DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The lead detective in the case, Brian Wharton, accepted the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis, and Roberson was arrested before an autopsy was even completed. Shifting scienceThe concept of shaken baby syndrome began in the 1970s. Hundreds of possible shaken baby and abusive head trauma cases are reported to hospitals in the U.S. every year, according to a nonprofit advocacy group. A Mississippi man on death row for a shaken baby diagnosis was resentenced to life in prison in 2018 after evidence was re-examined. "The shaken baby concept did not add up," Sween said.

Persons: Robert Roberson, Lester Holt, Greg Abbott, I've, I'm, Roberson, Abbott, Holt, Nikki, Brian Wharton, Wharton, Kate Judson, Judson, Andie Asnes, Asnes, Robert Dunham, Phillips, Gretchen Sween, Sween, Robert Organizations: NBC News, Texas Gov, NBC, Texas, Criminal Appeals, Prosecutors, Center, Integrity, Forensic Sciences, American Academy of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, Child, National Registry Locations: Texas, East Texas, Dallas, U.S, Mississippi

☆ Former Houston officer found guilty of murder in deaths of couple during drug raid
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

HOUSTON — A former Houston police officer was convicted Wednesday of murder in the deaths of a couple during a 2019 drug raid that revealed systemic corruption problems within the police department’s narcotics unit. A jury found Gerald Goines guilty of two counts of murder in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his 58-year-old wife Rhogena Nicholas. Goines looked down and did not visibly react as the verdict was read in a Houston courtroom. Goines’ attorneys argued during the trial that the first to fire at another person was Tuttle and not police officers. The probe into the drug raid also uncovered allegations of systemic corruption.

Persons: HOUSTON, Gerald Goines, Dennis Tuttle, Rhogena Nicholas, Goines, ”, Dennis, Keaton Forcht, Nicole DeBorde, Jeff Wolf, Wolf, Nicholas, Tuttle, George Floyd, Floyd Organizations: Houston, Prosecutors, Texas, Goines Locations: Houston, Texas, Federal

☆ Texas court exonerates man who spent nearly 20 years on death row for 1977 murder
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Kaila Nichols | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —After nearly 47 years, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals this week exonerated Kerry Max Cook for the 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards, declaring him innocent of a crime for which he spent nearly 20 years on death row. Cook was accused of the 1977 rape, murder and mutilation of 21-year-old Edwards in Tyler, Texas. A third trial in 1994 ended with a new conviction and death sentence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the second verdict in 1996, stating misconduct by police and prosecutors. Before a fourth trial in 1999, the state offered Cook a “no contest” plea deal for murder.

Persons: Kerry Max Cook, Linda Jo Edwards, Bert Richardson, Cook, uncontroverted Brady, Edwards, Paula Rudolph, ” Cook, Appeals, Edward Scott Jackson, Cook’s, “, ” Jackson, Kerry Cook, “ Kerry, Glenn Garber, ” Garber, ”, Jacob Putman Organizations: CNN, Texas, Exoneration, ” CNN Locations: Texas, Tyler , Texas, Smith, Tyler, Smith County

☆ Elizabeth Holmes, Silicon Valley’s most famous convict, makes her long-shot appeal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison for defrauding investors in her failed blood-testing company, Theranos. She is seeking a new trial, arguing that the judge in her case erred in several decisions during the 2022 proceedings. Since her conviction, her projected release date from prison has been moved up, shaving about two years off her sentence. Theranos’ unraveling, and Holmes herself, became the subject of a bestselling book, a Hulu scripted series and an award-winning documentary. Holmes knowingly concealed the technology’s problems, and still pushed to get the company’s Edison devices into pharmacies, prosecutors argued.

