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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

In Georgia, a Push to End Unanimity for Execution

Posted on December 17, 2008
That's the title of Robbie Brown's article in the New York Times regarding the fallout from the Nichols jury verdict. LINKLegislators have not decided who will introduce the proposal to end unanimity or how many jurors? votes it will require...

The Cost of California Death Row

Posted on December 17, 2008
2 lawmakers team up to oppose new Death Row, is Bob Egelko's report in today's San Francisco Chronicle.Two legislators from opposing parties and with opposite views on the death penalty joined Tuesday to propose cutting off funding for a new...

Reason for Pride in Jersey

Posted on December 17, 2008
That's the title of an editorial in today's Newark Star-Ledger. LINK Criticizing the Legislature is something of a civic sport in New Jersey. It's not hard to find an issue that lawmakers have botched or ignored. Most of the time,...

Indigent Defense in Georgia

Posted on December 17, 2008
Indigent defense may be one loser in the Nichols case. Georgia's indigent defense system had been widely praised until the Nichols trial undermined its funding.Judge orders lawyers, officials to meet, is the report in the Tifton Gazette, written by Angie...

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Continued Coverage of Nichols Trial Verdict

Posted on December 17, 2008
Nichols trial made mockery of justice system, is Cynthia Tucker's latest column in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.However, no single player was a bigger disappointment than Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, who years ago refused to consider accepting a guilty plea...

Death Row Inmate's Trial Representation at Issue

Posted on December 17, 2008
Man convicted of killing his kids could get retrial, is the report in today's Dallas Morning News. It's written by Jennifer Emily and Tiara Ellis.A judge will consider today whether the defense attorney for a man sentenced to die for...

In New Hampshire

Posted on December 16, 2008
"Jury mull death penalty in Addison case," is the AP report via the Boston Globe.The jury has begun deciding whether Michael Addison should be sentenced to death or serve life in prison for the 2006 shooting of Officer Michael Briggs....

A Year Later, State Assesses Justice Without Death Penalty

Posted on December 16, 2008
That's the title of an article in Monday's Newark Star-Ledger, one year after the state abolished its death penalty. It's written by Rudy Larini. LINKState Sen. Raymond Lesniak likes to share important moments in life with friends and family through....

In Arkansas

Posted on December 16, 2008
"Wright: Threet pursues execution inconsistently," is the article from Sunday's Arkansas Democrat Gazette.Betsey Wright believes Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Threet is inconsistent in pursuing the death sentence, including the one handed down Friday for Zachariah Scott Marcyniuk...

Future Dangerousness, Race, and Ethnicity

Posted on December 16, 2008
Texas is unique in its reliance on predictions of future behavior in determining death sentences. To be sentenced to death in Texas, the jury must find that, "there is a probability that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence...

Will There Be a Federal Prosecution of Brian Nichols?

Posted on December 16, 2008
The issue is examined by Robin McDonald in today's Fulton County Daily Report, "Federal trial for Nichols may be tricky."Three former federal prosecutors said that the U.S. government would face significant?but not necessarily insurmountable?hurdles in prosecuting Brian G...

In the Aftermath of the Nichols Trial

Posted on December 16, 2008
Today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution carries the editorial, "State must reject urge to ease death penalty." It's written by editorial board member Maureen Downey.Here's an extended excerpt of this must-read editorial:Many people are frustrated and angry that a Fulton County jury failed...

The Politics of Killing

Posted on December 15, 2008
That's the title of a must-read article in Denver's 5280 magazine. It's written by Patrick Doyle and Natasha Gardner. 5280 also has "Lethal Divide," a resource page for more information on death penalty issues in Colorado.Thirty-two years have passed since...

Dallas County DA Makes Clear He's Not 'Soft on Crime'

Posted on December 15, 2008
That's the title of James Ragland's latest column in the Saturday Dallas Morning News. LINK Craig Watkins remains deeply conflicted about the death penalty. But as Dallas County's district attorney, he took an extraordinary step this week to make clear...

The Brian Nichols Case

Posted on December 15, 2008
There is extensive coverage of the Nichol's jury verdict, calls for a federal prosecution, calls for changes in Georgia law, and reflections on the crime and its impact.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an index of its complete coverage, "The State vs...

