60 Percent of Executions Happen in Texas

[marmar]

from NY Times, via AOL:



60 Percent of Executions Happen in Texas
By ADAM LIPTAK,The New York Times
Posted: 2007-12-26 18:25:35


(Dec. 26) -- This year’s death penalty bombshells — a de facto national moratorium, a state abolition and the smallest number of executions in more than a decade — have masked what may be the most significant and lasting development. For the first time in the modern history of the death penalty, more than 60 percent of all American executions took place in Texas.

Over the past three decades, the proportion of executions nationwide performed in Texas has held relatively steady, averaging 37 percent. Only once before, in 1986, has the state accounted for even a slight majority of the executions, and that was in a year with 18 executions nationwide.

But enthusiasm for executions outside of Texas has dropped sharply. Of the 42 executions in the last year, 26 were in Texas. The remaining 16 were spread across nine other states, none of which executed more than three people. Many legal experts say the trend will probably continue.

Indeed, said David R. Dow, a law professor at the University of Houston who has represented death-row inmates, the day is not far off when essentially all executions in the United States will take place in Texas.

“The reason that Texas will end up monopolizing executions,” he said, “is because every other state will eliminate it de jure, as New Jersey did, or de facto, as other states have.” .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.aol.com/story/_a/60-percent-of-executions-happen-in-texas/20071226072809990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. This just makes things easier.

When China call in our debt, give them Texas.

[rfranklin]

2. Or we can give them back to Mexico...

It would only be fair.

[Rex]

3. Everything is bigger in Texas.

Even when it comes to capital punishment. Our state takes pride in killing so many convicted felons! Having lived here most of my life, I can see why. How many of them ARE Texans?

[flashl]

4. no system is full proof

especially one where your defense attorney sleeps through your trial.

[Rex]

5. Hell you are lucky to get one down here!

Sometimes Texans just skip the whole court process and dole out 'Justice, Texas style' and that is not a complement.

[rasputin1952]

6. Reading that piece in it's entirety, I have to wonder why TX

has decided that the DP is so important.

Obviously, the old claim that it deters crime is not true, and apparently, they really push these cases through, as if on a mission. The one case cited had the judge not accepting appeal papers, because she had closed the courtroom minutes earlier. Maybe I'm a little old fashioned, but if there is even a remote possibility of an error in the case, I'd certainly want to look into it, especially if I only have a few hours before said execution. It just gave me the impression that this is not Justice, but rather merely an attempt to "do away with the offender" as quickly as possible.

The piece also mentions what appear to be blatant slaps at the USSC, showing rulings disdain and just ignoring them.

I know that TX has some fine people within it's borders, but apparently there are some pretty ugly people there as well. I know one thing, I will try to avoid TX at all costs from this point forward. I was stationed at Ft Sam Houston, I liked the San Antonio area, (the rest didn't excite me all that much, whole lot of scrub land from what I could see), but I'll just take a longer route if I have to head in that direction again.

I never planned on visiting Crawford anyway...the stink must be awful from the bush "ranch".

[avenger64]

7. Probably 60 percent of the nation's murders take place there ...

... if the attitude of their former governor is any indication of the local character.