Texas

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a last-minute halt of the execution of a Texas man convicted of a double murder 16 years ago after lawyers argued that Duane Buck, who is black, was sentenced to death because the jury was told his race made him more violent.

The Supreme Court agreed to review an appeal from Buck's lawyers, who argued that an expert witness psychologist's testimony, which alleged Buck was more prone to violence because of his race, wrongfully influenced jurors' decision to give their client the death penalty.

Jason Clark, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said he found Buck praying in his cell when approached to tell the prisoner about the last-minute stay of execution, The Associated Press reported. more >>

Televangelist and author Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Texas, has reacted to critics who claim he downplays sin and waters down the Gospel, saying he has been following God's calling on his life, a calling that involves teaching about prosperity.

In an interview with ABC News, Osteen said, "I believe God, Jesus, died that we not just go to heaven but that we excel in this life. I never think you make money your goal. … God wants you to excel. Just keep him in first place and God will open up doors you never dreamed of."

As for critics who claim he spends too much time preaching about well-being and personal fulfillment and not enough time addressing sin or Scripture, Osteen says he is simply doing what Jesus did. more >>

Supporters of a death row inmate scheduled to die Thursday night have petitioned Texas Gov. Rick Perry to intervene in light of the possibility that the convicted killer, Duane Buck, may have been sentenced to die merely on the basis of his race.

On July 30, 1995, Buck, now 46, burst into the home of Debra Gardner, his ex-girlfriend, carrying two loaded rifles. He shot Gardner's friend, Kenneth Butler, and, when she tried to run, chased Gardner down and shot her dead in the street – in front of her two children.

Buck also shot his sister, who was visiting Gardner at the time, but she survived. more >>

Texas’ wildfire outbreak and the drought that spawned it are being called among the worst in state history as 24 new wildfires were reported Saturday.

Central Texas has experienced a total of 179 fires over 170,686 acres in the past week, which is one of the worst wildfire outbursts in state history, according to The Associated Press. And Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the last 10 months were the driest in the state since 1985.

The Bastrop-area fire, the largest, erupted last week due to hot temperatures and strong winds at a time when Texas was in the mist of the drought. It has killed four people, destroyed more than 1,700 homes and forced thousands to evacuate. more >>

Huge smoke from a raging wildfire was still filling the sky when one evacuee in Texas returned home Friday. But he found his home still standing thanks to a statue of the Virgin Mary that he believes “stopped” the fire.

The Texas wildfire has been burning for days across Central Texas and has incinerated about 1,400 homes and tens of thousands of acres of land. It has burned every yard and everything on them in the Ranch Crest Subdivision of Montgomery County, Texas, CNN reported. “But miraculously all the homes here are still standing.”

The fire line came right up to a barely two-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary placed on two stones and resting against a tree in the Garcia’s garden, and then stopped suddenly. more >>

As wildfires in Central Texas continue to engulf homes, two bodies were found among the ruins in Bastrop County. Now authorities are looking for four teenagers suspected of starting a fire Monday night that reportedly caused $1.4 million in damage.

Two teenage girls and two teenage boys were seen running through a wooded area when the fire started. Police said one of the female suspects has black hair that may have been dyed and was wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans. The other female was dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans and has dirty blond hair.

Both boys had dark, shaggy hair and were wearing jeans. All four suspects are white, police said. The city offered up to $2,000 to anyone with information regarding the arsonists’ whereabouts. more >>