Promoting a fair and just criminal justice system in Texas

My San Antonio-- Killer Sticks to Story as Execution Looms

By Eva Ruth Moravec; January 22, 2012

In Rodrigo Hernandez's mind, he's a family man who respects women, has never been in trouble, and believes strongly in Christianity.

But a lengthy criminal record and two capital murder cases — he was convicted in the 1994 rape and murder of a San Antonio woman and charged in the 1991 rape and murder of a homeless woman in Grand Rapids, Mich. — paint another picture.

Hernandez is set to be executed Thursday for the 1994 capital murder of Susan Verstegen, 38, pending the outcome of a clemency petition before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and a writ before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals... READ MORE

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The New York Times-- The Random Horror of the Death Penalty

By Lincoln Caplan   January 7, 2012

The Supreme Court has not banned capital punishment, as it should, but it has long held that the death penalty is unconstitutional if randomly imposed on a handful of people. An important new study based on capital cases in Connecticut provides powerful evidence that death sentences are haphazardly meted out, with virtually no connection to the heinousness of the crime.

A number of studies in the last three decades have shown that black defendants are more likely to be sentenced to death if their victim is white rather than black. But defenders of capital punishment often respond to those studies by arguing that the “worst of the worst” are sentenced to death because their crimes are the most egregious... READ MORE

The Dallas Morning News -- Dallas judge rules death penalty is constitutional

By Jennifer Emily   January 5, 2012

A Dallas County judge appointed to oversee a death penalty case after another judge was recused ruled Thursday that the Texas death penalty statute is constitutional.

State District Judge Mike Snipes was appointed after state District Judge Teresa Hawthorne was removed because of her personal beliefs about capital punishment. Hawthorne had ruled the law was unconstitutional because the death penalty was arbitrarily sought by prosecutors.

Prosecutors contended that Hawthorne made her decision based on her beliefs and not the law because of comments she made in and out of court... READ MORE

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