Death Penalty News

Court says appeal not filed within time frame required by law TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s constitutional court has declined to review an additional appeal lodged by 37 death row inmates on the grounds that it was submitted too late. The 37 condemned inmates filed the appeal on Feb. 27, which was in addition to an already lodged appeal that the constitutional court will review beginning April 23, per CNA. 

The Harris County District Clerk’s Office is attempting to resolve nearly 100 criminal appeals, including 2 death penalty cases, that were overlooked by the court system for decades. Among them are the appeals of the 2 death-sentenced prisoners, Tony Tyrone Dixon and Syed Rabbani. Tony Tyrone Dixon, a prisoner with intellectual disabilities, was convicted of capital murder he committed at the age of 17 and sentenced to death in 1995. In August 1998, Mr. Dixon’s appellate attorney filed his first post-conviction habeas corpus appeal, arguing that Mr. Dixon was mentally incompetent to stand trial. After the appeal was filed, the judge signed an order allotting prosecutors an unspecified amount of time to file their response beyond the then 30-day deadline. The prosecutors did not respond to Mr. Dixon’s request for a new trial until 2014.