Texas Defender Service

From 2018 to 2026, the Service claims to have saved over 50 prisoners from execution. ^{1 2}

Activities

The Texas Defender Service is a community advocacy organization that seeks to end mass incarceration, the death penalty, and “excessive punishment” within the State of Texas. ¹

The Texas Defender Service provides legal representation to individuals sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, individuals on death row, those claiming they were wrongly convicted, and individuals up for parole opportunities. Some 20 percent of the Service’s clients were estimated to be illegal immigrants as of 2025. ^{2 1}

In the 2024 to 2025 period, the Service saved 10 pre-trial individuals from being considered for the death penalty by presenting evidence to prosecutors. Through its efforts, the Service got two clients on death row stays of executions, 12 clients were paroled, and wrote 53 pretrial motions. ²

Also in 2024, the Service established the Pro Bono Parole Network, a coalition of law firms that provide pro bono representation to individuals up for parole. In its first year of operation, the Network helped 12 individuals secure parole. The Network also helped defeat an effort to repeal the Michael Morton Act, a Texas law requiring prosecutors to publicly disclose evidence to prevent false prosecutions. ²

Also in 2024, the Service launched the Parole Website, a clearinghouse for information for individuals to advocate for themselves or loved ones at parole hearings. ² The Service provides a step-by-step guide on “how to write parole packets.” ³

The Service also conducts research on criminal justice trends and policy. In 2024, the Service published a critique of Article 11.073, which it refers to as the “Junk Science” and is intended to help get convicted felons released on the grounds of faulty forensic science. The article reviewed 70 cases and argued that the law was insufficiently strong and consistently failed to get falsely convicted individuals released. ^{2 1}

Earlier in the year, the Service published a report on Harris County’s record of sentencing inmates to death, finding that 15 of the last 21 death sentences handed down were for Black men, and only one was for a white man. The report attributed the racial disparity to problems with Harris County’s jury-selection process. ⁴

In 2000, the Service published a report finding a pattern of “deficiencies in the death penalty process” regarding the 232 executions the state had carried out between 1982 and 2000. At the time, the report was read as a critique of then-presidential candidate and then-Texas Governor George W. Bush (R), who was a strong advocate of the death penalty. ⁵ Two years later, the Service published a report on executions carried out by the state between 1995 and 2002, and contended that one-third of cases were insufficiently investigated. ⁶

Funding

In 2024, the Texas Defender Service reported $2,638,801 in revenue, with about half of all funding coming from grants and half from program services. ⁷

In 2025, the Service received a grant from the Urban Institute to expose “racial bias in death penalty charges.” ⁸

Also in 2025, the Service received a grant worth $5,000 from the Judith Filler Foundation. ⁹

In 2024, the Service received a $15,000 grant from the Texas Bar Association to support the families of incarcerated individuals. ¹⁰

From 2008 to 2015, the Service received four grants totaling $6.6 million from the Atlantic Philanthropies for “core support” (twice), “organizational stabilization and sustainability,” and “the Coalition to Reform Indigent Defense in Texas.” ¹¹

Leadership

As of 2026, Burke Butler was serving as the executive director of the Texas Defender Service, a position he had held since 2022. Burke graduated from Yale Law School in 2011 and later served as a law clerk to Judge Harris L. Hartz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and to Judge Keith P. Ellison of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Burke also worked at the Justice Collaborative where she “engaged local elected officials to institute progressive policies to transform the criminal punishment system.” ¹² In 2024, Butler earned $120,167 from the Service. ⁷

As of 2026, Estelle Hebron-Jones was the director of special projects at the Service. She previously worked as a staff attorney at the Equal Justice Initiative. ¹³ In 2024, Hebron-Jones earned $103,600 from the Service for an average of one hour of work per week. ⁷