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| Stays linked to new appeal strategies |
| By DallasNews.com |
| Published: 07/26/2004 |
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Nine Texas killers' executions have been postponed this year, raising hopes among capital punishment opponents that new and successful avenues for appeal may be gaining momentum. Although the Texas Attorney General's Office does not keep annual statistics about stays of execution, it confirmed that all of the cases in question involved issues of mental retardation or the age of the defendant at the time of the crime. Both issues have gained traction at the highest judicial levels. Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, an organization of lawyers who pursue civil rights cases, said he believes the recent spate of stays does not mean the end of the death penalty in Texas, but perhaps a mellowing in its application. The Supreme Court found in 2002 that executing the mentally retarded amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, an Eighth Amendment violation. Attention to the issue was heightened in June, when the Supreme Court reversed a decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, saying a Texas death row inmate's claims of mental retardation were not considered. In an opinion written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, she accused the 5th Circuit of "paying lip service to the principles" of the appellate process and not following Supreme Court guidelines. Meanwhile, the high court is expected to hear arguments this fall in a Missouri case that could determine whether executing people who were under the age of 18 at the time of the crime is constitutional. On Monday, Canada, Mexico and other U.S. allies asked the Supreme Court to end such executions, arguing that they violate "widely accepted human rights norms and the minimum standards of human rights set forth by the United Nations." The Supreme Court set 16 as the minimum age for imposing the death penalty in 1989, but the Missouri case could reflect what some consider a shifting philosophy, illustrated by 31 states that have abolished executions for juvenile killers. Texas is not one of them. However, many states appear to be holding off on such executions until hearing the high court's opinion. |
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