I was a bit more troubled by the testimony she gave, not mentioned in the article, that late minute filings are generally poorly written and not meritorious.
They should still be looked at then ruled on. A person's life is at stake, even if the motion is BS, I think we should not take a cavalier attitude to these motions.
Judge stands by action on execution
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News
The presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals told a crowded courtroom Wednesday she would do nothing different if confronted again with a request to keep the clerk's office open for a last-minute appeal from a death row inmate.
“Yes, that is correct,” Judge Sharon Keller said from the witness stand when asked if she would respond the same as she did Sept. 25, 2007, the day death row inmate Michael Richard was executed after being denied a request to file an appeal after 5 p.m.
Immediately after her answer, special prosecutor Mike McKetta said: “Pass the witness.”
