Read more: Local, Crime, Death, Appeals, Killers, Amarillo, Court
HOUSTON, TEXAS (AP) -- Condemned killers in Texas will get more support with appeals when a state-backed office opens in 2010.
An alliance of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and public defense advocates endorsed the measure before the 2009 Legislature.
State Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston says the status quo has been an "international embarrassment." Ellis sponsored the law that created the office, with an annual budget of about $1 million and a nine-person staff.
The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that Texas is one of the only capital punishment states that lacks a public defender to oversee key death row appeals.
Texas, the nation's most active capital punishment state, put 18 convicted killers to death last year.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
