Courts and Legal Process

Charles Thompson, convicted of the 1998 killings of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, is scheduled to be executed in Texas and would be the first person put to death in the United States in 2026. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied his clemency request Monday; Thompson, who escaped custody for three days in 2005 by slipping cuffs and an orange jumpsuit and using a makeshift badge from his ID, later described briefly being able to "smell the trees" and feel the wind during the run.

A Colorado appeals panel questioned the nine‑year sentence handed to former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters for a voting‑system breach, pressing state lawyers on whether the trial judge factored in her election‑fraud rhetoric and possibly punished protected speech. Peters, who has received a full pardon from Donald Trump — which her lawyer says should apply to state charges and might affect the appeals court’s jurisdiction — faces resistance from Colorado officials even as Gov. Jared Polis has called the sentence harsh.