Entries tagged with “Terence Andrus

Policy Issues

Human Rights

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Representation

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Feb 01, 2023

Texas Death Row Prisoner Commits Suicide

On January 21, 2023, Texas death row pris­on­er Terence Andrus hanged him­self at the age of 34, a lit­tle more than 6 months after the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of his case for a sec­ond time. His lawyer, Gretchen Sween, told the Los Angeles Times that he’d been careen­ing toward the abyss,” since their deci­sion. He was…

Policy Issues

Representation

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United States Supreme Court

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Jun 14, 2022

After Initially Reversing Decision, Supreme Court Refuses to Review Texas Case of Gross Attorney Ineffectiveness a Second Time

The United States Supreme Court has declined to review a case in which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) flout­ed a pre­vi­ous Supreme Court rul­ing by deny­ing relief to a death-row pris­on­er a sec­ond time after the Court had returned the case with direc­tions to fur­ther con­sid­er defense counsel’s fail­ure to inves­ti­gate and present a tidal wave” of avail­able mit­i­gat­ing evi­dence in the penal­ty phase of his capital…

Policy Issues

Representation

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United States Supreme Court

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Jan 05, 2022

Former U.S. Solicitor General: Supreme Court Must Uphold the Rule of Law’ that Texas Courts Ignored in Death Penalty Case

A for­mer con­ser­v­a­tive fed­er­al judge and U.S. Solicitor General has called on the United States Supreme Court to vacate a rul­ing by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) that allowed a Texas death sen­tence to stand in the face of an ear­li­er Supreme Court rul­ing that defense coun­sel had unrea­son­ably failed to present a tidal wave” of com­pelling mitigating…

Policy Issues

Mental Illness

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Representation

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United States Supreme Court

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Dec 06, 2021

Advocacy Groups Call on Supreme Court to Summarily Reverse Texas Death-Penalty Decision that Flouted Earlier Court Guidance

Organizations advo­cat­ing for the rights of abused chil­dren and those with men­tal ill­ness and for fair process are urg­ing the U.S. Supreme Court to, for a sec­ond time, sum­mar­i­ly reverse a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) deci­sion that upheld the death sen­tence imposed on Terence Andrus (pic­tured) despite defense counsel’s fail­ure to inves­ti­gate and present a tidal wave” of avail­able mit­i­gat­ing evi­dence in the penal­ty phase of his capital…

Policy Issues

Representation

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United States Supreme Court

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Jun 17, 2020

U.S. Supreme Court Orders Texas Court to Reconsider Case of Inadequate Representation

By a vote of 6 – 3, the U.S. Supreme Court over­turned a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) rul­ing uphold­ing the death sen­tence imposed on Terence Andrus (pic­tured). The Court held that Andrus’ coun­sel had pro­vid­ed sub­stan­dard rep­re­sen­ta­tion in the penal­ty-phase of his tri­al, and direct­ed the TCCA to deter­mine whether counsel’s defi­cient per­for­mance may have affect­ed the jury’s sentencing…