Several major Texas death row appeals loom in 2026 amid drop in executions

By Ayden Runnels, The Texas Tribune
January 13, 2026

Several appeals in some of Texas’ highest-profile capital punishment cases are set for 2026 as the state continues to maintain a historically low number of executions. 

2025 marked the second year Texas was not the leading state in executions in a single year, but the state is still the overall leader nationally in the death penalty. Harris County alone, which handed down its 300th death sentence last year, accounts for more executions than any other state. 

But Texas’ executions have gradually declined in the last decade, and in 2025 the low number of executions was in part fueled by two last-minute stays. Their resolutions, however, along with a third successful appeal for another death row inmate, may still ultimately result in executions.

Robert Roberson and David Wood both had appeals granted by state courts, resulting in stayed executions days before they were scheduled to be put to death. Brittany Holberg had her capital conviction overturned in March and awaits a hearing in January. The three inmates have had their trials called into question for years before their successful appeals — but appeals themselves on death row are common. Many sentenced to death are caught in sometimes decades-spanning legal limbo as their cases make their way through the courts.

“I would say it is a natural part of being under a sentence of death that there is going to be an appeal,” said Kristin Houlé Cuellar, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, a grassroots advocacy group. “I think the difference is what [appeals] would be considered active versus inactive.” 

On Jan. 21, all 17 judges for the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Louisiana in Holberg’s case. Her conviction was overturned in March 2025 in a 2-1 ruling from the court, citing the district attorney’s failure to disclose that Holberg’s cellmate, who provided key testimony during her trial, was a paid informant for the City of Amarillo police.

Holberg was 23 years old when she received the death penalty in 1998 after being convicted of murdering A.B. Towery. Then a sex worker, Holberg said she killed her 80-year-old former client in self defense when he attacked her in his home, where she sought refuge after a car accident. 

Prosecutors claimed Holberg intended to kill and rob Towery, and used testimony from Holberg’s cellmate, Vickie Kirkpatrick, who provided a statement that Holberg admitted to purposefully killing him. Kirkpatrick was released on bond the same day she provided her statement against Holberg.

Two attorneys representing Holberg in her upcoming appeal declined interview requests about the case. If the appeals court rules in her favor, Holberg’s case will be sent back to trial court for a rehearing. 

For Roberson, new evidence brought forth by state Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, helped win his second stay of execution in as many years, sending the case back to trial court. A bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers blocked a previously scheduled execution in 2024 by issuing a subpoena for his testimony for a legislative committee after he was to be put to death.

Roberson’s case caught nationwide attention as lawmakers and public advocates have long asserted his innocence. Roberson was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki after she was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome, which supporters have said was based on now-debunked science.

David Wood also had his case halted and remanded back to trial court in July after being granted a stay in March by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Wood was accused of killing and burying six girls between the ages of 14 and 24 near El Paso in 1992. 

Having spent more than three decades on death row, Wood is currently awaiting a rehearing. Wood made eight claims in his appeal, ranging from allegations of false testimony to suppressed evidence, however the CCA did not specify which of the eight claims were substantiated in its ruling.

There are currently four executions scheduled in Texas, and more may be scheduled throughout the year. Charles Thompson is scheduled to be executed Jan. 28 for shooting and killing two people during an argument in 1998. 

Ultimately in 2025, just as many death row inmates died in custody as those who were executed. Each of the five spent between 10 to 30 years on death row. Micah Brown died by suicide, while James Harris Jr., William Mason, Joseph Prystash and Scott Panetti succumbed to medical conditions. 

Panetti, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, died in June after spending 34 years on death row. In that time, his eligibility for execution faced appeals across several courts. During his trial 1995 in which he represented himself, Panetti attempted to subpoena John F. Kennedy and Jesus Christ before being sentenced to death for capital murder in the deaths of his in-laws.

In 2007, Panetti’s appeals made it to the Supreme Court, which reinforced rules related to inmate’s ineligibility to be executed if they do not understand the reason for their execution. However, Panetti was not deemed ineligible for execution until September 2023 by a federal district judge.

Panetti’s lengthy appellate process amid his mental health struggles, Cuellar said, called into question the “relentless” nature of the state’s pursuit of the death penalty.

“What is the state really achieving in its pursuit of execution, especially in these cases of individuals who have been on death row for decades, who are aging rapidly?” Cuellar said. “It really speaks to it just really presents the kind of overall question to me, what is the point here, and what purpose is this actually serving?”

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.