Texas Defender Service
@texasdefender.bsky.social
We fight for the end of mass incarceration and excessive punishment in Texas through direct representation, policy reform, and public education.
It’s always easy for prosecutors to argue that relief on an appeal based on procedural errors should be overturned, but it’s important to remember that those appeals wouldn’t have been necessary if the State hadn’t bent the rules in the first place.
www.texomashomepage....
www.texomashomepage....
May 23, 2025 at 3:55 AM
It’s always easy for prosecutors to argue that relief on an appeal based on procedural errors should be overturned, but it’s important to remember that those appeals wouldn’t have been necessary if the State hadn’t bent the rules in the first place.
www.texomashomepage....
www.texomashomepage....
Being formerly incarcerated does not need to be end all be all.
From incarceration to the Nevada state legislature, Jovan Jackson wants to help others like him have a second chance outside of jail or prison.
We need more leaders like him.
thisisreno.com/2025/...
From incarceration to the Nevada state legislature, Jovan Jackson wants to help others like him have a second chance outside of jail or prison.
We need more leaders like him.
thisisreno.com/2025/...
Formerly incarcerated push reforms aimed at curbing recidivism
Reno's independent, online news and events source. Established in 2009.
thisisreno.com
May 20, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Being formerly incarcerated does not need to be end all be all.
From incarceration to the Nevada state legislature, Jovan Jackson wants to help others like him have a second chance outside of jail or prison.
We need more leaders like him.
thisisreno.com/2025/...
From incarceration to the Nevada state legislature, Jovan Jackson wants to help others like him have a second chance outside of jail or prison.
We need more leaders like him.
thisisreno.com/2025/...
The participation of the public is essential to holding our elected officials and their agents accountable.
States with the death penalty should not be permitted to hide their execution protocols behind closed doors to shield itself from responsibility.
www.cbsnews.com/news...
States with the death penalty should not be permitted to hide their execution protocols behind closed doors to shield itself from responsibility.
www.cbsnews.com/news...
Idaho must allow execution witnesses to watch as lethal drugs are prepared and given, judge rules
Three news outlets sued Idaho's prison director, arguing that key steps of the lethal injection process were being unconstitutionally hidden from public view.
www.cbsnews.com
April 30, 2025 at 11:45 PM
The participation of the public is essential to holding our elected officials and their agents accountable.
States with the death penalty should not be permitted to hide their execution protocols behind closed doors to shield itself from responsibility.
www.cbsnews.com/news...
States with the death penalty should not be permitted to hide their execution protocols behind closed doors to shield itself from responsibility.
www.cbsnews.com/news...
People who demonstrate that they are capable of rehabilitation, especially when freed for a long period of time, are evidence that excessive sentencing does not work.
Everyone deserves a second chance to demonstrate their growth. www.nytimes.com/2025...
Everyone deserves a second chance to demonstrate their growth. www.nytimes.com/2025...
A Judge Released Him From Prison. The D.A. Wants to Lock Him Back Up.
After Andre Brown’s 40-year sentence was overturned, he went free. The Bronx district attorney appealed, and now he might return to prison and leave his wife and children.
www.nytimes.com
April 26, 2025 at 4:30 AM
People who demonstrate that they are capable of rehabilitation, especially when freed for a long period of time, are evidence that excessive sentencing does not work.
Everyone deserves a second chance to demonstrate their growth. www.nytimes.com/2025...
Everyone deserves a second chance to demonstrate their growth. www.nytimes.com/2025...
A Kansas trial court yesterday issued a curious opinion in State v. Fielder. www.aclu.org/press-r...
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Court Declines to Rule on Constitutionality of Kansas Death Penalty and Death Qualification | American Civil Liberties Union
Both individuals who brought the challenge no longer face a death sentence
www.aclu.org
April 17, 2025 at 11:06 PM
A Kansas trial court yesterday issued a curious opinion in State v. Fielder. www.aclu.org/press-r...
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A “bloody spectacle.”
As more states seek to adopt alternative execution methods to lethal injection, some, like South Carolina, have now looked to the firing squad.
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As more states seek to adopt alternative execution methods to lethal injection, some, like South Carolina, have now looked to the firing squad.
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April 16, 2025 at 2:33 AM
A “bloody spectacle.”
