Reply #15: I would like to see other Democrats calling for an investigation [View All]

Houston Chronicle's 2001 Special Report
A deadly distinction

Since the U.S. Supreme Court declared executions legal again more than two decades ago, Texas has become the national leader in carrying them out. So far, the state has put 242 inmates to death. That is more than a third of the country's 693 executions.

Of the inmates from Texas, 61 were convicted in Houston courtrooms. If this were a state, it would rank third nationally, behind Texas and Virginia. But Harris County has more people awaiting execution, compared with only 30 in Virginia.

Meanwhile, a new Houston Chronicle opinion poll shows that Harris County residents are less supportive of the death penalty than their fellow Texans. In fact, the level of support here is much closer to that of the rest of the nation.

2/5/2001
Between life and death
Borderline capital cases raise questions of justice

"It benefits the government by enabling those who participate to claim the moral high ground in being tough on crime," Schaffer said. "If the death penalty is eliminated or cut back, what are they going to pad their résumés with? If you didn't have the death penalty, what is Chuck Rosenthal going to say in his ads? "I put a lot of people in prison?' That doesn't have the same ring to it."