• Urgent Action

Urgent Action Update: Man Executed for Crime When He Was 18 (USA: UA 108.20)

July 13, 2020

Billy Wardlow was executed on 8 July 2020. He was on death row in Texas, USA in connection with the 1993 murder of an 82-year-old man when he was just 18 years old. The jury that sentenced Billy Wardlow was never presented mitigating evidence. Since 2005, it’s unconstitutional to impose a death sentence on anyone younger than 18 when the crime occurred. Scientific research shows that development of the brain and psychological and emotional maturation continues into a person’s 20s. Two jurors believed that he should have had his sentence commuted in light of this new evidence.

We have received updated information regarding this case and require no further action from the Urgent Action Network. Thank you to all those who sent appeals. For more information about this case, please see the Word/PDF attachments below or email [email protected]. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES