Tag: murder
Murder rates are falling in most Texas cities. However, Dallas is a glaring exception to the rule as the homicide rate heads for a 10-year high. Last month, the city’s year-to-date homicide rate exceeded 135 deaths. The city is on course for the highest number of killings in a decriminalcade – over 220 – but…
The execution of a man accused of killing a store worker during a robbery at a Fort Worth gas station in 2010 has been delayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after his attorneys argued he is mentally ill. The execution of 42-year-old Kwame Rockwell was set for Oct. 24. Rockwell and two other…
Police body camera evidence is a relatively new and powerful tool in criminal trials. Footage has helped expose improper DWI arrests and heavy-handed police tactics. In a recent murder trial, the video footage helped secure the murder conviction of a Texas officer accused of shooting a 15-year-old dead. Police officers are seldom convicted of murder…
Any charge of murder is serious, but the type of murder charge has an impact on your case. Find out the difference between murder and felony murder in Texas. Criminal offenses that coincide with the loss of life result in charges that are among the most serious a person can face. In the state of…
Texas Governor Spares The Life of Death Row Inmate Thomas Whitaker It’s extremely rare for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend a lesser sentence for a death row inmate facing execution but it happened this month. Shortly afterwards, state Governor Greg Abbott accepted the state parole board’s unusual and unanimous recommendation to…
Another execution has been halted in Texas just days before a death row inmate was slated to die. Last Friday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of a man who was convicted of a murder during a robbery in Fort Worth in 2004. The Texas Tribune reported it was the second time…
The FBI set up its Most Wanted Fugitives List back in 1950 but few women have appeared on it. When Brenda Delgado, a Mexican national, was arrested last week in connection with the killing of a pediatric dentist in Dallas, she was just the ninth woman to ever appear on the list, the Dallas Morning…
DNA evidence plays a major part in criminal investigations and cases and it can be collected from some unlikely sources. Recently the Dallas Morning News reported on how newly discovered hairs collected from a vacuum cleaner will be subjected to DNA testing to see whether any belong to a Fort Worth woman who went missing…
In 2015 most people have easy access to videos and cameras on their cellphones. The change has meant police and deputies face unprecedented scrutiny from the public over their methods. A case in point is a report this month that authorities in Texas are examining two videos recorded by members of the public that show…
Texas has an unenviable reputation as the execution capital of the United States. Although the number of executions carried out in Texas has fallen in recent years, it remains ground zero for capital punishment. In some cases the state has pursued the ultimate sanction even when alarming questions linger over the original convictions. A case…