Posted on July 21, 2009
That's the title of a Monday afternoon post at CivilRights.org, the home of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, written by Tyler Lewis. LINK On Friday, the Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to...

The Texas Tribune

Posted on July 21, 2009
It started with the post at Romenesko, "Smith steps down as Texas Monthly editor-in-chief to become Texas Tribune CEO," Thursday afternoon. It was Evan Smith's memo to the staff at Texas Monthly that he would not be moving with them...

Clemency Recommendation in Ohio

Posted on July 20, 2009
"Board: Spare killer?s life," is Christopher Bobby's report for the Saturday edition of the Warren Tribune Chronicle. Within an hour of the Ohio Parole Board recommending clemency for Trumbull County death row inmate Jason Getsy Friday, Trumbull Prosecutor Dennis Watkins...

In Washington State

Posted on July 20, 2009
Today's Olympian carries the editorial, "Should death penalty continue? Time to decide." Three inmates on Washington?s death row took another step closer to execution recently when Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham ruled that the state?s lethal injection procedures...

A Profile of AP's Michael Graczyk

Posted on July 20, 2009
CNN today has, "Texas reporter's seen unrivaled number of U.S. executions," reported by Dave Alsup. It takes seven minutes to execute a death row inmate, according to the state of Texas. At that rate, Mike Graczyk has spent about 40...

Editorials on Prison Cell Phone Blocking

Posted on July 17, 2009
Today's Longivew News-Journal carries the editorial, "Cell phone, cell mates: Bill would allow prisons to jam illegal use." State officials are pushing Congress for the right to use jamming equipment in prisons to stop prisoners from using smuggled cell phones...

State Officials Urge Federal Legislation to Block Cell Phone Signals From Prison

Posted on July 17, 2009
Last year, contraband cell phones turned up on Texas death row, with one inmate repeatedly calling a state senator and a journalist. The problem is not limited to Texas, however, and earlier this week, officials from a number of states...

The Never-Ending Crime Story

Posted on July 17, 2009
That's the title of Jordan Smith's latest report on Austin's yougurt shop murders in this week's Austin Chronicle. LINK Here's the beginning of the lengthy article, recapping the history and looking at whether Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen will face...

No Posthumous Pardon From Perry

Posted on July 16, 2009
That's the title of a report by Jordan Smith in the latest Austin Chronicle, out today. LINK Here's an extended excerpt: The debate over whether Gov. Rick Perry is free to grant a posthumous pardon ? without any change of...

Continuing Coverage of the Sotomayor Confirmation Hearing

Posted on July 16, 2009
Today may be the last day that Judge Sotomayor answers questions from Senators. For those following the hearings I want to point out a few resources. SCOTUS Blog has been doing it's normally excellent job live blogging the hearings from...

North Carolina RJA Returns to Senate

Posted on July 16, 2009
The Racial Justice Act, SB 461, received final passage in the North Carolina House yesterday. It returns to the Senate where a different version has already passed. Today's Winston-Salem Journal reports, "N.C. House approves Racial Justice Act." The N...

Lab Analyst Decision Complicates Prosecutions

Posted on July 15, 2009
That's the title of a report in today's Washington Post on the aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, last month. Subitled, "High Court Requires Scientists to Testify," it's written by Tom Jackman. The predictions are dire...

Mosley Execution Rescheduled for September

Posted on July 15, 2009
"Execution of police officer's killer delayed," is the title of Michael Graczyk's AP report, via the Dallas Morning News. A state judge has moved this week's scheduled execution of condemned murderer Kenneth Mosley to September, his attorney said Tuesday...

North Carolina Racial Justice Act Contintinues to Advance

Posted on July 15, 2009
The bill, SB 461 in the North Carolina General Assembly, faces a second vote in the House chamber today. The News& Observer of Raleigh reports, "Death penalty bill provokes a battle." It's written by Michael Biesecker. Judges would be allowed...

The Sotomayor Hearings

Posted on July 14, 2009
As the confirmation hearings wind through a second day, the Wall Street Journal has an editorial column, "Sotomayor and International Law," written by editorial writer Collin Levy. Sonia Sotomayor will parry a wide range of questions about her judicial philosophy...

Death Penalty Does Not Deter Murder

Posted on July 14, 2009
That's the title of an OpEd in the Sunday edition of the Contra Costa Times written by Mike Radelet and Werner J. Einstadter. Radelet is co-author of a recent deterrence study, Einstadter worked in California corrections and is Einstadter is...

Supreme Court Stays Scheduled Virginia Execution

Posted on July 14, 2009
The issue is double jeopardy. "Stay granted in execution that had been set tonight," is Frank Green's report in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch. Condemned killer Paul Warner Powell won another reprieve yesterday, this time from the U.S. Supreme Court, which stayed...

North Carolina Racial Justice Act May Face Key Vote This Week

Posted on July 13, 2009
"Racial justice? Bill that may be voted on this week would allow judges to throw out death penalties," by James Romoser appears in today's Winston-Salem Journal. Here's an extended excerpt from this must-read: When Ramona Stafford's husband was murdered in...

Attorney General Refuses Debate on Death Penalty

Posted on July 13, 2009
That's the title of an OpEd from Alabama's Birmingham News written by Robert Baldwin. LINK On May 18, I publicly challenged Attorney General Troy King to a public debate regarding Alabama's death penalty system followed by a formal letter to...

The Science of Eyewitness Identification

Posted on July 13, 2009
Yesterday, the CBS News program "60 Minutes," reaired Lesley Stahl's report, "Eyewitness: How Accurate is Visual Memory?" The two-part episode was first broadcast in March. It's a clich� of courtroom dramas - that moment when the witness is asked "Do...

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