News / FJP Releases

March 13, 2026 (Austin, TX) — Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) condemns the execution of Cedric Allen Ricks by the State of Texas. FJP filed an amicus brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and then the United States Supreme Court in Ex Parte Cedric Allen Ricks, urging the Court to stay Mr. Rick’s execution and grant habeas relief in light of newly disclosed evidence demonstrating racial discrimination in jury selection during Mr. Ricks’s capital trial. The United States Supreme Court denied hearing the appeal, and Mr. Ricks was executed on March 11, 2026. 

Mr. Ricks’s execution was a tragedy and a grave miscarriage of justice. In his case, there was evidence indicating that the race of prospective jurors was considered in jury selection: the race of Black and Hispanic jurors was explicitly noted by the prosecutor, and the only two Black women in the pool were struck by the State. 

Executive Director Aramis Donell Ayala issued the following statement after Texas’ execution of Cedric Ricks:

“The death penalty does not prevent crime. It fails to deter violence and instead perpetuates it under the guise of justice. That failure is compounded in cases where the accused is denied the right to a fair trial by a jury of their peers. With this execution, the state of Texas killed an individual who did not receive the protections afforded to him under the Constitution. Such a result is both legally and morally unconscionable. A legal system that permits racial discrimination in jury selection in a rush to execute its citizens cannot claim legitimacy. Ensuring fair trials free from discrimination is the only path toward a justice system worthy of its name.”