softheart
05-16-2003, 12:52 AM
May 16
TEXAS:
The Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would require the Texas Board of
Pardons and Paroles to discuss death penalty cases in group conference
calls, a change from the much-criticized practice of faxing or calling in
individual decisions.
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, who added the provision as an amendment to
Senate Bill 1678, said it could help prevent innocent people from being
executed.
"If the board is going to make a decision whether someone lives or dies,
they should at least have to hold a meeting," Ellis said. Among other
parole requests, the 18-member board reviews death penalty cases and
clemency petitions. The amendment to require a group conference phone call
was attached to SB 1678 authored by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, which
would reorganize the parole board into a 7-member board.
Whitmire's staff has been working with the office of Gov. Rick Perry, who
supports the bill, and expects it to receive a smooth ride in the House,
said Blanca Laborde, who is a spokeswoman for Whitmire. Ellis initially
wanted to require the board to meet in person, but came up with the
conference call plan because of concerns about expenses, said Mike
Lavigne, a spokesman for Ellis.
"At this point, we'll take what we can get," Lavigne said. Gerald Garrett,
chairman of the parole board, said the board will comply with the
amendment if the law is passed. "If it is the collective wisdom of the
elected officials and signed by the governor that we do this in a public
venue, then we will do this in a public venue," Garrett said. Garrett said
the board is used to changes.
"We're always in transition," he said. Under current procedure, when the
board receives a petition, it is sent out to the 18 members, who then
deliberate and generally fax their decision into a central location,
Garrett said. The board's decision is then made public. The procedure was
unsuccessfully challenged in court several years ago by lawyers for death
row inmates. "We realize how serious this is. We approach this with what I
think is the proper degree of respect and decorum for the responsibility
that we have," Garrett said.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
TEXAS:
The Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would require the Texas Board of
Pardons and Paroles to discuss death penalty cases in group conference
calls, a change from the much-criticized practice of faxing or calling in
individual decisions.
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, who added the provision as an amendment to
Senate Bill 1678, said it could help prevent innocent people from being
executed.
"If the board is going to make a decision whether someone lives or dies,
they should at least have to hold a meeting," Ellis said. Among other
parole requests, the 18-member board reviews death penalty cases and
clemency petitions. The amendment to require a group conference phone call
was attached to SB 1678 authored by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, which
would reorganize the parole board into a 7-member board.
Whitmire's staff has been working with the office of Gov. Rick Perry, who
supports the bill, and expects it to receive a smooth ride in the House,
said Blanca Laborde, who is a spokeswoman for Whitmire. Ellis initially
wanted to require the board to meet in person, but came up with the
conference call plan because of concerns about expenses, said Mike
Lavigne, a spokesman for Ellis.
"At this point, we'll take what we can get," Lavigne said. Gerald Garrett,
chairman of the parole board, said the board will comply with the
amendment if the law is passed. "If it is the collective wisdom of the
elected officials and signed by the governor that we do this in a public
venue, then we will do this in a public venue," Garrett said. Garrett said
the board is used to changes.
"We're always in transition," he said. Under current procedure, when the
board receives a petition, it is sent out to the 18 members, who then
deliberate and generally fax their decision into a central location,
Garrett said. The board's decision is then made public. The procedure was
unsuccessfully challenged in court several years ago by lawyers for death
row inmates. "We realize how serious this is. We approach this with what I
think is the proper degree of respect and decorum for the responsibility
that we have," Garrett said.
(source: Houston Chronicle)