HOUSTON — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated Clarence Jordan's death sentence in April 2026. The Harris County District Attorney's Office announced it would not seek a retrial, leaving the murder conviction intact.
Jordan was convicted and sentenced to death in 1978 for the murder of Joe Williams during a Houston robbery. His initial conviction was overturned in 1982; he was sentenced to death again in 1983. Declared legally incompetent in 1987, Jordan could not be executed until competency was restored, per a 1988 ruling. His case was among 100 post-conviction writ cases identified in 2022 by Harris County associate judges.
Ben Wolff, director of the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, filed a motion in November 2024 to be appointed as attorney. Wolff stated Jordan lacked legal representation after being declared incompetent and suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, brain damage, and a below-average IQ. He argued the 1983 jury was not allowed to consider Jordan's documented history of mental illness. The court stated the jury was not given adequate instructions to consider mental health issues as mitigating.
Harris County District Attorney's Office officials stated, "As prosecutors, our duty is to seek justice—not to simply convict. After review of this defendant's case, we have concluded his death sentence must be vacated." Jordan is eligible for parole as Texas did not offer life without parole at the time of his original sentencing. "I am glad we are able to accomplish this after so many years." Wolff said.
Jordan has been housed in a prison hospital at the Estelle facility since a 2010 stroke. Wolff requested the Texas Department of Criminal Justice place Jordan in the Medically Recommended Intensive Supervision program.