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| Texas House approves life-without-parole bill |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/30/2005 |
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Lawmakers in Austin, Texas, the No. 1 death-penalty state, tentatively voted last Tuesday to give juries the option of sentencing murderers to life in prison without parole. Currently, Texas juries can sentence people convicted of capital murder to either death or life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years. Of the 38 states with the death penalty, Texas and New Mexico are the only ones without a life-without-parole option. "The worst punishment a person can ever get is life in prison," said state Rep. Paul Moreno, a Democrat. "It's time that Texas does what the rest of the states are doing." Texas leads the nation in executions, having put to death 344 inmates since the state resumed the practice in 1982. Texas executed 23 people last year and has put eight inmates to death this year. Groups opposed to the death penalty hope it will cut down on the number of executions in Texas, but Republican Gov. Rick Perry has not said whether he will sign the measure if it passes in both the House and Senate. |
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