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Texas Capital Defendants with Hired Attorneys Rarely Receive Death Sentences
by Matt Clarke
In February 2010, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) published an issue brief on the relationship between hired defense counsel and the death penalty. The brief concluded that defendants charged with a capital crime who hired a private attorney, even if only for a …
In February 2010, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) published an issue brief on the relationship between hired defense counsel and the death penalty. The brief concluded that defendants charged with a capital crime who hired a private attorney, even if only for a …
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More from this issue:
- Medical Examiners Lack Qualifications, Competence, Oversight, by Matthew Clarke
- Kentucky Jail Under Investigation After Prisoner Dies; Sexual Abuse, Financial Mismanagement Also Alleged, by Derek Gilna
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- St. Louis Lockups Violate Constitutional Rights, ACLU Asserts, by Mark Wilson
- Mentally Ill Prisoner Terrorized, Forced to Wear Pink Underwear by Arizona Jailers
- California Prison Settles Prisoner’s Excessive Force Suit for $15,000
- Texas Capital Defendants with Hired Attorneys Rarely Receive Death Sentences, by Matthew Clarke
- $16 Million Award Upheld in Wrongful Conviction Resulting from Undisclosed Evidence and Relationship
- UNICOR-Made Military Helmets Recalled, Production Suspended, by Derek Gilna
- $300,000 Settlement for New York Guard’s Fondling of Prisoner
- Kansas No Longer a Leader in Post-Release Prisoner Programs, by Derek Gilna
- North Carolina Prison Censorship Class Action Suit Settled
- Federal Rapid REPAT Program Not Working in Rhode Island, by Derek Gilna
- Georgia Prisoners Strike for Wages, Better Medical Care and Food
- Oregon Prisoner Holds Counselor Hostage, Gets New 68-Month Sentence
- California: Confiscation of Prisoner’s Mail May Violate First Amendment
- California: Harsh Sentencing Laws and Health Care Costs Strain Corrections Budget
- Released Prisoners Need Not Exhaust Grievance Remedies Before Filing Suit
- Budget Deficits Lead to Fewer Supermax Beds, by Mark Wilson
- California: Validity of Parole Board’s Psych Evaluation Procedures for Lifers Questioned, by Michael Brodheim
- Fourth Circuit Vacates Pornography Restriction on Federal Defendant
- Connecticut Restricts Prisoners’ FOIA Requests, by David Reutter
- U.S. Department of Justice Releases Report on Deaths in Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Ohio Prison Guard Dies Shackled to Hospital Bed, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment for Guard in Illinois Jail Taser Case
- Oregon Jail Guard Latest to be Indicted for Sexual Misconduct, by Mark Wilson
- Civilly Committing Sex Offenders Strains Some States’ Budgets, by Matthew Clarke
- California: Parole Agents Saw and Spoke to Kidnap Victim, Yet Failed to Identify or Rescue Her
- Political Patronage Scandal Rocks Massachusetts Probation Department, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Restitution Law Failing Crime Victims, by Michael Rigby
- Massachusetts: Court Lifts Stay of Discovery in Challenge to Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Mississippi Supreme Court Holds Substance, Not Label, of Prisoner Petitions Governs
- Audit Report Finds Georgia Sex Offender Registry Needs Complete Overhaul, by David Reutter
- Probation Officers Working in Los Angeles Juvenile Facilities Engage in Misconduct, Avoid Disciplinary Action, by Michael Brodheim
- Capital Appeals Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Theft, by David Reutter
- California Governor Orders Corrections Officials to Retain Parole Files Indefinitely
- Delaware’s Parole Board Suffers from Infighting, by David Reutter
- Oregon Federal Halfway House Director Removed Due to Embezzlement, by Mark Wilson
- $389,548.55 Total Award in Texas Jail Strip Search Suit
- Washington Supreme Court Holds No Liberty Interest in Sex Offender Release to Community Custody
- Indiana DOC Hires Convicted Former Legislator for Re-Entry Job
- Former Texas Youth Commission Official Gets Ten Years in Prison
- North Carolina Supreme Court Upholds Felon’s Right to Possess Firearm
- Seventh Circuit Holds No Public Interest Requirement in Prisoner’s First Amendment Retaliation Suit for Providing Affidavit to Help Dead Prisoner’s Family
- California Supreme Court Clarifies Application of Presentence Good-Conduct Credit Statute
- Speedy Sentencing Procedure Applies to Probation Revocations, California Supreme Court Holds
- Massachusetts DOC Injunction Requiring Broadcast of Jum’ah Services via Closed-Circuit Television Upheld
- Federal Prisoners Making Solar Cells
- Cavity Searches of Civil Commitment Patients for Cellphone Upheld by Eighth Circuit
- News in Brief:
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Idaho Will Recruit Law Enforcement Volunteers for Firing Squad Executions, July 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Method of Execution.
- Retroactive Guideline Amendments: The Narrow Path to a Federal Sentence Reduction, July 1, 2026. Appointment of Counsel, Career Offenders, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Guideline Amendment/Variances and Retroactivity.
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, State Legislation, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
- Oregon Supreme Court Announces Bright-Line Rule Requiring Dismissal Without Prejudice When State Fails to Appoint Counsel for Eligible Criminal Defendant Within 60 Days in Misdemeanor Cases or 90 Days in Felony Cases Post-Arraignment, March 1, 2026. Appointment of Counsel, Public Defenders, Indigent Defense, Constitution, state, Counsel - Right to.
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026. Death Penalty, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Capital Punishment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution.
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.

