Tag Archives: death penalty

Keller blames others for her actions

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller, who has been formally accused of violating her duty as a judge in the matter of the Michael Richard case, has filed her response to the State Commission on Judicial Ethics. (For … Continue reading →

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Missing deadlines in capital cases

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Reading about death row inmates who lost federal appeals because their attorneys missed a filing deadline makes me angry. The Houston Chronicle reviewed records in nine appeals that were filed too late. In some cases, lawyers or judges appear to … Continue reading →

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Kinky says he’s getting ready to run

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Kinky Friedman has been saying for a long time that he wants to run for Governor again, this time as a Democrat. He’s now finally getting ready to make that official. At least, that’s what he tells Gardner Selby: Friedman … Continue reading →

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NYT on Keller

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This story doesn’t really advance our knowledge of Justice Sharon Keller, but it does provide some insight as to her supporters. At least, it confirms that she has them. How they can reconcile their opinion of her with some of … Continue reading →

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Keller gets an extension

Posted on February 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

News item: Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, now has until March 24 to answer charges that she violated her judicial duties by declining to accept an after-hours appeal from a death row inmate in … Continue reading →

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The case against Keller

Posted on February 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey reads through the Judicial Conduct Commission case against Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Sharon Keller, and finds that her actions were worse than even I had thought. We already knew that Keller and the other judges were aware … Continue reading →

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Judicial conduct commission moves against Keller

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

About damn time. The state judicial ethics commission has charged Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court, with violating her duty and bringing discredit upon the judiciary when she declined to allow a death row prisoner … Continue reading →

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Burnam files resolution to impeach Justice Keller

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Lon Burnam (D, Fort Worth) has dropped a little bomb called HR480, the text of which calls for “House of Representatives of the 81st Texas Legislature [to] adopt the following procedures to consider the impeachment of Judge Sharon … Continue reading →

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Swearingen gets a stay

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Thank goodness. Accused killer Larry Swearingen has been granted a second stay of execution. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit handed down the ruling this morning. Swearingen was set to be executed by injection on Tuesday. “We’re … Continue reading →

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More on Larry Swearingen

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve blogged before about Larry Swearingen, who is on death row and is scheduled for execution on January 27 even though forensic evidence clearly demonstrates his innocence of the murder of Melissa Trotter. Multiple experts, including the Harris County medical … Continue reading →

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