Skip to footer TEXAS DEFENDER SERVICE Donate Our Work Representing, Supporting, Educating, and Influencing Improving the quality of representation for those facing a death sentence. Exposing and eradicating systemic flaws plaguing the Texas death penalty. Capital Trial Project Mitigation Project Criminal Justice Policy Reform Post-Conviction Project Issues Severe Mental Illness A person may be sentenced to death even if (s)he is severely mentally ill Read More Intellectual Disability Texas courts failed to use medically approved diagnostic criteria to decide whether a person facing the death penalty is intellectually disabled Read More Law of Parties Under the Texas Law of Parties, a person can be sentenced to death even if (s)he did not kill or intend to kill anybody Read More Future Dangerousness Texas requires unreliable predictions of a person's future behavior when deciding whether to impose death Read More Junk Science Texas still permits junk science to be used to obtain a death sentence Read More Our Mission Texas Defender Service (TDS) is a non-profit organization established in 1995 by experienced Texas death penalty attorneys. Our mission is to establish a fair and just criminal justice system in Texas. TDS aims to improve the quality of representation afforded to those facing a death sentence and to expose and eradicate the systemic flaws plaguing the Texas death penalty. Ways You Can Support Justice in Texas Financial Support Your support allows Texas Defender Service to represent individuals who face the possibility of a death sentence and address pervasive flaws in our criminal justice system. Donate Follow Social Media Follow TDS on Facebook Twitter Instagram . Footer COPYRIGHT 2019 - 2021 TEXAS DEFENDER SERVICES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. SITE BY AUSTIN WEB & DESIGN

Skip to footer TEXAS DEFENDER SERVICE Capital Trial Project This groundbreaking project was the first of its kind in the United States. It trains, consults, and provides trial teams with litigation support. Over the past ten years, it has been remarkably successful in reducing death sentences in a state that is a voracious user of capital punishment. Prior to the program’s launch, Texas had the fastest growing death row in the country and its juries sentenced dozens of people to death each year. By contrast, Texas courts sentenced just seven people to death in 2018, four people in 2019, and there have been only two death sentences to date in 2020. Texas grand juries issue hundreds of capital murder indictments, and 400 Texas criminal defendants face the possibility of a death sentence at anytime. Many of these defendants are represented by solo practitioners who operate without institutional resources that are available to prosecutors such as appellate assistance, paralegals, and support staff. The trial project addresses this resource disparity between the prosecution and the defense by providing defense teams with training and consulting assistance. Footer COPYRIGHT 2019 - 2021 TEXAS DEFENDER SERVICES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.