As more states seek to adopt alternative execution methods to lethal injection, some, like South Carolina, have now looked to the firing squad.
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As more states seek to adopt alternative execution methods to lethal injection, some, like South Carolina, have now looked to the firing squad.
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Separate and apart from any political considerations raised by the Attorney General’s decision to seek death in Luigi Mangione’s case, that case will also reveal the complex relationship between federal and state authorities over a single individual. www.nytimes.com/2025...
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Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Bid May Pit Prosecutors Against Each Other
State and federal prosecutors have both accused Mr. Mangione of killing a health insurance executive. Attorney General Pam Bondi is pushing aggressively for capital punishment.
www.nytimes.com
April 11, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Separate and apart from any political considerations raised by the Attorney General’s decision to seek death in Luigi Mangione’s case, that case will also reveal the complex relationship between federal and state authorities over a single individual. www.nytimes.com/2025...
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Capital crimes are not committed in a vacuum; people do not commit such crimes because they opt to do so, but often instead because they themselves are the products of generational issues.
The lack of regard for mental illness and trauma must end.
www.aclu.org/news/ca...
The lack of regard for mental illness and trauma must end.
www.aclu.org/news/ca...
Death Row Case Exposes Failures to Protect Childhood Trauma Survivors | ACLU
Mikal Mahdi’s life was marked by abuse. Today, as he awaits execution, the courts have the responsibility to acknowledge the systemic failures that shaped his path.
www.aclu.org
April 9, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Capital crimes are not committed in a vacuum; people do not commit such crimes because they opt to do so, but often instead because they themselves are the products of generational issues.
The lack of regard for mental illness and trauma must end.
www.aclu.org/news/ca...
The lack of regard for mental illness and trauma must end.
www.aclu.org/news/ca...
With the number of known executions at their highest since 2015, the United States once again stands out for being one of the now-15 countries that still impose the death penalty.
@amnesty's report, which is worth a read, shows the company the U.S. keeps.
www.amnesty.org/en/d...
@amnesty's report, which is worth a read, shows the company the U.S. keeps.
www.amnesty.org/en/d...
Death sentences and executions in 2024 - Amnesty International
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2024. Amnesty International’s monitoring shows an increase by 32% in recorded executions compared to 2023. This does not include the thousands of people believed to have been executed in China, as well as in North Korea and Viet Nam, […]
www.amnesty.org
April 8, 2025 at 9:42 PM
With the number of known executions at their highest since 2015, the United States once again stands out for being one of the now-15 countries that still impose the death penalty.
@amnesty's report, which is worth a read, shows the company the U.S. keeps.
www.amnesty.org/en/d...
@amnesty's report, which is worth a read, shows the company the U.S. keeps.
www.amnesty.org/en/d...
Executions result in the loss of someone who was not the same person that committed the crimes that landed them on the row.
If rehabilitation is not enough, then what purpose, other than plain retribution, does having the death penalty really serve? theintercept.com/202...
If rehabilitation is not enough, then what purpose, other than plain retribution, does having the death penalty really serve? theintercept.com/202...
Lethal Injection, Electric Chair, or Firing Squad? An Inhumane Decision for Death Row Prisoners
South Carolina resumed executions with the firing squad killing of Brad Sigmon last month. Mikal Madhi’s execution date is days away.
theintercept.com
April 7, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Executions result in the loss of someone who was not the same person that committed the crimes that landed them on the row.
If rehabilitation is not enough, then what purpose, other than plain retribution, does having the death penalty really serve? theintercept.com/202...
If rehabilitation is not enough, then what purpose, other than plain retribution, does having the death penalty really serve? theintercept.com/202...
For the first time in the current administration, the Justice Department will be seeking the death penalty, against Luigi Mangione, who has already been charged in New York but with crimes that do not have the death penalty as a potential sentence. www.washingtonpost.c...
April 1, 2025 at 8:47 PM
For the first time in the current administration, the Justice Department will be seeking the death penalty, against Luigi Mangione, who has already been charged in New York but with crimes that do not have the death penalty as a potential sentence. www.washingtonpost.c...
Over the weekend, Louisiana voters, by a two-to-one margin, rejected a constitutional amendment that would have made it easier to send children to adult prisons.
