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The Eye and Tooth Project: Confronting Capital Punishment in Texas

By "Persian Cowboy"

By John SullivanCall it the ultimate deterrent; call it retribution, or closure, or simply an ?eye for an eye,? Americans have historically supported capital punishment with strong resolve and a clear national conscience. Recently, however, this mandate has weakened as pressures for reappraisal and change kick against the goad of tradition. A national wave of death row exonerations, sparked by nonprofit watchdogs such as The Innocence Project, and former governor George Ryan?s mass commutation of all pending death sentences in Illinois, caused the nation to pause and wonder: How many innocents are housed on death row, how many have already been executed, how many more will die by mistake? Or worse yet, through malfeasance? Horror stories ? of blatant racism in jury selection, shoddy, underfunded legal counsel and mentally ill inmates medicated merely to better comprehend their fate and legally qualify for execution ? have eroded public confidence in this allegedly objective system that collects, organizes and weighs evidence, convicts perpetrators and puts them to death, all so very righteously...continue to full post

Full post as published by Texas Death Penalty Blog on September 01, 2009 (boomark / email).