Entries tagged with “Western District of Texas”
Policy Issues
Mental Illness
,Sep 29, 2023
Federal District Court Finds Scott Panetti Not Competent for Execution
On September 28, 2023, the Western District Court of Texas ruled that the state cannot execute Scott Panetti (pictured), a death row prisoner with a decades-long history of serious mental health issues and a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Despite a state expert conceding Mr. Panetti’s serious mental illness, Texas argued that he is competent to face execution because he has “some degree” of rational understanding. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled, however, that “[Mr.] Panetti is not sane…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Prosecutorial Accountability
,Sep 27, 2023
Former Texas Death Row Prisoner Clinton Young Sues Prosecutor for Misconduct
On September 18, 2023, former Texas death-sentenced prisoner Clinton Young filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the Western District of Texas, accusing two Midland County district attorneys, the prosecutor on his case, and Midland County itself, for violating his constitutional right to a fair trial. Just four months after his 18th birthday in 2001, Mr. Young and two others, David Page and Darnell McCoy, went on a drug-induced spree that resulted in the deaths of two individuals. In 2003,…