Monday, July 1, 2013

Texas: 'A reputation for being bloodthirsty'

On June 26, Texas carried out its 500th execution in the modern era of the death penalty more than any other state by far. However, Texas could well be on a slower track to execute its next 500 inmates, reported the Huffington Post.

"It's a very fragile system" as attitudes change, said Mark White, who was Texas attorney general when Brooks was executed and then presided over 19 executions as governor from 1983 to 1987.
"There's a big difference between fair and harsh. ... I think you have (Texas) getting a reputation for being bloodthirsty, and that's not good."

Texas has accounted for nearly 40 percent of the more than 1,300 executions carried out since murderer Gary Gilmore went before a Utah firing squad in 1977 and became the first U.S. inmate executed following the Supreme Court's clarification of death penalty laws. (Texas had more than 300 executions before the pause.) Virginia is a distant second, nearly 400 executions behind. Texas' standing stems both from its size, with the nation's second-largest population, and its tradition of tough justice for killers.

Still awaiting punishment in Texas are 282 convicted murderers.

Some may be spared. Supreme Court rulings have now excluded mentally impaired people or those who were under 18 at the time of their crime. Legal battles continue over the lethal drugs used in the process, mental competence of inmates, professional competence of defense lawyers and sufficiency of evidence in light of DNA forensics technology.

Gov. Rick Perry, who has presided over more than half of Texas' executions, said the recent changes have helped make the state's system fairer. In addition to the new sentencing options, he signed bills to allow post-conviction DNA testing for inmates and establish minimum qualifications for court-appointed defense attorneys.

"I think our process works just fine," Perry said last year during his unsuccessful presidential campaign. "You may not agree with them, but we believe in our form of justice. ... We think it is clearly appropriate."
So do most Texans.A 2012 poll from the Texas Tribune and the University of Texas showed only 21 percent opposed capital punishment.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/kimberly-mccarthy-executi_0_n_3497688.html?1372181975&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl13%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D335894

No comments:

Post a Comment