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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

Sixth Circuit Reinstates Tennessee's Lethal Injection Procedure - UPDATED

Posted on July 02, 2009
AP reports, "Breaking News: TN's death penalty." It's written by Michael Silence, via the Knoxville News Sentinel. A federal appeals court has vacated a lower court's ruling that Tennessee's lethal injection process is unconstitutional. In 2007, the U...

Arizona Lethal Injection Procedure Ruled Constitutional

Posted on July 02, 2009
"Execution method of lethal injection approved," is Michael Keifer's report in today's Arizona Republic. A federal judge Wednesday removed a major obstacle to executions in Arizona, ruling that the state's lethal-injection procedure is similar to one approved by the U...

CCA Again Rejects Rodney Reed's Appeal

Posted on July 02, 2009
The Court of Criminal Appeals order is here. "Reed's death sentence again upheld," is the title of Chuck Lindell's report in today's Austin American-Statesman. The state's highest criminal court has again rejected death row inmate Rodney Reed's claims that he...

Colb on Melendez-Diaz

Posted on July 02, 2009
At FindLaw.com, regular columnist Sherry Colb writes, "The Right of Confrontation: A Supreme Court Decision Reveals Strong Schisms." Here's the beginning of a must-read for those who want to dig deep into the ruling. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court...

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Sacramento Bee Examines Geographic Disparity of California Death Sentences

Posted on July 02, 2009
The SacBee is previewing an article that will be in tomorrow's print edition. It contains an interactive map examining the geographic disparity of death sentences in the state, at this LINK. Several factors can affect how often prosecutors obtain death...

North Carolina Racial Justice Act Continues to Advance

Posted on July 01, 2009
"Bill on death-penalty disparities advances," is James Romoser's report in today's Winston-Salem Journal. Here's an extended excerpt: A bill aimed at reducing racial disparities in the imposition of the death penalty advanced another step in the N.C. General Assembly yesterday...

NYT Examines the Yogurt Shop Murders

Posted on July 01, 2009
"New Evidence Opens Old Wound in 1991 Slaying of 4 Girls," is the title of James McKinley's report in today's New York Times. Seventeen years have come and gone. The yogurt shop where four teenage girls were raped and murdered...

Commentary on the California Hearing

Posted on July 01, 2009
Los Angeles Times columnist Tim Rutten writes, "California death row's dicey math." When Tuesday's hearings in Sacramento on proposed changes in California's method of executing convicted murderers veered into a discussion of why solutions to the state's budget crisis ought...

News Coverage of the California Hearing

Posted on July 01, 2009
"Opposition to death penalty in California voiced at hearing on lethal injection," is the title of Carol Williams' report in today's Los Angeles Times. Corrections officials heard overwhelming condemnation of proposed new lethal injection procedures Tuesday at the first-ever public...

'Scent Lineups' Stink to Critics

Posted on June 30, 2009
That's the title of a report in today's USA Today written by Kevin Johnson. LINK Two federal lawsuits are casting a harsh spotlight on an investigative tool long beloved by American law enforcement: a bloodhound's nose. Lawsuits filed in Victoria,...

An Interview With Sandra Day O'Connor

Posted on June 30, 2009
The Daily Beast today has "A Justice Reflects." SDO was interviewed by Walter Isaccson, the CEO of the Aspen Institute, author, and former journalist. Here's an excerpt: Are you happy that a woman, Sonia Sotomayor, has been nominated to fill...

Clemency Denied in Oklahoma

Posted on June 30, 2009
"Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denies clemency," is the title of the AP brief, via NewsOK. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has unanimously denied clemency for a 32-year-old man facing execution for killing two men in southern Oklahoma. The...

California's Long Process to Resuming Executions

Posted on June 30, 2009
That's the title of an AP report by Paul Elias, via today's San Francisco Chronicle. LINK A Contra Costa County judge last week sentenced Darryl Kemp to death for the random rape and murder of a young jogger. But chances...

Troy Davis

Posted on June 30, 2009
The Supreme Court ended its term yesterday without acting on the cert petition filed by Troy Davis' attorneys. Today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution carries the AP report, "Supreme Court delays Troy Davis decision." Death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis got another legal...

The Charles Raby Case

Posted on June 30, 2009
"HPD crime lab back in the spotlight," is the title of Roma Khanna's report in today's Houston Chronicle. A death row inmate from Houston, whose conviction is receiving new scrutiny after DNA tests contradicted evidence in his case, will return...

