Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rules against death row inmate Jeff Wood

Jordan Steiker, the Judge Robert M. Parker Chair in Law at the University of Texas School of Law and the director of the Capital Punishment Center, joins The Takeaway to discuss the details of Jeff Wood’s case, the history of the law that allowed his conviction, and the efforts underway to stay his execution.
WNYC, August 17, 2016

Executing the Getaway Driver Is a Bad Idea

by Noah Feldman, Bloomberg View, August 17, 2016

Are Evangelicals Ditching the Death Penalty?

by Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project, August 14, 2016

Texas Should Stop Trying to Kill a Non-Killer

by Editorial Board, The Washington Post, August 14, 2016

Il n’a tué personne, mais il pourrait être exécuté

by Jean-Cosme Delaloye, La Tribune de Genève, August 14, 2016

In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

Houston Chronicle by Kristine Guerra, The Washington Post Updated 1:47 pm, Friday, August 12, 2016

Texas Readies to Kill Man—Who Killed No One—for Murder

Jeffery Wood on track to be the ‘least culpable person executed in the modern era of death penalty’
by Andrea Germanos, Common Dream staff writer, August 13, 2016

Man to be executed on Texas’s death row for murder despite not killing anyone

Daily Mail, August 13, 2016

Texas Is About to Execute a Man Who Didn’t Kill Anybody

by Danielle DeCourcey ATTN:, August 12, 2016

In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

by Kristine Guerra, The Washington Post, August 12, 2016

“This man may be executed even though he never killed anyone”

The Washington Post Video, August 11, 2016.

Jeff Wood Never Killed Anyone, But Texas Plans to Execute Him

by Jolie McCullough, Texas Tribune, Aug. 11, 2016

Texas Preparing to Execute Man for Murder who Didn’t Commit Murder

1200 News Radio, WOAI August 8, 2016

Evangelicals urge halt to Texas execution

Baptist News Global, August 8, 2016

Editorial: Who is Texas executing now? A man with no direct involvement in the murder for which he’ll be put to death

by The Times Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2016

Why is Texas Executing a Man Who Didn’t Kill Anyone?

Texas Standard, August 3, 2016

Jeff Wood was in the car when an acquaintance shot his friend, who was working as a gas station clerk in Kerrville. Now he’s on death row, sentenced under Texas’ “law of parties.”

Shared Responsibility?: Too many questions for Texas to execute condemned man

Texasarkana Gazette, Editorial, August 3, 2016

Texas man soon to be executed never killed anybody (VIDEO)

JEFF WOOD DIDN’T KILL ANYONE, BUT TEXAS IS ABOUT TO EXECUTE HIM ANYWAY

Jordan Smith, The Intercept, Aug. 2, 2016

Does This Man Deserve to Die?

OP-ED: JEFFREY WOOD WAS SENTENCED TO DEATH UNDER THE TEXAS LAW OF PARTIES. BUT SHOULD SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T PULL THE TRIGGER BE EXECUTED?

JULY 28, 2016 by SABINE HEINLEIN, Texas Monthly

Rally Questions Death Penalty for Texas Man Who Didn’t Pull Trigger, Texas Tribune, July 23, 2016

Hedayati: Texas ‘law of parties’ needs to be revamped

By Hooman Hedayati, July 22, 2016, Houston Chronicle

The articles below are from 2008, when Jeff Wood received a stay of execution.

Federal Judge, Chastising the Texas Courts, Orders a Stay of Executionby James C. McKinley Jr, New York Times, August 21, 2008

Court Stays Execution of Man Who Did Not Kill by Scott Michels, ABC News, August 21, 2008

Texas Death Row Prisoner Faces Execution Tonight for Murder He Didn’t CommitDemocracy Now!, August 21, 2008 (Amy Goodman interviews Liliana Segura of CEDP, Kristin Wood, and Jeff’s parents Danny and Mitzie Wood)

Unusal Group Rallies Around Texas Death Row Inmate Jeff Wood by Diane Jennings, Dallas Morning News, August 15, 2008

Defense Lawyers Try to Halt Execution by Jordan Smith, Austin Chronicle, August 15, 2008

Death and Texas: Governor Rick Perry and his state’s flawed judicial system are now executing convicts for crimes they did not commit
by Maura Kelly, The Guardian, August 14, 2008

Texas Man Who Didn’t Kill May Be Executed Jeff Wood Didn’t Kill Kris Keeran, but He Is Set to Be Executed for Keeran’s Death
ABC News, By Scott Michels, Aug. 8, 2008

Save Jeff Wood, The Nation, Peter Rothberg, June 30, 2008.

Excerpt:

Last August, Perry commuted a death sentence to life in prison for inmate Kenneth Foster Jr., also convicted under the law of parties statute.

“Jeff’s case is so much like Kenneth’s case; it is like a mirror image,” Lawrence Foster, grandfather of Kenneth Foster Jr., wrote in a statement read at the rally. “I remember thinking last summer that Texas had already executed the killer and yet they wanted Kenneth. It is the same for Jeff.”

The victim’s father, Charles Keeran, also would like to see Wood live.

“The death penalty, to me, is the easy way out,” he said. “If you had to be down there and get up every morning, as hot and humid as it is, knowing that you are going to spend the rest of your life locked up under those conditions, that’s punishment. That’s what I think my son would want for him.”

Those Who Are About to Die by Jordan Smith of the Austin Chronicle, July 21, 2008. “Wood did not fire the fatal shot and did not participate in the robbery that preceded the Jan. 2, 1996, murder. Nonetheless, Wood was sentenced to die, based on the state’s “law of parties,” also known as the “conspirator liability” statute.”

Media Coverage

Texas is Set to Execute a Man Who Didn’t Kill Anyone (Audio)

Why is Texas Executing a Man Who Didn’t Kill Anyone?

Texas man soon to be executed never killed anybody (VIDEO)

OP-ED: JEFFREY WOOD WAS SENTENCED TO DEATH UNDER THE TEXAS LAW OF PARTIES. BUT SHOULD SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T PULL THE TRIGGER BE EXECUTED?

Rally Questions Death Penalty for Texas Man Who Didn’t Pull Trigger, Texas Tribune, July 23, 2016

Hundreds Write Governor Perry Urging Clemency for Jeff Wood by Texas Moratorium Network