Texas woman on death row gets new sentencing trial

Recent Cases

A Texas appeals court says one of 10 women on the state's death row should get a new punishment hearing after her attorneys said prosecutors withheld evidence at her 2005 trial.

Chelsea Richardson was convicted of masterminding the slayings of her boyfriend's parents so her boyfriend could inherit their $1.56 million estate. She was 19 at the time of the December 2003 killings.

The now 27-year-old's attorneys argued she deserves a new punishment hearing because prosecutors withheld a psychologist's notes suggesting another woman, who took a plea deal in the case, masterminded the murder plot.

Richardson's trial judge and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed. The appeals court returned her case to Tarrant County on Wednesday.

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Processing Change for Certain Form I-730 Petitions

USCIS changed the processing location for certain Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, filings. Previously the Service Center Operations Directorate processed these filings. Now, the International Adjudications Support Branch (IASB) in the Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate will process the petitions filed by individuals who were admitted to the United States as refugees. Petitioners and/or accredited representatives who file refugee-based Form I-730 petitions will receive further instructions when IASB receives their filings. Form I-730 petitions filed by persons granted asylum will not be affected by this change. The mailing instructions for Form I-730 remain the same. Petitioners should continue to follow the Where to File directions on the Form I-730 page. This policy update is consistent with the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Standard Occupational Classification system. DOL defines economists as people who conduct research, prepare reports, or formulate plans to address economic problems related to the production and distribution of goods and services or monetary and fiscal policy. Economists may collect and process economic and statistical data using sampling techniques and econometric methods.

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