US EditionSeveral Major Texas Death Row Appeals Loom in 2026 Amid Drop in Executions
High-profile appeals involve contested evidence and overturned convictions as Texas leads the nation with over 300 death sentences from Harris County alone.
- The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear all 17 judges consider high-profile Texas death-row appeals, including Brittany Holberg, scheduled for this week, while inmates like Charles Thompson await scheduled executions.
- Because key trial evidence and procedures were later questioned, courts overturned Holberg's conviction and stayed Roberson and Wood's cases amid new evidence and false testimony claims.
- Long waits on death row are evident as state courts granted appeals that resulted in last-minute stays and remands, including a second stay for Roberson after new evidence from State Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston.
- These legal moves could produce rehearings or retrials, and many condemned inmates remain in decades-long limbo as stays and remands prolong resolution, with some dying in custody or facing execution.
- Rising costs and geographic disparities influence Texas’ declining use of capital punishment, with TCADP’s 2025 report citing $2 million trial expenses and a focus on county-level differences.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Texas Report Highlights Decline of New Death Sentences and Executions
For decades, Texas performed executions at the highest rate in the country. It has carried out the most executions in the modern era, with nearly five times the number as the next highest state. However, that trend has changed in recent years, as both the number of new death sentences and executions has significantly declined. The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty’s (TCADP) 2025 Annual Report examines the dwindli…
Associated Press News
Several major Texas death row appeals loom in 2026 amid drop in executions
Several appeals in some of Texas’ highest-profile capital punishment cases are set for 2026 as the state continues to maintain a historically low number of executions.
Several Texas Death Row Appeals Scheduled For 2026 – 710am KURV
Several appeals are scheduled this year in some high-profile Texas capital punishment cases. Texas leads the nation in using the death penalty, with Harris County alone executing more condemned killers than any other state. But 2025 was the second straight year Texas wasn’t the leading state in executions. Two last-minute stays and an overturned capital conviction brought last year’s Texas execution count down somewhat. But all three cases may s…
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