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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

Debate Turns to Nebraska This Week

Posted on May 04, 2009
Later this week, Nebraska's unicameral legislature is scheduled to debate LB 36, which would authorize lethal injection as the state's method of execution. It's unclear whether LB 306, a repeal bill, will be taken up on the floor this year....

Utah

Posted on May 04, 2009
"Utah bucking U.S. death penalty trend," is Jacob Hancock's report in today's Deseret News. While many states are trading the death penalty for life sentences to save millions in tax dollars, the Utah Attorney General's Office is pushing to strengthen...

Colorado Senate to Debate HB 1274 This Afternoon

Posted on May 04, 2009
Abe Bonowitz reports that the Colorado Senate is due to take up HB 1274, which would repeal the state's death penalty and dedicate cost savings to fund homicide cold cases, in less than an hour -- at 2:30 pm, MDT....

California Opens Comment Period on Lethal Injection Regs

Posted on May 04, 2009
"State opens comment period on lethal injection procedures," is Carol Williams report from the Saturday edition of the Los Angeles Times. State officials launched a two-month forum Friday for public comment on revised lethal injection procedures in a step toward...

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North Carolina Supreme Court Rules Against Medical Board Rules

Posted on May 04, 2009
The North Carolina Supreme Court issued its ruling in North Carolina Department of Corrections v. North Carolina Medical Board on Friday. At issue is physician participation in lethal injection executions. The dispute between the two state agencies has resulted in...

Charles Dean Hood Did Not Receive a Fair Trial

Posted on May 04, 2009
That's the bottom line of State District Judge Greg Brewer's Finding of Facts and Conclusions of Law in the case of Charles Dean Hood. The review came in spite of the state's best attempt to cover up and bury a...

Approve Resolution Calling for Impeachment of Keller

Posted on May 04, 2009
That's the title of an OpEd by State Rep. Lon Burnam, author of HR 480. It appeared in the Saturday edition of the Houston Chronicle. LINK In October 2007, I filed a complaint against Judge Keller with the Texas State...

Sharon Keller Amends Financial Disclosure Filing

Posted on May 04, 2009
"Sharon Keller amends financial report to include $2.4 million in assets," is Steve McGonigle's report. It appeared in the Saturday edition of the Dallas Morning News. Here's an extended excerpt: The state's top criminal appeals court judge has amended her...

Update From Colorado

Posted on May 04, 2009
"Death Penalty Repeal Fails in Colorado," is Kirk Johnson's report for the New York Times. An effort to repeal Colorado?s death penalty law stumbled Monday in the State Senate after two hours of sometimes anguished and angry debate, leaving the...

Repeal Fails in Colorado

Posted on May 04, 2009
Senators amended the bill to remove repeal from the bill. I was away from the computer when the critical vote happened, so I don't have a tally, yet. Following two hours of debate, the bill as finally passed by the...

Colorado Senate Prepares to Debate HB 1274

Posted on May 04, 2009
HB 1274 is now the order of business in the Colorado Senate. You can listen to the Senate audio webcast here.

Geoff Stone on Justice Souter

Posted on May 01, 2009
I want to highlight University of Chicago Law prof Geoffrey Stone's "David Souter," at Huffington Post. Here are two excerpts from this must-read: David Souter took the seat previously held by Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., one of the liberal...

Justice Souter

Posted on May 01, 2009
Daily Beast has, "The Next Female Justice," with brief profiles of several possible contenders. "Souter's Exit Gives Obama First Opening, " is the New York Times report. Justice David H. Souter plans to retire at the end of the term...

Juvenile Justice

Posted on May 01, 2009
The Los Angeles Times carried the editorial, "California's juvenile injustice system," in yesterday's edition. Children, even really bad ones, are different from adults. That basic truth is the foundation of our juvenile justice system, which seeks to protect society from...

Legal Technology, the Blawgosphere, and Life After Innocence

Posted on May 01, 2009
Robert Ambrogi writes, "Academic Innovation Hits the Legal Web," for Law Technology News, a Law.com publication. Law schools have long been innovators online. It was at a law school, after all, that the first Web browser was developed for Microsoft's...

