Legislation that would allow those con­vict­ed of cap­i­tal mur­der to be sen­tenced to life in prison with­out parole recent­ly failed to win a key pro­ce­dur­al vote in the Texas Senate, large­ly because of oppo­si­tion from pros­e­cu­tors and pro-death penal­ty orga­ni­za­tions who said it would result in few­er death sen­tences. Although sup­port­ed by a strong major­i­ty of the sen­a­tors and the peo­ple of Texas, the bill need­ed a 2/​3 major­i­ty in order to be debat­ed. The Senate’s fail­ure to pass the bill means that Texas and New Mexico remain the only two death penal­ty states in the nation to not offer life with­out parole as an alter­na­tive sen­tenc­ing option. Sen. Eddie Lucio, lead spon­sor of the life with­out parole mea­sure, not­ed that 78% of Texans sup­port his pro­pos­al and com­ment­ed, ​“The sen­tence of life with­out parole is not a nov­el, untest­ed idea. It’s the norm in our crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem.”

Supporters say Lucio’s bill would be a tougher sen­tence for con­vict­ed mur­der­ers who are exclud­ed from the death penal­ty, and it would offer anoth­er option to rur­al dis­trict attor­neys who can’t afford to hold a death penal­ty tri­al. Those opposed to the pro­pos­al, such as the Texas-based ​“Justice for All” group and Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, say jurors would have been less like­ly to hand down a death sen­tence if they had the option of life in prison with­out parole. Lucio said he has not giv­en up on the mea­sure, but it is unlike­ly to pass this year. (Dallas Morning News and San Antonio Express-News, April 6, 2005). See Life Without Parole.

Citation Guide