Ohio Innocence Project Presses Death Row Case

Posted on June 30, 2009
AP reporter Andrew Welsh-Huggins writes, "Condemned Ohio killer of 3 says he's innocent," via the Dayton Daily News. An organization devoted to freeing innocent inmates has gone to bat for a condemned Ohio killer, a rare move for a group...

No Word From Supreme Court on Troy Davis Petition

Posted on June 29, 2009
The Court held it's last public session of the 2008-2009 term today, as noted by Tom Goldstein and his SCOTUS Blog crew. The Court still has before it the cert petition for Troy Davis. Goldstein posted: The Court will issue...

Kansas City Star Calls for Missouri Moratorium

Posted on June 29, 2009
"Moratorium on Missouri executions makes sense," is the title of the Kansas City Star editorial. It appeared in the Sunday edition. Executions in Missouri are on hold ? again. Any delay is to be applauded. The death penalty is expensive...

California's Lethal-Injection Plan Is Proven to Be Inhumane

Posted on June 29, 2009
That's the title of an OpEd by Ty Alper in the Sunday edition of the Silicon Valley Mercury News. He's the associate director of UC Berkeley Law School's Death Penalty Clinic. It appeared in the Sunday edition. LINK On Tuesday,...

Group Sheds Light on Wrongful Convictions

Posted on June 29, 2009
That's the title of a report from News 8 Austin concerning a weekend rally in Austin. LINK It was prepared by Jenna Hiller. News 8 Austin is the Time Warner Cable 24-hour local news channel for central Texas. A small,...

New Lab Report Case Granted - UPDATED

Posted on June 29, 2009
That's the title of Lyle Denniston's SCOTUS Blog post, concerning today's cert grant in Briscoe, et al., v. Virginia, 07-11191. The Supreme Court, in the final round of orders for the Term, agreed on Monday to review a sequel to...

More on the Yogurt Shop Murders

Posted on June 28, 2009
Austin American-Statesman reporter Steven Kreytak recaps the lengthy history of the controversial case in, "Yogurt shop trials to be a challenge for DA," in the Sunday edition. Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott walked out of the Travis County Jail last...

Imprisoned, Facing Impeachment, Kent Resigns Federal Judgeship

Posted on June 26, 2009
"Facing impeachment trial, U.S. judge resigns," is Suzanne Gamboa's AP report, via the Dallas Morning News. An imprisoned federal judge who's facing an impeachment trial in the Senate in a sex-abuse case says he will resign from the bench at...

A Chaplain's Take on Capital Punishment

Posted on June 26, 2009
That's the title of Bob Lively's religion column which will appear in tomorrow's Austin American-Statesman. LINK The last time I checked, seven out of 10 Texans approved of the death penalty, and not surprisingly, Texas executes more people than any....

DoJ Announces Commitment to Public Defenders, Legal Aid

Posted on June 25, 2009
That's the title of coverage of a speech by Attorney General Eric Holder posted at the Blog of Legal Times, aka, The BLT. LINK The post is written by Mike Scarcella. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. today outlined a plan...

Nickel-and-Dimed to Death

Posted on June 25, 2009
That's the subtitle of a report at North Carolina's Indy Week, "The high cost of the death penalty," written by Matt Saldana. The cheapest part of executing a prisoner is the killing itself. The state's procedure of lethal injection costs...

Way Off Topic ... A Friday Night Diversion

Posted on June 25, 2009
Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen wrote the play, "The Exonerated," which has done so much to raise awareness of wrongful convictions; the causes and the personal horror of wrongful incarceration. Over the years I've highlighted some of Jessica's other work...

More on the California Debate

Posted on June 25, 2009
Today's San Francisco Chronicle carries the OpEd, "Replace death penalty with permanent improisonment." It's written by Jon Streeter, Bill Hing and Diane Bellas; all served on the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice. After spending four years on...

Marlyand Releases New Lethal Injection Rules

Posted on June 25, 2009
The draft procedures are here. "Maryland moves toward resuming executions," is Laura Smitherman's report in today's Baltimore Sun. Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration took a reluctant step Wednesday toward resuming executions in Maryland after the governor failed earlier this year to...

Yogurt Shop Murder Defendants Released

Posted on June 25, 2009
It has been a spectacularly tangled case since December 1991 when four girls were killed in a North Austin yogurt shop. Problems with the investigation were apparent from the beginning. Four men were identified as suspects and pursued, but it...

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