Dear Friends, Today is a dark day in Texas. Last night, Texas executed its 600th person since the United States first reinstated the death penalty in 1976. His name was Edward Busby, and he was a Black man whom experts agreed had intellectual disability. The Fifth Circut Court of Appeals had stayed Mr. Busby’s execution but the […]
Dear Friends, The days of racial terror lynchings may be over, but racism continues to infect the Tarrant County DA’s Office, influencing who it decides should face the death penalty. But local faith and civic leaders have had enough and are speaking out. On Thursday, an inspiring group of faith and civic leaders gathered outside the […]
Dear Friends, Every year on Mother’s Day, my children always find sweet ways to honor me; but the truth is, the greatest Mother’s Day gift they give me is time together. Yet I can’t stop thinking about the mothers who won’t be spending this Mother’s Day with their children because they are incarcerated in Texas prisons. Eighty percent […]
Dear Friends, I am thrilled to share Texas Defender Service’s latest report, An Extreme Outlier: Race and the Death Penalty in Tarrant County, the Third Largest County in Texas. Even compared to the rest of Texas, historically the death penalty capital of the United States, Tarrant County is an extreme outlier, pursuing capital punishment almost exclusively against […]
Dear Friends, We are excited to announce that Texas Defender Service, in partnership with Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance and the University of Texas School of Law Mithoff Pro Bono Program, is teaching a parole self-advocacy workshop to women incarcerated in a Texas prison. Ten women incarcerated at the Coleman facility are now learning how to better advocate for themselves […]
Dear Friends, Please save the date for Texas Defender Service’s 2026 Light of Justice Luncheon, featuring the Pulitzer-Prize winning author Lawrence Wright. This inspiring event will be held on October 22, 2026 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston, Texas. Registration information will be shared soon! More About the Keynote Speaker, […]
