Texas death penalty put on trialAFPPublished:Sep 19, 2008
A Texas prosecutor plans to review some 40 pending death penalty cases, after several recent instances in which capital convictions were overturned, by DNA testing.
Dallas prosecutor Craig Watkins said his goal in reviewing the cases is "to make sure that an innocent person won’t be executed" in Texas, which carries out the most executions in the United States a year.
The state’s most recent execution occurred on Wednesday, when convicted murderer William Murray was put to death for the murder and rape of a 93-year-old woman.
The Stand-down Texas Project, a criminal justice watchdog group, reports the Lone Star State, carries out more than 36 percent of all the executions in the country.
This year so far, Texas accounts for more than 40 percent of the executions carried out across the United States.
The Times - Texas death penalty put on trial