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| Tuesday, May 10, 2005 |
| Texas to balance the scales for capital punishment juries? |
A Salon article discusses the movement in Texas to allow for life sentences without the possibility of parole. Texas is currently 1 of 2 states that have capital punishment but do not offer the alternative of sentencing the convict to life without parole. Therefore Texas prosecutors can tell juries that if they don't sentence to death, there is a possibility that the murderer might be set free in 40 years. Hence, it's easy to see why Texas is the execution capital of the U.S.
But now they're thinking about adding the life without parole option, which could significantly cut down on death sentences in Texas. In my mind that's an admirable goal. With the explosion of modern technology in criminology, and the exoneration (through DNA etc.) of many people waiting for execution on death row, it's hard in this day and age to argue that in cases involving even the slightest sliver of uncertainty that death without parole is a worse choice that the death penalty, especially if your primary concern is not killing innocent people. |
posted by CB @ 10:16 AM   |
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