Thomas O'Connell is a Texas prosecutor who successfully won a murder conviction and death sentence against Charles Dean Hood in 1990. Hood was scheduled to be executed on September 10, 2008, but his execution was stayed after his lawyers alleged that the judge in his trial, Verla Sue Holland, had engaged in an extramarital affair with O'Connell. In depositions, both Holland and O'Connell admitted to the affair.The New York Times: Judge and Prosecutor Admit to Affair, Lawyer Says (September 9, 2008)
The Affair
Holland allegedly engaged in the affair while she was married to the late Earl Holland. Many legal ethicists say that Holland or O'Connell should have recused themselves from the case.Salon: Ardor in the Court (June 24, 2005)
References
Fast Facts
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Hood's alleged victims
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Neither O'Connell nor Holland ever recused themselves from cases they both worked onThe New York Times: Judge and Prosecutor Admit to Affair, Lawyer Says (September 9, 2008)