Maryland Commission Issues Final Report

Posted on December 15, 2008
The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment has issued it's final report, urging legislators to abolish the state's death penalty."Report fuels death debate," is the report in Saturday's Baltimore Sun by Julie Bykowicz.With a high-powered commission recommending abolition of the death...

Death Penalty System Fatally Flawed

Posted on December 15, 2008
That's the title of an OpEd from the Saturday San Antonio Express-News by former Bexar County District Attorney Sam Millsap. LINKAccording to a report released last week by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty ? Texas Death Penalty...

Life Sentence for Brian Nichols

Posted on December 13, 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, "Brian Nichols avoids death sentence."Brian Nichols will at most spend the rest of his life in prison, spared a death sentence by hopelessly deadlocked Fulton County jurors who had convicted him for the March 11, 2005,...

A Court Bailiff and His Ties

Posted on December 12, 2008
"The eccentric tie of a Dallas County bailiff is tucked away after ordered by judge," is the post on the Dallas Morning News' Crime Blog, this morning. Photos of the bailiff and one of his ties are at the link...

In the Shadows of the Nichols Case

Posted on December 12, 2008
As I've mentioned before, many criminal justice watchers have followed the Brian Nichols case because of its impact on Georgia's indigent defense system. The impact of a high-visibility case overwhelming a state's criminal justice system offers lessons that other jurisdictions...

The Latest on the Nichols Trial

Posted on December 12, 2008
"Nichols case on edge," is Law.com's Fulton County Daily Report article. It's written by Greg Land.Jurors appeared to be split 9-3 over how to sentence Brian G. Nichols, when the Daily Report went to press late Thursday afternoon. Earlier the...

DoJ Issues Fast-Track Regulations

Posted on December 12, 2008
Marcia Coyle reports, "DOJ issues final, controversial regulations on fast-track review of death penalty cases," in a web-only National Law Review post. This proposal for expedited federal review of state death sentences is also called "opt-in."The U...

Number of Attorneys Performing Pro Bono Work Static in Florida

Posted on December 11, 2008
"Number of Florida attorneys doing pro bono work has remained stagnant since 2000," is the title of a National Law Journal web-only report by Julie Kay.The number of Florida attorneys donating their time to pro bono work has remained stagnant...

In Oklahoma

Posted on December 11, 2008
"Oklahoma: Execution rate slows to lowest in a decade," is the AP report from Missouri's Joplin Globe.The number of inmates put to death in Oklahoma in 2008 reached its lowest level in more than a decade, with just two convicted...

News Coverage of the DPIC Report

Posted on December 11, 2008
Again, the report is here."Executions and Death Sentences in United States Dropped in 2008, Report Finds," is the New York Times report by Solomon Moore.The use of capital punishment in the United States waned this year, as state and federal...

DPIC Releases 2008 Report

Posted on December 11, 2008
The Death Penalty Information Center has released it's 2008 report, The Death Penalty in 2008: Year End Report. It's in Adobe .pdf format. DPIC lists these highlights at it's website:Decline in the Number of Executions and Death Sentences 37 executions...

News Coverage of Cone v. Bell

Posted on December 10, 2008
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Cone v. Bell. The Scotus Wiki page is here; the transcript, here. Adam Liptak reports, "Justices Weigh Misconduct in Tennessee Murder Case," in today's New York Times.There were flashes of incredulity...

More News of the West Texas Regional PD Office

Posted on December 10, 2008
Today's Lubbock Avalanche-Journal carries the editorial, "Regional public defender's office has worked well."THE CONCEPT OF establishing a regional public defender's office for capital murder cases was centered around providing good legal representation to defendants while protecting counties from excessive legal...

Coverage of the Troy Davis Hearing in Georgia

Posted on December 10, 2008
"Davis case draws big crowd, tough arguments," is the report by Alyson Palmer for Law.com's Fulton County Daily Report.Judges of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday probed the circumstances under which an innocent person sentenced to death...

Death Penalty: Will Other States Follow N.J.?

Posted on December 10, 2008
That's the title of John Gramlich's report today at Stateline.org. LINK Here's an extended excerpt:A year after New Jersey became the first state in a generation to repeal the death penalty, capital punishment opponents in Maryland and New Mexico are...

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