Clarence Curtis Jordan's attorney said the intellectually disabled man didn't have a lawyer to work on his behalf for nearly four decades.
Texas' highest criminal court has overturned the death sentence of a Harris County man who was on death row for nearly half a century. Clarence Curtis Jordan, 70, was first convicted in 1978 of murdering Joe L.
Williams, a 40-year-old Houston grocer. Jordan, who is intellectually disabled, was then found in subsequent years to be incompetent and therefore could not be executed. But for almost four decades, he did not have an attorney to advocate for him and was seemingly forgotten on death row.in Harris County, some of which were lost for more than a decade. The revelation came amid an effort by the county to reduce the backlog in its criminal courts.Ben Wolff, Jordan's attorney and director of the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, said his office is grateful for the outcome. But the case also shows "a troubling truth" of the criminal justice system that people most in need of help are often "forgotten or cast aside," he said in a statement. "It's a really sad case," Wolff told The Texas Tribune. "He's been on death row basically as long as I've been alive." The Harris County District Attorney's Office said Thursday that the overturning of Jordan's death sentence is "what justice looks like," while adding that his conviction stands. "This outcome does not lessen the harm caused to Joe Williams' family and friends," the office's statement said. "When a life is at stake, we must follow the law and ensure the process is fair." The district attorney's office didn't immediately respond to the Tribune's question Thursday night about what it would do for Jordan's new punishment proceeding. Wolff told the Tribune that the only other eligible punishment for his conviction would be life in prison with the possibility of parole. He added that his office, whose work is limited to post-conviction litigation for death row inmates, would also have to hand off Jordan's case if the proceeding goes beyond a simple resentencing.is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government, and statewide issues.Man sentenced for decapitating seagull after it tried to take food
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Texas’ highest criminal court overturns sentence of inmate who has been on death row for 48 yearsClarence Curtis Jordan’s attorney said the intellectually disabled man didn’t have a lawyer to work on his behalf for nearly four decades.
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