Page 18 - Texas Code News Today

The AP aims to cover every U.S. execution, one of the gravest procedures carried out by governments, and has for decades because the public has the right to know about all stages of the criminal justice process. The AP often is the sole media presence at U.S. executions, and explains the American death penalty process to the world. Media witnesses hold government officials accountable when executions are flawed. In recent years, reporters have been able to witness and tell the public about ...

May 21, 2021 Share HOUSTON — While officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are blaming miscommunication for preventing reporters from witnessing the state’s first execution in nearly a year, legal and death penalty experts worry it’s another example of what they see as a lack of transparency and competency in how the death penalty is carried out in the U.S. Two reporters, including one with The Associated Press, had been set to witness Wednesday’s execution of Qu...

Quintin Jones Execution Condemned Over Disturbing Failure to Bring In Media Witnesses On 5/20/21 at 12:09 PM EDT Texas prison officials are being sharply criticized over a "disturbing" error that led to Quintin Jones being executed without any media witnesses present. Jones, 41, was put to death for the 1999 killing of his elderly great-aunt, Berthena Bryant, on Wednesday evening, despite pleas from her sister and other advocates for clemency. He was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m., minutes after ...

It depends. Driving a golf cart on Austin streets can be legal, but only under certain conditions. Section 551.403 of the Texas Transportation Code allows golf carts to be operated on a road that has a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less, but only if its during the daytime and no more than two miles from where its usually parked and used for transportation to the golf course. That same section of Texas Code also allows operation of golf carts in county or municipality approved maste...

A Killeen man serving a life sentence for capital murder may be eligible for parole sooner than expected thanks to a bill that has passed the Texas House and is currently in the Texas Senate. Jason Isaiah Robinson, 43, is being held in the Hughes Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Gatesville. He was sentenced to life in prison on Aug. 9, 1995, according to TDCJ inmate records. Currently, Robinson, who was 16 at the time of the crime he was sentenced for, is eligible for parole ...

El Paso County District Attorney Yvonne Rosales blamed the former administration for plea deals made in the death of a 5-month-old baby and the beating of a 2-year-old boy. The blame comes despite her administration having the authority to retract or alter plea agreements anytime before they are signed and accepted by a judge, according to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The plea agreements made in the death and beating resulted in a five-year prison term for Pedro Favela Salgado, and...

The Catch-22 that could cost Ruben Gutierrez his life There’s no good reason to deny a man on death row a DNA test of evidence that could exonerate him of capital murder. Cells line a wall in what was the death row unit of a jail inside the old Dallas County Criminal Courts Building. (David Woo/Staff Photographer) On June 16, 2020, just one hour and 10 minutes before the State of Texas was scheduled to execute 43-year-old Ruben Gutierrez for the 1998 murder of an 85-year-old Brownsville woman...

Uninvestigated, Uncounted: How Justices of the Peace Miss Important Clues in Death Investigations In Texas, justices of the peace with little training can miss important clues in death investigations, and make mistakes tracking suicides, homicides, and COVID-19 deaths. In Texas, justices of the peace with little training can miss important clues in death investigations, and make mistakes tracking suicides, homicides, and COVID-19 deaths. Lise Olsen Mar 15, 2021, 9:00 am CST Courtesy of the fam...

Coronavirus death in Harris County jail highlights possible overcrowding Juana Garcia/The Cougar After a coronavirus related death in a Harris County jail, public attention turned to the possible issue of overcrowding. 64-year-old Preston Chaney died from COVID-19 in August 2020 while awaiting trial in Harris County Jail. After allegedly stealing meat and lawn equipment, Chaney spent three and a half months in jail because he was unable to pay his $1,000 bond. Chaney’s death recently garnere...

Public meetings for the week of March 8 AGN Media 9 a.m.: Potter County Commissioners Courtroom located at 500 S. Fillmore, Room 106 Amarillo Hear a presentation by the Neighborhood Defender Service, Inc. on a proposal to operate a Public Defender Office/Managed Assigned Counsel Program on behalf of Potter and Armstrong counties; hear an update from Emily Koller on the neighborhood plan; review county election boundaries as required by Texas Election Code Section 42.031 and take any necessar...