A Looming Execution Raises Questions of Race, Responsibility, and Rap
James Broadnax is set to be executed April 30. But someone else has admitted to the crime.
Death Penalty
No Path to Redemption for Devout Death Row Inmates
Texas offers religious education to the condemned but rarely values spiritual growth when considering clemency requests.
Advocates Request Clemency for Jewish Man on Death Row
Jedidiah Murphy is set to be executed on World Day Against the Death Penalty.
Reconciliation on Death Row
A murder and an execution date changed those on both sides of the bars.
Clarence Brandley: Unjustly Convicted, Overdue for Justice
One of Texas’ most famous death row exonerees died before winning compensation under a law inspired by his own story.
Two Executions, Many Questions about Mental Health, Innocence
Texas' deadly spring continues: Two Black men, Gary Green and Arthur Brown Jr. are set to be killed this week by the state.
Texas Executes John Balentine Despite Racist Trial
Though he confessed to the murders, his lawyers argue he might have been spared a death sentence if not for pervasive bias at his trial.
Texas Lawyers Violated Legal Ethics Over Expired Execution Drugs
An expert told the Observer that state’s attorneys “deceived the court by their silence” over supplies of lethal injection drugs.
Supreme Court Sides with Defense on Death Row Case
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will now reconsider Areli Escobar’s case which prosecutors and defense attorneys agree relied on flawed forensics.
Despite Racist Jurors, Andre Thomas Remains on Texas’ Death Row
The convicted man’s lawyer called the prospect of his execution “an ugly spectacle.”