Entries tagged with “José Garza”
May 19, 2026
City of Austin to Pay $35 Million to Compensate Men Wrongfully Convicted in Decades-Old Murder Case
On May 13, 2026, the city of Austin, Texas agreed to pay $35 million in compensation to four men — three surviving and one deceased — who spent years under the shadow of wrongful convictions, accused of an infamous quadruple murder that DNA proved none of them committed. The settlement, which must still be approved by the Austin City Council, came less than three months after a Travis County judge declared Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Forrest Welborn, and Maurice Pierce innocent of murder…
Mar 27, 2025
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Review in Texas Faulty DNA Evidence Case, Despite Prosecutor Confession of Error
On March 24, 2025, the United States Supreme Court denied review of Areli Escobar’s (pictured) most recent appeal of his murder conviction, which argued for relief based on the fact that the Texas prosecutor had confessed error over the misleading use of inconclusive DNA evidence at trial. In his petition, Mr. Escobar’s legal team said Travis County prosecutors had relied heavily at trial on compromised evidence analyzed by the Austin Police Department’s crime laboratory. Additional DNA testing…
Oct 03, 2024
Hispanic Heritage Month: Travis County, Texas District Attorney José Garza
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), DPI is posting a weekly feature on Hispanic or Latino/a people who have had a significant impact on the death penalty in the U.S. This post highlights José Garza, District Attorney of Travis County, Texas. José Garza, a former public defender, took office as Travis County District Attorney in 2021, after running on a platform of criminal justice reform, including a pledge not to seek the death penalty. On his campaign website in 2020, he…