Current News

Death Sentence Overturned After 48 Years

By April Towery, HoustonPress, April 10, 2026 Preview: The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Thursday that Clarence Jordan’s punishment was unconstitutional Article Link

Texas court overturns sentence for man on death row for nearly 50 years

The Guardian, April 10, 2026 Article Link

Texas’ highest criminal court overturns sentence of inmate who has been on death row for 47 years

By Alex Nguyen, The Texas Tribune, April 9, 2026 Preview: Clarence Curtis Jordan’s attorney said the intellectually disabled man didn’t have a lawyer to work on his behalf for nearly four decades. Article Link

The State Bar of Texas Honors OCFW With The 2025 Warren Burnett Award

At the State Bar of Texas annual meeting, OCFW received the 2025 Warren Burnett Award in recognition of our "extraordinary contributions...

Texas criminal appeals court takes man off death row over intellectual disability

By William Melhado, Texas Tribune, March 27, 2024.

Texas kept Syed Rabbani on death row unconstitutionally for decades. It almost killed him.

by Clare Amari Published on November 30, 2023 Preview: It was the moans of agony that first caught Ben Wolff’s attention. As Wolff, a...

Judge declines to recommend hospice, parole for ex-death row inmate Syed Rabbani

by Clare Amari Published on November 17, 2023 Preview: A district court judge on Friday declined to recommend hospice or parole for...

‘Forgotten’ inmate Syed Rabbani taken off death row after waiting nearly 30 years

by Clare Amari Published on November 14, 2023 Preview: Nearly 30 years ago, death row inmate Syed Rabbani filed a legal appeal...

A Prosecutor’s Change of Heart in a Capital Case at the Supreme Court

by Adam Liptak Published on October 24, 2022 Preview: A state judge in Texas ruled that Areli Escobar, a death row inmate there, had been...

Death Row Inmate, His Prosecutor Ask SCOTUS to Intervene in Bad DNA Case

by Marcia Coyal Published on October 19, 2022 Preview: False DNA evidence dominated the 2011 trial of Texas death row inmate Areli...

Texas court overturns Beaumont death sentence

by Meagan Ellsworth Published on March, 3 2022 Preview: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the conviction of a Beaumont...

Texas Appeals Court Takes Up Legal Fight Over Judge's Delay In Signing Inmate's Execution Order

by Nicole Hensley Published on June 1, 2022 Preview: A judge’s delay in signing a death warrant — which effectively sets the date of a...

AUSTIN’S UNRELIABLE CRIME LAB COULD LEAD TO ANOTHER WRONGFUL EXECUTION

by Jerry Ianneli Published on January 20, 2021 Preview: Dubious DNA evidence—and a potential coverup by the Travis County DA’s office—are...

Concerned over DNA evidence, judge recommends new trial to Austin man on death row for 2009 slaying

by Katie Hall: Published on January 6, 2021 Preview: A Travis County state district judge has recommended that an Austin man on death row...

Texas court denies death row inmate’s hypnosis appeal

Published on May 6, 2020 https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2020/05/06/texas-court-denies-death-row-inmates-hypnosis-appeal/

JAILHOUSE INFORMANT IN HIGH-PROFILE TEXAS MURDER CASES COMES UNDER NEW SCRUTINY

https://theappeal.org/jailhouse-informant-who-played-a-role-in-two-high-profile-texas-murder-cases-comes-under-new-22a32e2a1d3f/

Texas judge removed from death row case over racial remarks

https://apnews.com/general-news-ebde5ad871be48548cb8f19718517754

Death Row Inmate Gets New Sentencing Hearing Because Lawyer Refused to Present His Case

https://www.texastribune.org/2017/10/04/texas-death-row-inmate-hector-medina-sentencing-hearing/

Appeals Court Halts Texas Man's Execution in Shaken Baby Syndrome Case

https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/17/appeals-court-halts-east-texas-mans-execution/

Texas Will Execute This Man In 6 Days--But 4 Experts Say He Was Convicted Based on Junk Science

By Casey Tolan Fusion Update: On June 16, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed Roberson's execution, sending his case back to a...