Articles tagged: death row
The Movement to Free Rodney Reed Illustrates the Growing Unease Over Texas’ Use of the Death Penalty
Deafening calls to spare Rodney Reed’s life point to a larger distrust in Texas’ use of the death penalty and an erosion of confidence in the justice system that convicted him.
After an hourslong rally outside the governor’s mansion in downtown Austin on Saturday, hundreds of people chanting “Free Rodney Reed” briefly blocked str...Read More
A New Crime Novel Asks Tough Questions About Revenge and Redemption
Texas Innocence Network founder David Dow’s first foray into fiction explores the trauma of a wrongful conviction.
Prison may be society’s most blatant example of a backfire mission — achieving the opposite of its rehabilitative intent. Very few who are incarcerated come...Read More
Texas Prisons Lead the Nation in Long-Term Solitary Confinement
Nearly a third of Texas prisoners in restrictive housing have been there for six years or longer, according to a new national survey.
The growing bipartisan consensus around solitary confinement — that it’s inhumane and overused across the criminal justice system — has led to its sharp d...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘The First Time Texas Killed One of My Clients’
An attorney pieces together a life cut short.
Editor’s Note: It’s hard to find new ways to write about the death penalty. And in these polarized times, most readers already have their minds made up....Read More
Social Media Ban Could Curb Free Speech Behind Bars
Prison reform activists say a new social media policy inside Texas prisons could keep both prisoners and advocates from talking about life on the inside....Read More
The Draw of Death Row
With “dark tourism” on the rise, Huntsville’s prison museum is thriving.
The gift shop offers shirts honoring the electric chair: "Home of Old Sparky," and the museum's visitors get a 'selectively edited' history of corrections....Read More
The Interview: Anthony Graves
Life after death row and the search for justice.
Graves spent 18 years in prison, 12 on death row. Now that his former prosecutor has been disbarred, Graves talks about forgiveness and life going forward....Read More
The First Time Texas Killed One of My Clients
An attorney pieces together a life cut short.
A death row attorney recalls what it was like to piece together a life cut short by poverty, racial inequality and capital punishment....Read More
Greater State: The Racism of States’ Rights
It has been 150 years since the institution of slavery officially ended in the Lone Star State. Yet, the vestiges from that evil period remain, and are revealed...Read More