softheart
01-08-2003, 03:48 PM
January 07, 2003
Some proposed changes to law make sense
By Michael Clements, Texas City Sun
As the legislature prepares to convene, politicians are trotting out the
bills they hope to introduce.
Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville will introduce a bill to give Texas a
“life without parole” provision in capital cases. Current Texas law only
allows for the death penalty or life with the possibility of parole.
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston will introduce a bill to make mental
retardation a pretrial issue to be determined by a judge and jury and Rep.
Lon Burnham filed a bill that would prohibit the execution of a person who
was younger than 18 when his or her crime was committed.
The first two bills are sensible and deserve consideration. The third
should be modified if it is seriously considered at all.
Lucio has said that juries are sometimes stymied in determining punishment
recommendations in capital cases. They may believe the person convicted
deserves life in prison, but not the opportunity to walk the streets
again. By giving Texas a true life in prison law, the legislature would
enable those juries to mete out the justice they believe is appropriate.
Ellis’ bill is especially important since the U.S. Supreme Court has
banned executing the mentally retarded. Under his plan the court that
determined the defendant’s competency would not be the court to determine
his or her guilt or innocence. Still, competency is something that should
be determined before a trial begins.
Once a murder trial begins, many things such as evidence, the details of
the crimes and information on the victims would be made public. Such
information could taint the jury selected to determine if a person is
mentally retarded during the punishment phase of the trial.
It makes more sense to determine competency before the trial begins when
all the jury is trying to determine is the defendant’s mental capacity.
Burnham’s bill, from what has been reported, is simply too broad. The
decision on whether to execute someone should not be based solely on the
person’s age, although that should be a factor. The law should include the
consideration of other mitigating factors.
Source : The Texas City Sun
http://texascitysun.com
Some proposed changes to law make sense
By Michael Clements, Texas City Sun
As the legislature prepares to convene, politicians are trotting out the
bills they hope to introduce.
Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville will introduce a bill to give Texas a
“life without parole” provision in capital cases. Current Texas law only
allows for the death penalty or life with the possibility of parole.
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston will introduce a bill to make mental
retardation a pretrial issue to be determined by a judge and jury and Rep.
Lon Burnham filed a bill that would prohibit the execution of a person who
was younger than 18 when his or her crime was committed.
The first two bills are sensible and deserve consideration. The third
should be modified if it is seriously considered at all.
Lucio has said that juries are sometimes stymied in determining punishment
recommendations in capital cases. They may believe the person convicted
deserves life in prison, but not the opportunity to walk the streets
again. By giving Texas a true life in prison law, the legislature would
enable those juries to mete out the justice they believe is appropriate.
Ellis’ bill is especially important since the U.S. Supreme Court has
banned executing the mentally retarded. Under his plan the court that
determined the defendant’s competency would not be the court to determine
his or her guilt or innocence. Still, competency is something that should
be determined before a trial begins.
Once a murder trial begins, many things such as evidence, the details of
the crimes and information on the victims would be made public. Such
information could taint the jury selected to determine if a person is
mentally retarded during the punishment phase of the trial.
It makes more sense to determine competency before the trial begins when
all the jury is trying to determine is the defendant’s mental capacity.
Burnham’s bill, from what has been reported, is simply too broad. The
decision on whether to execute someone should not be based solely on the
person’s age, although that should be a factor. The law should include the
consideration of other mitigating factors.
Source : The Texas City Sun
http://texascitysun.com