Posted by zazenduck on May 17, 2006, at 12:50:43
In reply to Re: The death penalty » zazenduck, posted by AuntieMel on May 17, 2006, at 12:09:42
> Actually the governor doesn't even have the power to commute a death penalty.
Thanks for that information. He would be able to appoint members of the pardon board though and wield influence that way.
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> The most he can do is a 30 day stay, and then only if the board of pardons & paroles advises itI think you may be mistaken. What is your source? Here's mine.
At the same time that the defense is exhausting its legal appeals, it may file a petition with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The parole board consists of 18 members, appointed by the governor. (Six new members are appointed every two years.) It has the power to grant everything from a 120-day reprieve, to a commuted sentence, to a full, unconditional pardon. The board does not meet as a body; rather, each member considers the case and faxes his or her vote to the governor. The governor may also request that the board members issue a certain ruling, but they do not have to comply. The parole board's vote is almost always taken the day of the execution. Decisions are rendered by majority vote.
Without a court ruling or parole board recommendation, there is only one person that can stop the execution, and that is the governor, who has the unilateral authority to grant a 30-day stay. This power may be used only once per prisoner. Even if the execution ends up being delayed for years, when it is ultimately reset, the governor (or his/her successor) may not issue another stay for that prisoner. Because of this, the governor always waits until every other last resort has failed, which means that if a stay is issued, it will be within hours or even minutes of the execution time.
http://www.txexecutions.org/primer.asp
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> But I do like the band. It's all satire -Thanks for clueing us in ;)
I think he's an amusing satirist and a great friend of lost dogs. But I still don't understand why he doesn't just post his position on the death penalty on his campaign site. I think it would be the unw*ssy thing to do and the unw*ssification of ***** IS one of his campaign planks. He was under oath when he swore he opposed it in all cases in February. I think it would be nice if he updated his website.
poster:zazenduck
thread:642679
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20060417/msgs/645164.html