Persons: Elizabeth Holmes, Holmes, Stanford, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Rupert Murdoch, Ramesh “ Sunny ”, “ Holmes, Balwani, Holmes ’, Theranos, “, Edward Davila, Balwani “, laywers, ”, Agustin Orozco, Crowell, Orozco Organizations: New, New York CNN, California’s, Circuit, Wall Street, Prosecutors, Moring Locations: New York, California, Texas

☆ D.A. Seeks to Overturn Texas Governor’s Pardon of Man Who Killed Protester
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( David Montgomery | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A Texas prosecutor said on Tuesday that he would seek to have a court overturn Gov. Greg Abbott’s pardon of a man convicted of fatally shooting a Black Lives Matter protester in Austin in the summer of 2020. The Republican governor’s pardon last month of the man, Daniel S. Perry, who had argued that he was acting in self-defense against an armed protester, was cheered by conservatives as a recognition of the state’s “stand your ground” protections. But it was also met with outrage by the protester’s family, civil rights groups and José Garza, the Travis County district attorney whose office had secured the conviction. On Tuesday, Mr. Garza, a Democrat, said he would petition the state’s highest criminal appeals court to overturn the pardon on the grounds that the governor had violated the constitutional separation of powers doctrine by intervening with a court’s actions.

Persons: Greg Abbott’s, Republican governor’s, Daniel S, Perry, José Garza, Garza Organizations: Gov, Republican Locations: Texas, Austin, Travis County

☆ Woman Who Received 5-Year Sentence in Voter Fraud Case Is Acquitted
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Orlando Mayorquín | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a case that has prompted outrage from voting-rights activists for years, a Texas appeals court reversed itself on Thursday and acquitted a woman who had been sentenced to five years in prison for illegally casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election. The decision came two years after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court, ruled that the lower appeals court, the Second Court of Criminal Appeals, had misconstrued the illegal voting statute under which Crystal Mason was found guilty in 2018. Ms. Mason, 49, of Fort Worth, had been charged with illegally voting in the 2016 general election by casting a provisional ballot while she was a felon on probation. Ms. Mason, who has remained free on bond, appealed her conviction. In 2020, the Second Court of Appeals ruled that whether or not she knew she was ineligible to vote was “irrelevant to the prosecution.”

Persons: Crystal Mason, Mason, ” Organizations: Texas, Appeals Locations: Texas, Fort Worth

Authorities say Renteria’s lawyers did not raise this defense at his trial and evidence in the case shows that he committed the abduction and killing alone. Renteria’s lawyers argue they have been denied access to the prosecution’s file on Renteria, which they argued violates his constitutional rights. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later overturned Reyes’ orders. On Tuesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 7-0 against commuting Renteria’s death sentence to a lesser penalty. Renteria would be the eighth inmate in Texas to be put to death this year.

Persons: —, David Renteria, Alexandra Flores, Alexandra, Renteria, ”, Renteria’s van, girl’s DNA, Prosecutors, Casey McWhorter, Renteria's, Tivon, Monique Reyes, Reyes, Paroles, “, Juan, Lozano Organizations: HOUSTON, Prosecutors, Walmart, Barrio Azteca, Authorities, Renteria, U.S, Supreme, El, Texas, Appeals Locations: Texas, El Paso, U.S, Alabama, Huntsville

☆ Texas governor names interim attorney general to replace impeached Paxton
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Brad Brooks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 31 (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday appointed an interim attorney general to fill in for Ken Paxton, who was impeached last week on allegations of corruption and other irregularities. Abbott said in a written statement that he had appointed John Scott, an attorney and former Texas secretary of state under Abbott, as interim attorney general. Scott also served as the Texas deputy attorney general for civil litigation from 2012 to 2015, during Abbott's own final term as attorney general. Paxton, 60, by law was suspended from his attorney general post after he was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives on Saturday. The Texas Senate will try Paxton on the 20 articles of impeachment lodged against him.

