TEXAS REPORT Short Version December 2007

The day of the 25th anniversary of the resumption of executions in Texas, the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) released a report on the state of the death penalty in Texas in 2007.

Texas Death Penalty Developments: The Year in Review covers such information as executions, stays, and new death sentences; judicial and legislative activity; and other developments impacting the state's criminal justice system.

On December 7, 1982, Charlie Brooks was the first person executed by the State of Texas under itsrevised statute – and the first person executed by lethal injection. His execution ushered in a new era (for) Texas which emerged as the uncontested leader in the use of the death penalty in the United States.

The State of Texas accounted for 62% of all executions carried out in the United States this year (26 out of 42). Only nine other states carried out executions in 2007; none executed more than three people.

Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2007: The Year inReview is available online at
http://www.tcadp.org/contents/2007annualreport.pdf

Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2007 (PDF) as shown by search engine -- anniversary of the resumption of executions in Texas –- and the nation's ... 2709 S. Lamar Blvd. Austin, TX 78704 (512) 441-1808. info@tcadp.org www.tcadp.org

( Longer plain text version to follow )

NOTE: The short Texas Report and the following were submitted kindly by our JOH family member, Kristin Houle, of Texas. She is focusing on prevention -- which is a much ignored area. We hope to have more on Kristin and her important work down the road. Here's a start:

Mental illness and the death penalty Go to:

http://www.tcadp.org/news.php

Then click on the fact sheet and resource guide for pdf files of the main documents. I also have attached one of the case studies I developed for the packet

Kristin Houle

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A Note from Capital Defense Weekly

http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/071203.htm

Karl Keys Report sent this item December 10, 2007

December 7, 2007 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first lethal injection in the USA. The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty has released its year end report for Texas which cites a slight uptick in the number of executions there, a slight rise in new death sentences, and Jack Stoffregen being hired to lead the newly-created West Texas Regional Public Defender for Capital Murder Cases, representing 85 counties in West Texas.