Texas’ highest criminal court overturns sentence of inmate who has been on death row for 47 years

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.

Jordan was finally appointed a new attorney in 2024 as news emerged that there were numerous delayed criminal appeals 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.

Following new legal advocacy, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated Jordan’s death sentence in a Thursday ruling. The panel also sent the case back to Harris County for a new punishment proceeding.

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 said Friday that it is not going to ask for a new punishment proceeding. The184th District Court, where Jordan was convicted, didn’t immediately respond to the Tribune’s question about next steps.

Wolff told the Tribune that the only other eligible punishment for his conviction would be life in prison with the possibility for 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.

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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.