HB 1274 OK for Colorado Senate Floor

Posted on May 01, 2009
Earlier this morning, the Colorado Senate Appropriations Committee voted to send HB 1274 to the full Senate. Colorado legislators are set to adjourn Wednesday AP reports, "Colorado death penalty bill headed to full Senate," via KJCT-TV. A proposal to eliminate...

More From the Keller Files

Posted on May 01, 2009
Austin American-Statesman reporter Chuck Lindell posts Keller File #2 on the paper's Focal Point blog, "Why wasn't the right judge called?" Here's an extended excerpt: One Court of Criminal Appeals judge needed to be told that death row inmate Michael...

Texas Execution

Posted on May 01, 2009
Texas carried out its 14th execution of 2009, last night in Huntsville. It was the state's 437th execution since 1982. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America, accounting for more than 37% of the nation's...

Time to Kill the Death Penalty

Posted on April 30, 2009
That's the title of an editorial in Colorado's Greeley Tribune. LINK Even justice has a price tag, and in today?s times, when legislators were talking about cutting $500 million from higher education, we have to make tough choices on the...

Colorado Senate Committee Backs Repeal

Posted on April 30, 2009
"Senate committee backs eliminating Colorado death penalty," is Colleen Slevin's AP report via the Aspen Times. A proposal to eliminate the death penalty in Colorado cleared another hurdle at the Capitol on Wednesday. The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs...

Texas Execution

Posted on April 30, 2009
Texas is scheduled to carry out its 14th execution of 2009, tonight in Huntsville. It would be the state's 437th execution since 1982. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America, accounting for more than 37%...

The Lethal Injection Debate in Nebraska

Posted on April 29, 2009
The Wauneta Breeze reports, "Several key bills being debated in the Unicameral this week." It's written by Dave Vrbas. Next week should be a philosophically intense week in the Unicameral, as two bills go up for debate: LB 36 and...

Colorado's HB 1174

Posted on April 29, 2009
The legislation, which passed the Colorado House on April 21, will be heard later this afternoon by the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. You can listen at this LINK, using Windows Media Player. The hearing will be held...

New Hampshire

Posted on April 29, 2009
"N.H. Senate puts off action on death penalty bill," is the just-filed AP report via the Brattleboro Reformer. The state Senate has voted to put off action on a bill that would get rid of capital punishment, four months after...

NACDL Issues Report on Misdemeanor Courts

Posted on April 29, 2009
Tresa Baldas writes the web-only report, "NACDL report blasts misdemeanor courts," for National Law Journal. Misdemeanor courts are a waste of time and money. So claims the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, which on Tuesday issued a first-of-its-kind national...

Continued News Coverage of CCA Presiding Judge Keller

Posted on April 29, 2009
Today's Austin American-Statesman carries the editorial, "Don't impeach Keller." As bad a job as Sharon Keller is doing as presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Texas Legislature should not impeach and convict her to remove her....

Cone v. Bell

Posted on April 28, 2009
The Supreme Court has ruled in favor Gary Cone, a Tennessess death row inmate. Prosecutors had withheld information that should have been turned over to Cone's lawyers. The Court's opinion is here. The Scotus Wiki page for Cone v. Bell...

Legislative Committee Hears Keller Impeachment Resolution

Posted on April 28, 2009
"Democrat vows to push Keller impeachment," is Chuck Lindell's report in today's Austin American-Statesman. Democratic Rep. Lon Burnam said Monday he will employ rarely used rules to try to force the Texas House to vote on impeaching the state's highest...

Compensation for Unjust Convictions in Texas

Posted on April 28, 2009
That's the title of an Austin American-Statesman editorial with the subhead, "Timothy Cole Act would honor signature victim of wrongful conviction who died in prison." It's rightly being named the Timothy Cole Act. And if it's passed by the Legislature,...

Money, Morality, and Repealing the Death Penalty

Posted on April 27, 2009
That's the title of Elaine de Leon's report at Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. LINK Here's an extended excerpt from this must-read: The ancient Roman Colosseum, known historically for violent gladiator battles, animal combat, and public executions, has become a symbol...

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