Death penalty moratorium? This idea's close


Several legislators want to give the governor of Texas the power to put a
moratorium on the state's death penalty, because they think it is
unequally and perhaps erroneously applied.

Gov. Rick Perry doesn't want that power - even though he gave fast track
emergency status for a DNA testing bill that could help some condemned
inmates, and he supports higher standards for lawyers appointed to defend
indigents.

"Governor Perry believes that, by and large, Texas' capital sentencing
system works and that there is no reason to delay justice in those cases
in which the convicted have had due process," said press aide Kathy Walt.
"Governor Perry supports the current system of entrusting the Texas Board
of Pardons and Paroles to review and make recommendations on individual
death penalty cases."

The Texas execution machine was put in the spotlight last year while
former Gov. George W. Bush was running for president, and Illinois Gov.
George Ryan, a Republican, suspended death penalties in his state because
13 people on death row were found to be innocent.

But Bush successfully ducked the issue, partly because Democratic
opponent Al Gore also supported the death penalty. Also, Bush pointed out
that under Texas' Constitution -- amended in the 1930s after Govs. Ma and
Pa Ferguson were suspected of selling pardons - the governor doesn't have
unilateral power. All the governor can do without the written
recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is give a
death-row inmate one 30-day reprieve.

In the end, Perry could wind up with the moratorium power even though he
doesn't want it. If legislators can muster the 2/3 vote in both the House
and the Senate to get a constitutional amendment proposal on the ballot,
that is not subject to a gubernatorial veto. If voters approve it, Perry
might wind up with a power he may never exercise.

Another proposal being raised by state Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston,
would put a moratorium on the death penalty until a special commission
can meet to study and revamp the death penalty process. Whether that can
be done without a constitutional amendment remains to be seen.

Steve Hall, who heads a group called StandDown Texas, which seeks a
moratorium, says the death penalty rarely falls on those who can afford
to adequately defend themselves. Until legislators vastly improve Texas'
shoddy system of representing indigents, the death penalty should be put
on hold, Hall says.

"When you have a broken system, the 1st step is to temporarily stop the
system so you can evaluate what needs to be done," Hall says.

He previously headed the Texas Resource Center, one of 20 legal-service
programs across the country that recruited lawyers to represent death row
inmates in their federal appeals. Former Bexar County District Attorney
Sam Millsap Jr., an outspoken supporter of the death penalty who
prosecuted several death penalty cases, says he is no longer convinced
our legal system guarantees the protection of the innocent in capital
murder cases. He wants a moratorium.

"The system in Texas is broken," he said. "Until it is fixed and we are
satisfied that only the guilty can be put to death, there should be no
more executions in Texas."

(source:  Editorial, Austin American-Statesman)