Senator Rodney Ellis says in a Texas Monthly roundtable discussion, “I’m convinced [Cameron Todd] Willingham was innocent.”

Yet, Senator Ellis won’t push for a moratorium on executions. That does not make sense. If the Texas Legislature had enacted a moratorium in 2001 or… Read full post »

In 2010, Judge Charlie Baird wrote an order that would have exonerated Todd Willingham. As the Huffington Post reported, “Baird’s order clearing Willingham’s name never became official, because a higher court halted the posthumous inquiry while it considered whether the judge… Read full post »

The case of Carlos DeLuna is getting new attention. He was an innocent person executed by the State of Texas. The Columbia University Law Review has created an extraordinary website detailing the case. Be sure to visit their website.

Back in 2006, Texas Moratorium Network’s… Read full post »

A new documentary on the case of Cameron Todd Willingham entitled “Burned” is nearing completion.

According to the filmmakers, all the footage has been shot and the film is in post-production. “It’s coming along well! We’ve partnered with the Arson Research Projec… Read full post »

Beunka Adams was executed by lethal injection tonight in Huntsville. Today’s execution was the 482nd in Texas since 1982 and the 243rd since Rick Perry became Governor.

From AP:

Adams, 29, said just before he was executed that he was “very sorry for everything that happened,&#8221

… Read full post »

Lawyers for Beunka Adams are appealing now to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Thursday’s execution after the previously issued stay was lifted by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Beunka Adams has been granted a stay of execution by a U.S. District Judge:

From the Houston Chronicle:

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A 29-year-old convict set to die this week for a fatal shooting during the robbery and abductions at an East Texas convenience store has won a reprieve from a… Read full post »

When we first posted the link to the petition written by Kerry Max Cook, less than 200 people had signed it. Now, there are almost 35,000 signatures.

Here is a personal message from Kerry Max Cook:

“After my story and ongoing legal plight was published on the front-page of the New… Read full post »

Here is a personal message from Kerry Max Cook:

“After my story and ongoing legal plight was published on the front-page of the New York Times last week, a National organization called Change.org contacted me and wants to try and collect as many signatures as possible to try and put pres… Read full post »

Jesse Joe Hernandez received lethal injection tonight in Huntsville for the slaying of Karlos Borja 11 years ago. Today’s execution was the 481st in Texas since 1982 and the 242nd since Rick Perry became Governor. More than 50 percent of all executions in Texas in the modern era have bee… Read full post »

There is an execution scheduled today in Texas. The U.S. Supreme Court could still stop it, according to news reports. Forty-seven-year-old Jesse Joe Hernandez is set for lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville for the slaying of Karlos Borjas 11 years ago.

Today’s execution would be t… Read full post »

Scheduled Executions in Texas

To express your opposition to any execution, you can contact Governor Rick Perry’s office at 512 463 2000. If you call after business hours, you can leave a voice mail message. During business hours, someone should answer the phone. You can also send a message usin… Read full post »

This Friday and Saturday March 23-24 in Austin there will be a symposium examining lynching and the death penalty.

The Lynching and the Death Penalty symposium begins with a keynote address by Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, titled “Lynchi… Read full post »

Charlie Baird, the former judge who held a hearing in the Todd Willingham case in an attempt to determine if he was wrongfully executed, today criticized Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg regarding a fatal police shooting of a citizen in Austin. Baird is running against Lehmberg for Travis Co… Read full post »

Wednesday’s execution will be the 480th in Texas since 1982 and the 241st since Rick Perry became Governor. More than 50 percent of all executions in Texas in the modern era have been conducted under Rick Perry. Call the Office of Governor Rick Perry at 512 463 2000 to give him… Read full post »

Wednesday’s execution will be the 479th in Texas since 1982 and the 240th since Rick Perry became Governor. As of Wednesday, more than 50 percent of all executions in Texas in the modern era will have been conducted under Rick Perry.

Office of Governor Rick Perry 512 463 2000.… Read full post »

Co-Director Joe Bailey Jr

We attended the DVD release party of “Incendiary: The Willingham Case” tonight at the Violet Crown in Austin.

The award-winning documentary INCENDIARY:  THE WILLINGHAM CASE is now available on Apple’s iTunes Movie Store and DVD. 

From an email from Charlie Baird, who is challenging Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg in the Democratic Primary:

“Why don’t you just hush?”

Last night, at a community meeting to discuss the shooting of Byron Carter, Jr. by an Austin Police Officer, that’s what my oppo

… Read full post »

A Williamson County jury  has sentenced a man convicted of capital murder to life without parole, instead of death. The rejection of a death sentence is part of a nationwide decline in death sentences, as well as a major decline in Texas. In 2011, only 8 people were sentenced to death… Read full post »

AUSTIN, Texas – The award-winning documentary INCENDIARY:  THE WILLINGHAM CASE marks its release on Apple’s iTunes Movie Store and DVD with a release party and screening at Austin’s Violet Crown Cinema (434 W. 2nd. Street) on Wednesday, February 22 at 7:00pm.

Purchasers of a ticket to the… Read full post »

Recommends Court of Inquiry into Misconduct That Contributed to Morton’s Wrongful Murder Conviction

Contact:  Paul Cates, 212/364-5346, cell 917-566-1294 pcates@innocenceproject.org

(Austin, TX; February 10, 2012) –  Today a Texas Judge ruled that there is probable cause to believe that for… Read full post »

In Texas, there are people on death row who never killed anyone but who were sentenced to death under the law of parties. In a famous English case, Derek Bentley was convicted as a party to murder, by the English law principle of “joint enterprise”, which is similar to…

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Rodrigo Hernandez is scheduled for execution in Texas today. His execution will be the 239th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has overseen more executions than any governor in U.S. history and more executions than all but a few people in the history of the world. Today’s ex… Read full post »

There is a new development in the effort to get evidence back for DNA testing in the case of Anthony Melendez, the only living defendant in a case of possible innocence. One of the other defendants in this case, David Spence, was executed by the state of Texas on April 3, 1997…

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There is a new development in the effort to get evidence back for DNA testing in the case of Anthony Melendez, the only living defendant in a case of possible innocence. One of the other defendants in this case, David Spence, was executed by the state of Texas on April 3, 1997 while… Read full post »