By rejecting the amendment, voters demonstrated that harsher incarceration is not the answer. lailluminator.com/20...
By rejecting the amendment, voters demonstrated that harsher incarceration is not the answer. lailluminator.com/20...
Louisiana voters reject 4 constitutional amendments, handing Landry major defeat • Louisiana Illuminator
In a stunning rejection of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, Louisiana voters turned down all four of his constitutional amendments Saturday.
lailluminator.com
March 31, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Over the weekend, Louisiana voters, by a two-to-one margin, rejected a constitutional amendment that would have made it easier to send children to adult prisons.
By rejecting the amendment, voters demonstrated that harsher incarceration is not the answer. lailluminator.com/20...
By rejecting the amendment, voters demonstrated that harsher incarceration is not the answer. lailluminator.com/20...
Two days ago, in State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Association v. Shields, the Oklahoma Supreme Court suspended for six months a prosecutor who secretly watched jury deliberations in a murder trial. www.oscn.net/applica...
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March 27, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Two days ago, in State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Association v. Shields, the Oklahoma Supreme Court suspended for six months a prosecutor who secretly watched jury deliberations in a murder trial. www.oscn.net/applica...
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Today, the Court of Criminal Appeals declared that Travis Cobb was actually innocent and deserved relief from a crime he was sentenced twenty-five years in prison for. search.txcourts.gov/...
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March 27, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Today, the Court of Criminal Appeals declared that Travis Cobb was actually innocent and deserved relief from a crime he was sentenced twenty-five years in prison for. search.txcourts.gov/...
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Though Houston’s Harris County elected a district attorney last November that said he would only seek the death penalty against an “extraordinarily small” subset of those eligible to receive it, he will oversee his first death penalty trial very soon. www.houstonchronicle...
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What to know about Harris County's reputation as the 'death penalty capital'
What crimes qualify for the death penalty in Texas? Who decides whether to pursue the...
www.houstonchronicle.com
March 24, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Though Houston’s Harris County elected a district attorney last November that said he would only seek the death penalty against an “extraordinarily small” subset of those eligible to receive it, he will oversee his first death penalty trial very soon. www.houstonchronicle...
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As @boltsmag and @MotherJones emphasize, observers should keep in mind just how close Louisiana has been to wrongfully executing multiple individuals, all with cases that involved prosecutorial misconduct, as it ramps up its death-penalty machinery. boltsmag.org/the-hum...
The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions
Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.
boltsmag.org
March 20, 2025 at 10:05 PM
As @boltsmag and @MotherJones emphasize, observers should keep in mind just how close Louisiana has been to wrongfully executing multiple individuals, all with cases that involved prosecutorial misconduct, as it ramps up its death-penalty machinery. boltsmag.org/the-hum...
Pennsylvania's governor Josh Shapiro has called for the death penalty in his state to be abolished, and he may have the opportunity to do so during this legislative session. www.post-gazette.com...
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Editorial: There is a bipartisan bill to abolish Pa.’s death penalty. It must be passed
In one of his first major policy proclamations as governor in February 2023, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced not only that he was extending his predecessor’s...
www.post-gazette.com
March 20, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Pennsylvania's governor Josh Shapiro has called for the death penalty in his state to be abolished, and he may have the opportunity to do so during this legislative session. www.post-gazette.com...
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Earlier today the Supreme Court ruled, over the dissent of four judges, not to stay the execution of Jessie Hoffman, Jr., who is set to be executed tonight by suffocation through nitrogen gas.
This is not what justice looks like. www.supremecourt.gov...
This is not what justice looks like. www.supremecourt.gov...
March 18, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Earlier today the Supreme Court ruled, over the dissent of four judges, not to stay the execution of Jessie Hoffman, Jr., who is set to be executed tonight by suffocation through nitrogen gas.
This is not what justice looks like. www.supremecourt.gov...
This is not what justice looks like. www.supremecourt.gov...
Great piece by @radleybalko.bsky.social on five men who spent decades in prison and now advocate on behalf of other people navigating the criminal legal system in Louisiana. radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-redeem...
The redeem team
Collectively, they spent 155 years in prison. Now they counsel other people facing their own long sentences. A conversation with five "peer advocates" at the New Orleans public defender's office.
radleybalko.substack.com
March 17, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Great piece by @radleybalko.bsky.social on five men who spent decades in prison and now advocate on behalf of other people navigating the criminal legal system in Louisiana. radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-redeem...