Persons: Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, Abbott, John Scott, Scott, Paxton, Angela, Brad Brooks, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Texas, The, The Texas Senate, Justice Department, Justice, Thomson Locations: Texas, The Texas, Lubbock , Texas

Law Firms Reed Smith LLP FollowWASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday halted the execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose case has drawn support from the state's Republican attorney general after an investigation shed new light on evidence relating to the 1997 murder Glossip was convicted of commissioning. A separate independent investigation conducted last year by the law firm Reed Smith at the request of Oklahoma lawmakers also raised serious concerns about Glossip's case and conviction. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on April 20 upheld Glossip's murder conviction, rebuffing Drummond's request. Sneed confessed to carrying out the killing and said Glossip, a manager at the motel, had hired him to do it. Glossip has pending petitions for appeal before the Supreme Court challenging his conviction on grounds including that prosecutors failed to hand over evidence about Sneed to Glossip's defense counsel.

[1/2] The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoLaw Firms Reed Smith LLP FollowWASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday halted the scheduled execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose cause drew support from the state's Republican attorney general after an investigation shed new light on evidence relating to the 1997 murder Glossip was convicted of commissioning. "We are very grateful to the U.S. Supreme Court for doing the right thing in stopping Richard Glossip's unlawful execution," Knight said. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on April 20 upheld Glossip's murder conviction, rebuffing Drummond's request. Glossip has pending petitions for appeal before the Supreme Court challenging his conviction on grounds including that prosecutors failed to hand over evidence about Sneed to Glossip's defense counsel.

Programming note: The full interview with Richard Glossip will air Friday, May 5, on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” which starts at 4 p.m. Lea Glossip, left, wife of death row inmate Richard Glossip, listens with death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean, right, during a news conference on Thursday, May 4, in Oklahoma City. Sneed admitted to killing Van Treese, but at trial, prosecutors portrayed the killing as a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Glossip. Ultimately, Reed Smith concluded “that no reasonable juror hearing the complete record would have convicted Richard Glossip of first-degree murder,” said Stan Perry, a partner at the firm. The Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, where Richard Glossip is set to be executed, is seen in 2015.

☆ U.S. Supreme Court boosts Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed's DNA testing bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a boost to Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed's bid for DNA testing of crime-scene evidence that he argues will help exonerate him in the 1996 abduction, rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman. A Texas trial court in 2014 denied Reed's bid for DNA testing. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also rejected it in 2017 based on the procedures it determined were required under the state law that gives prisoners a chance to seek post-conviction DNA testing. That court denied a request for rehearing six months later. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021 decided that Reed should have filed suit within two years of the initial 2014 trial court decision.

Kaye Hearn, a justice on South Carolina’s Supreme Court, wrote the majority opinion this month that struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban. Two women, Court of Appeals Judges Stephanie McDonald and Aphrodite Konduros, were initially in the running for Hearn’s seat but withdrew Tuesday. (The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest court for criminal cases, also has an all-male bench; the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which hears civil cases, has both female and male justices.) In 1988, Toal was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Hearn, who was elected to the state’s Court of Appeals in 1995, joined her on the bench in 2010.

☆ Texas executes former officer who hired hitmen to kill his wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A former suburban Houston police officer was executed Tuesday for hiring two people to kill his estranged wife nearly 30 years ago amid a contentious divorce and custody battle. Prosecutors say Robert Fratta organized the murder-for-hire plot in which a middleman, Joseph Prystash, hired the shooter, Howard Guidry. The execution was carried out after Texas’ top criminal appeals court overturned the injunction and the state’s supreme court rejected an appeal. Mauzy’s order conflicted with last week’s edict from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that barred her from issuing any orders in the lawsuit that would halt any execution. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles last week unanimously declined to commute Fratta’s death sentence to a lesser penalty or to grant a 60-day reprieve.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday revived a Texas death row inmate’s claim that his murder conviction should be tossed out on the grounds that DNA evidence used at trial was later found to be unreliable. In a rare move, prosecutors had agreed that the evidence was faulty and there should be a new trial. The Supreme Court sent the case back to an appeals court in Texas "for further consideration in light of the confession of error by Texas," the brief order said. Prosecutors accepted that finding and notified the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which was reviewing the case. At the Supreme Court, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, representing the state, urged the justices to rule in Escobar’s favor.

Search resuls for: "Criminal Appeals"

15 mentions found