February 18, 2005
Life without parole

Jeralyn notes that State Sen. Eddie Lucio has once again submitted his bill to allow for a sentence of life without parole in capital cases (it's SB60). Apparently, Governor Perry now supports this, so the third time may be the charm for Lucio's bill. The Brownsville Herald also offers its support.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 18, 2005 to Crime and Punishment | TrackBack
Comments

I'm often conflicted about LWOP. While living in Oklahoma, I voted against a LWOP initiative, because there was nothing in it restricting LWOP to murder, and I was concerned that LWOP would become a sentence for numerous crimes that, while serious, did not deserve the, er, penultimate punishment. Sure enough, the OK Lege has moved in that direction since the initiative passed.

Luckily, it looks like this bill would add the LWP option to capital murder cases only.

Posted by: Mathwiz on February 18, 2005 5:18 PM