Texas and the Death Penalty

Of the 1,023 executions that have occurred in the U.S. since Capital Punishment resumed in 1976, 364, 35% of the total, have been in the state of Texas. Texas has executed more than twice as many people as the next two states, Virginia with 95 and Oklahoma with 80, combined!

To further put things in perspective, Texas has executed FIFTEEN TIMES as many people as California (13), Illinois (12) and New York (0) combined! That being the case, one would hope that Texas could at least say it has the most reliable and fail safe justice system in the country.

Yet stories continue to come out of Texas indicating that not only is the justice system there bordering upon totally incompetent, but it’s corrupt as well. The latest nightmares come from two stories reported by the Death Penalty Information Center. The first relates to the infamous Houston Crime Lab in the capital murder case of Derrick Lee Jackson as highlighted in a report issued by independent investigator Michael Bromwich.

“The report states that initial DNA testing in Jackson's case was performed by DNA lab chief James Bolding, who found the evidence was ‘inconclusive.’ When Jackson became a suspect, Bolding's interpretation of the evidence changed. ‘Without performing any additional testing, Mr. Bolding altered his worksheets . . . and issued a new report stating that (blood evidence) consistent with Mr. Jackson's (blood) type was found in two blood stain samples recovered from the crime scene.’”

Good God is that possible? You change your mind based upon what? Nothing other than the police think he might have done it? But wait, the next one is worse. Here at least it’s just Bromwich’s interpretation. He could be wrong, but in the next one we have a Federal Court decision reported by the DPIC!

“U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt overturned the capital conviction of Carl Wayne Buntion, noting that the Texas trial judge who sentenced him to death had a ‘deep-seated and vocal bias’ against Buntion.”

The judge for crying out loud! The neutral party and guardian of the law!

“Hoyt stated that state District Judge Bill Harmon deprived Buntion of his constitutional right to a fair trial by bullying his attorneys, meeting privately with prosecutors and deferring to their wishes, and making remarks in court such as he was ‘doing God's work’ by seeing that Buntion was executed.”

Another religious fruitcake that can’t tell the difference between his own prejudices and God’s will. I can see God now, leaning back with a cold compress on his head and moaning, “where did I go wrong?”

I read somewhere that one time Hillel and Shammai argued long into the night about the law, morality and God. As dawn appeared the two sages ended their discussions and wearily headed for their waiting bed chambers. One of Hillel’s students asked the great sage whether the two elders had come to any conclusion. Hillel shook his head sadly and replied “Yes, we have concluded that it would have been better if God had never created man.”

“Hoyt also found that Harmon had placed a Judge Roy Bean postcard on his bench during jury selection for the trial, an act that gave the impression that he was a ‘hangin' judge.’”

This would be comical if it wasn't so pathetic.

I’m flabbergasted. Every time I think Texas has done something that can’t be topped in terms of incompetence or corruption, it surprises me again! What I don’t understand is how a state with such nice people can have such a screwed up justice system?