By running charges through county attorneys which provide oversight, the police have an additional check on their power to arrest and detain individuals. boltsmag.org/cook-co...
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New Chicago Prosecutor Empowers Police to File More Charges Without Review
In a predominantly Black area of Chicago, police can now directly file gun charges without a prosecutor’s approval. The new program rolls back a process that serves to check misconduct.
boltsmag.org
March 15, 2025 at 3:55 AM
By running charges through county attorneys which provide oversight, the police have an additional check on their power to arrest and detain individuals. boltsmag.org/cook-co...
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Exacerbating the current political climate is the State of Florida, where the legislature continues to try to expand the death penalty.
floridaphoenix.com/2...
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floridaphoenix.com/2...
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Proposal to expand death penalty in Florida now goes to Florida House floor • Florida Phoenix
A bill that would add another crime category for a jury to consider when administering the death penalty has passed its second committee in the Florida House and will soon go before the entire chamber for a floor vote. The Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed the proposal (HB 693), filed by Miami Republican Rep. Mike […]
floridaphoenix.com
March 14, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Exacerbating the current political climate is the State of Florida, where the legislature continues to try to expand the death penalty.
floridaphoenix.com/2...
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floridaphoenix.com/2...
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Yesterday, while Texas stayed the execution of David Wood, a federal judge in Louisiana similarly stayed the upcoming execution of Jessie Hoffman Jr.
The pause for Mr. Hoffman, comes as a result of a challenge to the method of execution: nitrogen hypoxia.
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The pause for Mr. Hoffman, comes as a result of a challenge to the method of execution: nitrogen hypoxia.
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March 13, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Yesterday, while Texas stayed the execution of David Wood, a federal judge in Louisiana similarly stayed the upcoming execution of Jessie Hoffman Jr.
The pause for Mr. Hoffman, comes as a result of a challenge to the method of execution: nitrogen hypoxia.
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The pause for Mr. Hoffman, comes as a result of a challenge to the method of execution: nitrogen hypoxia.
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In an incredible turn of events, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has STAYED the execution of David Wood that was scheduled for this Thursday.
While the Court did not provide its reasoning, Mr. Wood will now have the chance to litigate his claims.
search.txcourts.gov/...
While the Court did not provide its reasoning, Mr. Wood will now have the chance to litigate his claims.
search.txcourts.gov/...
March 11, 2025 at 11:39 PM
In an incredible turn of events, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has STAYED the execution of David Wood that was scheduled for this Thursday.
While the Court did not provide its reasoning, Mr. Wood will now have the chance to litigate his claims.
search.txcourts.gov/...
While the Court did not provide its reasoning, Mr. Wood will now have the chance to litigate his claims.
search.txcourts.gov/...
"[T]he jurisprudence of capital punishment remains a work in progress," a panel of the Fifth Circuit acknowledged a few days ago when it vacated the death sentence of Brittany Holberg that resulted in major part from the misconduct of the prosecution. www.ca5.uscourts.gov...
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March 11, 2025 at 1:19 AM
"[T]he jurisprudence of capital punishment remains a work in progress," a panel of the Fifth Circuit acknowledged a few days ago when it vacated the death sentence of Brittany Holberg that resulted in major part from the misconduct of the prosecution. www.ca5.uscourts.gov...
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Hey everyone! We're an organization in Texas that fights against the death penalty and mass incarceration in the Lone Star State.
Follow along, and learn more about the work we do: www.texasdefender.org
Follow along, and learn more about the work we do: www.texasdefender.org
Home | Texas Defender Service
Robert RobinsonTDS News John Grisham Asks if Texas Will Execute An Innocent Man ByTexas DefenderSep 11, 20243 min readRobert RobinsonTDS News Save Robert Roberson ByTexas DefenderSep 1, 2024reportTDS ...
www.texasdefender.org
November 14, 2024 at 6:10 PM
Hey everyone! We're an organization in Texas that fights against the death penalty and mass incarceration in the Lone Star State.
Follow along, and learn more about the work we do: www.texasdefender.org
Follow along, and learn more about the work we do: www.texasdefender.org