Senior District Judge Deborah Oakes Evans recused herself after a challenge to her impartiality over longtime relationships with case prosecutors and judges.

The Cameron County judge also found the state relied on false testimony during her capital murder trial, according to court documents.

The AG also said he’d make a criminal referral against the lawmaker, who apologized for texting a Court of Criminal Appeals judge about a new trial for the death row inmate.

Leach, one of the driving forces behind the effort to stop Roberson’s execution, later apologized to the judge, who told the lawmaker there were still pending matters before the court.

After the attorney general insisted on the death row inmate’s guilt in a graphic press release, four lawmakers issued a point-by-point rebuttal.

The death row inmate was expected to testify before a Texas House committee, but those plans were scrapped amid a dispute over whether he should appear in person or virtually.

It’s rare for governors to step in to halt executions. In the case of Robert Roberson, it ended up being state lawmakers who took extraordinary steps.

The effort to spare Roberson sparked a conflict between the executive and legislative branches that must be resolved. When it is, the death row inmate will likely be back on the path to execution.

The American Academy of Pediatrics embraces the diagnosis, but courts have thrown out some cases, calling it “junk science.”

With Roberson’s options dwindling, a House panel used its bully pulpit to prove his case and excoriate the failures of the state’s junk science law.

The state’s highest civil court said it wants a lower court to resolve a separation-of-powers issue raised by a group of Texas lawmakers who subpoenaed the death row inmate the night before he was set to be put to death.

Garcia White, who killed twin sisters, became the fifth Texas inmate put to death in 2024 after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a stay of execution.

Travis James Mullis was sentenced to death in 2011 for killing his 3-month-old son in Galveston. He was the fourth person executed in Texas this year.

Lawmakers cite new scientific evidence that they say proves Robert Roberson, who is set for execution on Oct. 17, did not kill his daughter.

Texas’ 2013 law that allows for new trials in cases with flawed scientific evidence was pioneering. But the state’s highest criminal court has rejected most of those challenges.

Ruben Gutierrez was sentenced to death for the 1998 Brownsville murder of an elderly woman. His execution was stayed in July.

Reed, on death row for more than 25 years, says he is innocent of the 1996 killing of Stacey Stites in Bastrop County.

Lawyers for Robert Roberson say the science used to sentence him to death is questionable and that prior health issues could explain the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2002.

Gonzales, who was on death row for the rape and murder of Bridget Townsend in Medina County, is the second person to be executed in Texas this year.

In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler.

Since Randall Mays was sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of two sheriff’s deputies, his lawyers have argued his intellectual disability exempts him from execution.

Faith leaders and jurors from the original trial launched a public campaign to reconsider recanted testimony in Cantu’s case. Texas courts declined.

Convicted of killing his cousin and his cousin’s fiancée, the death row inmate hopes recanted testimony and other new details spur a review of his case.

Renteria’s attorneys unsuccessfully argued that the El Paso District Attorney’s Office violated his constitutional rights by not releasing all documents in his case. He was the eight person executed in Texas in 2023.

Speer has been on death row for decades after strangling another inmate at a Texas prison. The victim’s sister and faith leaders have both called on the parole board to halt the execution.

Panetti murdered his in-laws in 1992. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2007 set new court precedent with his case, raising the bar on the constitutional restriction against executing the insane.

Overlooked in the churn of one of the country’s busiest courthouses, the forgotten appeals included two death penalty cases, and one from a man who’s already finished his 20-year sentence.

Reed, a Black man on death row for more than 25 years, has gained international support for his claims that he did not kill 19-year-old Stacey Stites, a white woman. Another appeal over DNA testing of evidence is still pending.

Despite its tendency to distort memories, hypnosis has been used on witnesses in numerous investigations, including death penalty cases. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a similar bill in 2021.

Two jurors from Cantu’s 2001 double-murder trial now support his appeals, which claim prosecutors relied on false testimony and withheld crucial evidence.

Reed has long said he was wrongfully convicted for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. His lawyers will now be able to renew their legal fight for testing of crucial crime scene evidence.

The chamber has repeatedly passed legislation in recent sessions eliminating the death penalty in cases of severe mental illness, but hardline conservatives are now pushing back.

Brown’s appeals ran out after almost 30 years on death row. Defense attorneys claim Harris County prosecutors hid evidence pointing to another suspect in the 1992 shooting deaths of four people in a Houston drug house.

Ruiz was convicted in the 2007 shooting death of Dallas police Senior Cpl. Mark Nix after a high-speed chase.

Men sentenced to death in Texas are held in isolation until their execution dates, with little human contact, medical care or legal help, according to a lawsuit filed to improve treatment of the condemned.

Robert Roberson was sentenced to death for killing his 2-year-old daughter. Experts have since backtracked on the science used in part to win his conviction.

Fratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers unsuccessfully challenged Texas’ routine of extending the expiration dates of its lethal drugs, a practice begun when many pharmacies began refusing to provide doses for executions.

