Are Texas juries making the case for the end of the death penalty?

[Suzanimal]

It was welcome news this week that the death penalty is continuing to fall out of favor with Texas juries.

In the 15 death penalty cases tried in Texas since 2015, jurors have sentenced only eight men to death. In Dallas County, prosecutors have sought capital punishment in just two cases since 2014; juries declined to sentence defendants to death in both.

They've got good reasons to be reluctant.

This newspaper has been calling for the end of the death penalty in Texas since 2007. This error-prone system has proved to be expensive, arbitrary and unfair — and does little to discourage heinous crimes. It's clear that even in Texas, once the nation's death penalty leader, county prosecutors are seeking it less.

Fellow advocates against capital punishment call that progress. It's promising that district attorneys are showing that they can live without the death penalty. There were seven executions in Texas last year, four so far this year. And national momentum is already swinging against support.





It may have been too much to hope for that Texas lawmakers would finally abolish the death penalty this legislative session. They once again left repeal legislation stuck in committee.

But there were hopeful signs that Austin is moving in the right direction.

A bill to repeal the death penalty at least received public hearings this session. And three bills that would have made more crimes eligible for the death penalty were never heard in committee.

Legislators also sent a bipartisan bill to Gov. Greg Abbott aimed at preventing wrongful convictions, one of the main reasons for waning confidence in the system.

Police would be required to record interrogations, and prosecutors would have to provide jurors more information about testimony from so-called prison snitches. Stricter protocols also would be in place for eyewitness identification.

...

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/e...-death-penalty

[TheTexan]

Why does the jury even still have the option of choosing death penalty?

It should be mandatory.

I will be writing my congressman. Time to make Texas great again.

[William Tell]

The only problem with the death penalty is the same as with any other, when it's applied to an innocent person. Yes it's wrong to kill innocent people, but letting them rot away the rest of their life is the same punishment really.

[dannno]

Yes it's wrong to kill innocent people, but letting them rot away the rest of their life is the same punishment really.

Ya but it allows new evidence to come up or old evidence to be analyzed using new techniques.

[Suzanimal]

The only problem with the death penalty is the same as with any other, when it's applied to an innocent person. Yes it's wrong to kill innocent people, but letting them rot away the rest of their life is the same punishment really.

If I were wrongly convicted, I would much rather get life in prison than the death penalty.

[Lamp]

life in prison

That sounds like a pretty $#@!ty way to live.

[Suzanimal]

That sounds like a pretty $#@!ty way to live.

I'm sure it is but is being executed better? Wouldn't you want the chance to try and clear your name?

[Lamp]

I'm sure it is but is being executed better? Wouldn't you want the chance to try and clear your name?

I thought this was in the context of "if I can't clear my name and it's impossible to try".

[Suzanimal]

I thought this was in the context of "if I can't clear my name and it's impossible to try".

Let's say it is, would you rather be executed? I'd still chose life in prison. I would want to see my kids and (one day) grand kids. I would want them to know me. I would want them to know I was innocent.

[TheTexan]

Let's say it is, would you rather be executed? I'd still chose life in prison. I would want to see my kids and (one day) grand kids. I would want them to know me. I would want them to know I was innocent.

You could also find yourself a prison bitch

and make a prison family

[Origanalist]

Let's say it is, would you rather be executed? I'd still chose life in prison. I would want to see my kids and (one day) grand kids. I would want them to know me. I would want them to know I was innocent.

I dunno, life in prison sounds pretty $#@!ty to me too. Hopefully I'll never have to make the choice.

[Suzanimal]

You could also find yourself a prison bitch

and make a prison family

That goes without saying...

[Suzanimal]

I dunno, life in prison sounds pretty $#@!ty to me too. Hopefully I'll never have to make the choice.

The alternative sounds worse.

[Lamp]

Let's say it is, would you rather be executed? I'd still chose life in prison. I would want to see my kids and (one day) grand kids. I would want them to know me. I would want them to know I was innocent.

Well I'd obviously have to choose the latter. Clearly I have better things to do than finding out what the afterlife looks like.

[Origanalist]

Well I'd obviously have to choose the latter. Clearly I have better things to do than finding out what the afterlife looks like.

You're young, I'm not.

[Occam's Banana]

If I were wrongly convicted, I would much rather get life in prison than the death penalty.

That sounds like a pretty $#@!ty way to live.

I'm sure it is but is being executed better? Wouldn't you want the chance to try and clear your name?

I thought this was in the context of "if I can't clear my name and it's impossible to try".

Then just kill yourself. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

You've got no business getting someone else to do it for you on my dime.

(And at least it would be your decision, and not someone else deciding for you which alternative you ought to prefer ...)

[Lamp]