Death Penalty News

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s media regulator said Monday it blocked Wikipedia services in the country for hurting Muslim sentiment by not removing purportedly blasphemous content from the site. Critics denounced Islamabad’s action, saying it was a blow to digital rights.

TaiChin Preyor A San Antonio man was executed Thursday night for killing a woman in 2004 after a last-minute request for a stay to the Supreme Court was rejected. TaiChin Preyor, 46, had been on death row for 13 years after a Bexar County jury convicted him of killing Jami Tackett, 24, in a drug-related attack. Preyor was pronounced dead at 9:22 p.m., about 20 minutes after a lethal dose of Pentobarbital was sent through the veins of both of his arms. In a brief final statement, Preyor said, “First and foremost, I’d like to say, ‘Justice has never advanced by taking a human life,’ by Coretta Scott King. Lastly, to my wife and to my kids, I love y’all forever and always. That’s it.” Neither Preyor’s nor Tackett’s relatives were present for the execution, just four journalists and some corrections officers. Preyor is the fifth inmate to be executed in Texas this year, and the 16th nationally, according to data provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ...

The Sixth Amendment provides that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall … have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.” The right to counsel encompasses the right to an attorney -- a qualified attorney. Not, for instance, one who has been disbarred and prohibited from practicing law. And yet, that’s exactly what happened to TaiChin Preyor, who is scheduled for execution in Texas on July 27 . Mr. Preyor was convicted and sentenced to death in 2005 for a murder in San Antonio. Mr. Preyor’s trial counsel, however, did not properly investigate known red flags regarding his background, including the violence and sexual abuse Mr. Preyor experienced as a child. These formative experiences are not an excuse, but this mitigation evidence, and other critical details about Mr. Preyor’s childhood, could have persuaded at least one juror to vote for a life sentence, rather than death. Mr. Preyor’s trial counsel’s ineffective assistance at trial should have been presented to...

The Walls Unit, Huntsville, Texas With 2 days left before TaiChin Preyor's scheduled execution, his lawyers have tried just about everything to stop it. That includes alleging that his previous counsel committed fraud. With 2 days left before TaiChin Preyor's scheduled execution, his lawyers have tried just about everything to stop it. That includes alleging that his previous counsel - a disbarred California attorney and a probate and real estate lawyer who reportedly relied on Wikipedia to research Texas legal procedure - committed fraud against a federal court. So far, they've had no luck. Preyor, 46, is set to be executed Thursday night for the 2004 killing of a 20-year-old San Antonio woman during a home invasion. If he doesn't receive a stay, it will be the state's 5th execution of the year - and end the unusually long 4-month lull in Texas' death chamber. In recent weeks, Preyor's attorneys have filed a flurry of pleas, with the T...

Taichin Preyor Lawyers for death row inmate file last-minute motions days before scheduled execution With just days left till the next scheduled execution in the Lone Star state, lawyers for convicted Bexar County killer TaiChin Preyor on Friday filed a flurry of last-minute paperwork seeking to halt the condemned man's death. The pair of motions - in the Western District of Texas - claim one of Preyor's former attorneys on the case, Brandy Estelle, was "utterly unqualified" and may have even resorted to the popular crowdsourcing site Wikipedia for research in the case. Preyor, who murdered a woman who sold him drugs more than a decade ago, is scheduled to meet his fate in Huntsville on July 27. The 46-year-old was convicted in the 2004 slaying when he repeatedly stabbed Jami Tackett before cutting her throat. Neighbors found the dying woman after hearing her screams - and police caught Preyor after he came back to retrieve his car keys, the San...