The State of Capital Punishment
Guests:
Aaron Streett, Baker Botts LLP
Robert Talton, Lawyer, Woodfill & Pressler, LLP
Dr. David Dow, Distinguished Professor, University of Houston Law Center
Texas ranks first in the number of people executed by the state - 4 times as many as Virginia, the state with the second largest number of executions. Recently, a Houston judge questioned the constitutionality of the death penalty, re-opening a debate on this subject. Has the death penalty been an effective deterrent and a just punishment for unspeakable crimes? Or, with DNA tests exonerating inmates across the country, has capital punishment proven to be a grave mistake?
Original broadcast, January 1, 2011.
Related Links:
Texas Department of Criminal Justice: Death Row Information
Capital Punishment in Texas, Wikipedia
Texas Execution Information Center
Death Penalty Information Center
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