Areli Escobar was sentenced to death in 2011 for an Austin murder, but even prosecutors now agree his conviction relied heavily on faulty DNA testing by the discredited Travis County crime lab.

Barbee, convicted in the 2005 murders of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her child, was unable to straighten his arms, which caused the delay. Courts allowed Barbee’s execution despite concerns from his lawyer that his disability would make the process “torture.”

Beatty’s lawyers argued unsuccessfully that the 2003 Smith County murder didn’t qualify for the death penalty. Neither the Supreme Court nor Texas Gov. Greg Abbott intervened on Wednesday.

The convicted murderer’s lengthy history of schizophrenia and delusions is well documented, from trying to call Jesus Christ as a trial witness to believing that prison dentists put a transmitter in his tooth.

The nation’s high court heard arguments Tuesday on whether Reed can seek DNA testing of crucial evidence in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop County.

A state district judge in El Paso said Tuesday that he’ll wait to see what federal prosecutors decide in their case before moving ahead with a state trial for the man accused of killing 23 shoppers in 2019.

Thomas’ attorneys appealed saying that some members of the jury that sentenced him had expressed racist views. In their dissent, the court’s three liberal justices wrote that Thomas’ conviction and death sentence were unconstitutional.

Earlier this year, Ramirez won a legal fight to have his pastor beside him at his execution.

DNA evidence tied Chanthakoummane to Sarah Walker’s murder at a model home in Collin County. In last-minute appeals, his attorneys argue the evidence was not conclusive.

In 2016, SAPD Detective Benjamin Marconi was shot and killed outside of the Public Safety Headquarters downtown on a Sunday afternoon. After a 30-hour manhunt and dramatic trial, his killer is now on death row.

The jury sentenced Gonzales to death after a prosecution expert testified that he posed a future danger to society. The expert now says his data was wrong.

Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez said he is ethically opposed to the death penalty, but an employee wrongfully requested the execution date against his wishes. Gonzalez sought to cancel the execution two days later.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Jolie about the stay of execution in Lucio’s case and with Josh about property taxes in Texas.

Reed has long professed his innocence in the 1996 murder for which he faces execution. Key evidence in the case has not been tested for DNA, including the ligature used to strangle 19-year-old Stacey Stites.

Lucio learned of her reprieve in a phone call from state Rep. Jeff Leach.

Acknowledging substantive questions about Lucio’s guilt and the fairness of her conviction, the appeals court blocked her Wednesday execution so the case can be further investigated.

Buntion, 78, was sentenced to death for the 1990 murder of a Houston police officer. His Thursday execution was the first Texas has carried out this year.

The Nueces County district attorney, Mark A. Gonzalez, has moved to withdraw the death warrant for John Henry Ramirez, convicted of a 2004 robbery and murder.

Federal judges, five jurors who convicted her and a roster of family, politicians and celebrities believe there are substantive doubts about whether the death of Lucio’s 2-year-old daughter was even a murder. A prosecutor Tuesday appeared to open the door to canceling her scheduled April 27 execution.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Andrew and Jolie about Texans’ role in the confirmation hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson and two important death penalty cases.

Despite substantive doubts surrounding the cause of her child’s death and a suspect “confession” obtained after hours of interrogation, Lucio is set to be executed next month for killing her 2-year-old daughter.

The Supreme Court ruled that the state likely violated death row inmate John Ramirez’s religious liberties when it denied his request to have his pastor lay his hands on him and pray during his upcoming execution.

Foster had been the getaway driver, not the triggerman, in a killing that first put him on death row. Former Gov. Rick Perry commuted his death sentence to life in prison in 2007.

The latest Texas execution protocols forbid spiritual advisers from praying aloud or touching prisoners as the prisoners are killed. Some members of the high court said they feared overturning the rules would lead to a flood of requests for other religious accommodations during executions.

Doubts over Reed’s guilt in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites have lingered for more than 20 years and gained international attention. But a judge decided against recommending a new trial.

Rick Rhoades was convicted of killing two brothers 30 years ago, the day after he'd been released from prison on parole. His attorneys argued that racial bias in jury selection denied him a fair trial.

Clinton Young was convicted in a 2001 Midland County murder in which he insists he was framed. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said he was denied the right to a fair trial and an impartial judge.

John Ramirez was scheduled to die Wednesday. His last request to the state had been to let his pastor hold on to him as he died, something the state denied. The high court wants to hear oral arguments on the matter later this year.

A civil liberties group had tried to delay Hummel's death after reporters were excluded from the state’s last execution.

Noah Espada's death sentence overthrown by an appeals court after it was found that faulty testimony was given during the punishment phase.

On Wednesday, the state executed Quintin Jones, 41, for the Tarrant County murder of his great-aunt in 1999.

Jones was sentenced to death in 2001 in Tarrant County after he fatally beat his great-aunt, 83-year-old Berthena Bryant, with a baseball bat. But two relatives say they’ve forgiven him and want his sentence commuted to life in prison.