Andrus v. Texas

In 2008, Terence Andrus, high on PCP-laced marijuana, killed two people during a botched carjacking in Texas. He was sentenced to death in 2012. At trial, his defense counsel, James Crowley, conducted virtually no mitigation investigation, presented no opening statements, and failed to uncover extensive evidence of Andrus's horrific childhood marked by neglect, abuse, and his mother's drug addiction. Counsel also overlooked Andrus's mental health struggles, including an affective psychosis diagnosis, and the trauma he endured in juvenile detention. After an 8-day habeas hearing uncovered this evidence, a state trial court recommended relief, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and, in a per curiam opinion, held that counsel's performance was deficient under Strickland v. Washington, vacating the judgment and remanding for a prejudice determination.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 per curiam decision on June 15, 2020, vacated the judgment of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and remanded the case for that court to consider in the first instance whether Andrus was prejudiced by his counsel's deficient performance. Justices Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch dissented. On remand, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals again denied relief in 2021, finding no prejudice. The Supreme Court denied review of that decision in June 2022. Terence Andrus died by suicide on death row on January 21, 2023.

Whether Terence Andrus's trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment by failing to investigate and present readily available mitigating evidence concerning Andrus's background, childhood, and mental health during the penalty phase of his capital trial. The Court also addressed whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals properly engaged with the prejudice prong of the Strickland analysis.

The case drew significant attention to systemic deficiencies in capital defense representation in Texas, particularly the failure to investigate and present mitigating evidence. It highlighted the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' pattern of resisting federal constitutional mandates in death penalty cases, as documented by legal scholars. The case also underscored the severe conditions and trauma experienced by juveniles in Texas detention facilities, including solitary confinement and overmedication. Andrus's suicide on death row in 2023 intensified advocacy efforts regarding the constitutionality of death row conditions and the broader reliability of capital convictions.