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A death row inmate convicted of killing her toddler daughter is “actually innocent” of murder and should be freed from custody, the prisoner's trial judge said in documents unearthed on Thursday. The case, which has gained notoriety through reality TV star and aspiring attorney Kim Kardashian, is now before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio holds one of her sons, John. "So heartbreaking to read this letter from Melissa Lucio’s children begging for the state not to kill their mother," Kim Kardashian wrote in 2022. "It became a nightmare from which she couldn’t wake up when she was sent to death row for a crime that never happened.

Persons: “, Arturo Nelson, Melissa Elizabeth Lucio, Lucio, Nelson, Kim Kardashian, Melissa Lucio, John, Mariah's, Melissa Lucio’s, Amanda Knox, Jeff Leach, Donald Trump, “ Melissa Lucio, Vanessa Potkin, Melissa Organizations: NBC, KPRC, Appeals, Texas Department, Criminal, Republican, Innocence Locations: Cameron County, Houston, Texas, Harlingen, Italy, Plano

☆ What we know: Fate of Texas death row inmate’s testimony before a state legislative committee is uncertain
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Dakin Andone | Ed Lavandera | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

By Thursday evening, after a series of court battles and escalating appeals, the Texas Supreme Court had issued a temporary stay of execution. The AG is representing TDCJ, and is calling the shots, while simultaneously attacking the underlying subpoena before the Texas Supreme Court. We expected that the subpoena would be honored pursuant to Texas law and the Committee’s intent. “It’s the entire case, and that is Mr. Roberson’s case,” Keith Findley, professor emeritus with the University of Wisconsin Law School, testified before the Texas Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence last week. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals previously issued a stay of execution in Roberson’s case in 2016, sending a claim under Article 11.073 (among others) back to the trial court.

Persons: Robert Roberson, it’s, Roberson, Nikki Curtis –, Paroles, Gretchen Sween, Sween, Joe Moody, ” Sween, Nikki, Nikki “, –, Brian Wharton, pediatricians, “, ” Keith Findley, ” Dr, Antoinette Laskey, ” Dani Allen, Michael Wyke, ”, Roberson’s, ” Findley, ” Moody, ” CNN’s Ashley Killough, Nicole Chavez Organizations: CNN, Texas, Texas Supreme, US, Texas Attorney General’s, Texas Department, Criminal, Capitol, American Academy of Pediatrics, Palestine, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, US Army, National Registry, Exonerations, University of Wisconsin Law School, American Academy of Pediatrics ’, Child, Appeals Locations: Texas, TDCJ, Austin, Palestine , Texas, Huntsville , Texas

CNN —Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson sat praying in a cell Thursday night, just feet from the execution chamber where he was set to die by lethal injection for the “shaken baby” death of his toddler. Just over 90 minutes before Roberson’s execution was set to begin, the House committee was able to secure a temporary restraining order against the state, pausing the execution. Roberson’s case is called into questionAdvocates for Roberson insist the diagnosis that his daughter died from shaken baby syndrome is inaccurate and has been discredited. Shaken baby syndrome is accepted as a valid diagnosis by the American Academy of Pediatrics and supported by child abuse pediatricians who spoke with CNN. Since 1992, courts in at least 17 states and the US Army have exonerated 32 people convicted in shaken baby syndrome cases, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

Persons: Robert Roberson, Nikki, Roberson, God, “, ”, Amanda Hernandez, Robert Roberson –, Gretchen Sween, Joe Moody, Jeff Leach, Jennifer Roberson, Robert, “ It’s, Brian Wharton, Wharton, ” Wharton, “ We’ve, ” Roberson, –, Moody, Leach, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, pediatricians, Nikki Curtis, Nikki “, Dr, Sandeep Narang, Antoinette Laskey Organizations: CNN, Texas Supreme, Texas House, Texas Department, Criminal, Texas, US, Appeals, Criminal Justice, Division, Texans, Huntsville Unit, Texas Capitol, Texas Gov, American Academy of Pediatrics, US Army, National Registry, American Academy of Pediatrics ’, Child Locations: Texas, Palestine , Texas

Texas is preparing to put a man to death Thursday in what would be the nation’s first execution involving a case of “shaken baby syndrome,” a diagnosis that has been re-evaluated in more recent years, leading to the overturning of similar convictions. Prosecutors argued that Nikki must have been shaken to death because she had been diagnosed with “the triad” — a swollen and bleeding brain and retinal hemorrhaging — symptoms once believed to be indisputable evidence of shaken baby syndrome. In 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics changed the name of shaken baby syndrome to the more broadly defined “abusive head trauma” to include injuries caused by mechanisms other than shaking alone. It is now medical consensus that other medical conditions, including infections, accidental trauma and pre-existing illnesses, can also cause the symptoms associated with shaken baby syndrome. 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.

Persons: Robert Roberson, Greg Abbott, Lester Holt, Paroles, Abbott, Roberson, ” Brian Wharton, “, I’ve, I’m, ”, Nikki, Wharton, Roberson's, Gretchen Sween Organizations: U.S, Supreme, NBC, Texas, NBC News, Prosecutors, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Registry, Palestine, Food and Drug Administration Locations: Texas, Huntsville, U.S, East Texas

CNN —A Travis County judge granted a Texas House committee’s last-minute temporary restraining order request against the state just 90 minutes before Robert Roberson was scheduled to be executed Thursday. While authorities have not confirmed the execution is delayed, Roberson’s attorneys and the committee fighting for him told CNN they believe the execution is currently halted. “This is an injustice and his blood is on Abbott and Anderson County,” she told CNN. I did not hear his voice,” Brian Wharton, the former detective who oversaw the investigation into Nikki’s death, told state lawmakers Wednesday at a hearing featuring the case. I don’t want to be there, I don’t want to watch it happen,” Wharton told CNN.

Persons: Travis, Robert Roberson, Amanda Hernandez, Roberson, Sonia Sotomayor, ” Sotomayor, ”, Sotomayor, “, ” Robin Maher, Greg, Abbott, Dale Wainwright, Jennifer Roberson, Brian Wharton, Roberson’s, he’s, pediatricians, Nikki Curtis, They’ve, Paroles, ’, Nikki, Nikki “, –, Robert, ” Brian Wharton, Wharton, Gretchen Sween –, ” Wharton, John Grisham, Sween, Jeff Leach, Antoinette Laskey, ” Laskey Organizations: CNN, Texas, Texas Department, Criminal, US, Former Texas Supreme, Huntsville Unit, Supreme, GOP, Wednesday, Appeals, American Academy of Pediatrics, US Army, National Registry, American Academy of Pediatrics ’, Child Locations: Texas, ” Texas, Travis, Huntsville, Anderson County, Anderson, Palestine , Texas

Greg Abbott, who has the power to commute a death sentence if the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends doing so. Abbott can still grant a one-time 30-day reprieve to postpone the execution even though the board has denied a clemency bid. In 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics changed the name of shaken baby syndrome to the more broadly defined “abusive head trauma” to include injuries caused by mechanisms other than shaking alone. It is now accepted medical consensus that the symptoms associated with shaken baby syndrome can also be caused by other medical conditions, including infections, accidental trauma and a pre-existing illness. The uncertainty surrounding shaken baby syndrome has also led to a reevaluation of many criminal cases.

Persons: ” Robert Roberson, Greg Abbott, Paroles, Abbott, Lester Holt, Roberson, “, ” “, ” Roberson, “ I’m, Nikki, Roberson’s, she’d, Brian Wharton, Wharton, Holt, Gretchen Sween Organizations: Texas, U.S, Supreme, NBC News, Prosecutors, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Registry, Palestine Police Department, Food and Drug Administration Locations: Texas, United States, East Texas

☆ Calls for mercy mount as Robert Roberson faces execution for a crime his advocates say did not happen
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Dakin Andone | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

While child abuse pediatricians remain firm on the validity of the diagnosis, Roberson’s attorneys say there is ample evidence that his daughter, Nikki Curtis, did not die of child abuse. Additionally, she had fallen off a bed, and was particularly vulnerable in her sickly condition, Roberson’s attorneys say. Roberson’s attorneys are not disputing that babies can and do die from being shaken. Separately, Roberson’s attorneys have petitioned the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and GOP Gov. A bipartisan group of more than 80 Texas legislators has supported Roberson’s case, and his request for clemency.

Persons: CNN —, Robert Roberson, he’s, Roberson’s, pediatricians, Nikki Curtis, –, Paroles, Greg Abbott, Roberson, Abbott, ”, Jeff Leach, ” Leach, Joe Moody, John Grisham –, ” Grisham, “, ’, Ed Lavandera, Ashley Killough Organizations: CNN, US, Texas, GOP Gov, Republican, Washington Post Locations: Texas, Collins County, Anderson County

The inmate’s attorneys call that a misdiagnosis – and also discredit shaken baby syndrome on its face, despite broad consensus among pediatricians it is legitimate. The shaken baby syndrome diagnosis from doctors and nurses, their emotional response to Nikki’s condition and Roberson’s odd reaction all stacked against the then-suspect, said Wharton. “There really is not a controversy in medicine about the existence of abusive head trauma. Just this month, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a new trial for a man sentenced to 35 years in prison after being convicted of injury to a child in a case that also relied on a shaken baby syndrome argument. Without shaken baby syndrome, he said, “there’s nothing that’s chargeable here.

Persons: West, Robert Roberson, Nikki Curtis, Roberson, Nikki, ” Roberson, John Grisham, Brian Wharton, Wharton, ”, “, Robert, pediatricians, Dr, Lee Savio Beers, Sandeep Narang, ” Narang, They’ve, Greg Abbott, Nikki Curtis Roberson, ’, Nikki’s, Janet Squires, Squires, ” Squires, Narang, Roberson’s, –, Larry Bowman, Nikki –, ‘, Sciences –, Kate Judson, it’s, ” Dr, Antoinette Laskey, Laskey, he’ll, he’s, I’ll, “ Unforgiveness, he's, Ashley Killough, CNN Wharton, Gretchen Sween, ” Wharton, We’re, LaMotte, Stephanie Becker Organizations: West Livingston CNN, CNN, American Academy of Pediatrics, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, American Association of Pediatrics, AP, US Army, National Registry, Appeals, SBS, Board, Republican Gov, Integrity, Sciences, American Academy of Pediatrics ’, Child, Texas Department, Criminal, New York Times Locations: West Livingston CNN — Texas, Texas, United States, Roberson’s, Palestine , Texas, ”, Livingston , Texas, Anderson County, Dallas

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.

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