Year: 2013
Reverend Carroll Pickett knows a lot about the death penalty in Texas – too much to get a good night’s sleep at times. Pickett is the former chaplain of the Huntsville state prison, the busiest execution chamber in the nation. Now he is speaking out about his experiences and his conviction that some inmates were…
Defense attorneys are constantly on the lookout for evidence of police and prosecutors discriminating against defendants on the grounds of race or gender. This was demonstrated at a recent trial of a man from Prosper when defense attorneys claimed Garrick White from McKinney was singled out because he is black. A jury determined that Garrick…
The criminal justice system in Texas is improving on the back of numerous recent exonerations, but the state’s record on its death penalty remains poor, according to a new report. Details of the report by the American Bar Association are contained in an article in the Texas Tribune. The ABA has sponsored detailed assessment projects…
Those who seek sex with children may be prosecuted at a federal level in the future if a bill introduced in Congress last week becomes law. In the wake of an FBI operation that rescued over 100 children from sex trafficking, Texas Rep. Ted Poe formally announced new legislation to help end what he termed…
A ruling in New Mexico that citizens who don’t speak English have the right to serve on juries has put the spotlight on other states with large Hispanic populations such as Texas. The New Mexico Supreme Court is cautioning trial courts and attorneys that citizens who don’t speak English in a heavily Hispanic state, have…
In a case that attracted considerable media interest, a 44-year-old former stripper was recently convicted of attempting to kill her fiancé with the help of her teen son and his friend. Vicky Renee Miller, 44, was found guilty of attempting to kill Paul Key in November 2011. She received the maximum sentence of 20 years…
A teenager who was arrested following the homicide of 6-year-old Alanna Gallagher, has also been accused of shooting a police officer who attempted to arrest him. The recent killing of Alanna Gallagher shocked the Texas community of Saginaw after her body was found wrapped in a tarpaulin on a street corner. Associated Press reported Tyler…
A high profile investigation into the killing of a 6-year-old in Saginaw, Texas, highlights the increasing complexity of evidence gathering in the modern era. The death of Alanna Gallagher has shocked a Texas community. Her body was found earlier this month in the middle of a Saginaw road, naked and wrapped in a tarp. The…
The arrest of a man described by the authorities as a member of the Bloods gang in Galveston, Texas, has once again highlighted the issue of organized crime in the state. According to the Houston Chronicle, Christopher Mason, 38, was described as a “career violent offender” and a gang member. He was arrested on the…
Last Friday we considered the question, Is technology driving jurisprudence? Today we’ll discuss some of these technologies. Perhaps the first such “new” technology that will confront the Court is the pervasive use of surveillance cameras. Such cameras, with ever increasing frequency, are being installed on office buildings, banks, stores, and other private establishments. Because private…