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STORY: State lawmakers held hearings on death penalty legislation and private prisons this week.
Tuesday, a death penalty abolition bill - House Bill 343 - received support from murder victims families and former Texas death row prisoner, Chris Nochella who was released after his innocence was proven with DNA evidence. Communications coordinator for the Texas Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Carl Villareal says two recent events may prevent the death penalty abolition bill and several moratorium bills from dying in committee, to be held over till the next legislative session: "I think a lot of people reflect the idea that it doesn't really have a chance of succeeding. Although, all of that could change depending on what happens between now and the end of the session, what with the crime lab scandal in Houston and the focus on some of the key cases, like the Noah Banks case that was up at the Supreme Court a couple of weeks ago." Concern that Texas may be executing innocent people has made its way onto the editorial pages of several large newspapers in the state, including calls for an examination of the death penalty system in the Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express News and several smaller papers like the Victoria Advocate, perhaps creating the raw material for a legislatively focused movement for a moratorium this session. Also this week, Representative Ray Allen, indicated his plans to consolidate several bills into one private prison package that would expand the number of private prison and jail beds in the state. Well-funded private prison lobbyists are reportedly all over the capitol, appealing to legislators facing a huge budget crisis who fear cutting prison spending may allow them to be labeled soft crime. Private prisons have smaller upfront costs, but, Villareal says they could ultimately cost the state more money in the long run: "This idea is out there a little bit that you shouldn't be making any cuts because it's going to be bad for public safety. Which is ridiculous, because we have so many non-violent offenders locked up in prison right now. And those are the prisoners that private prisons will want to take. They rarely want to take the very difficult inmates, or those with health problems, or mental health problems." Villareal says, until now the public has been led to believe budget cuts could lead to shorter sentences for nonviolent and small time drug offenders in order to free up prison beds, but in fact just the opposite is proving to be true. Some of the proposed legislation may lead to the privatization of all State Jail beds, and the creation of over 20,000 new private prison beds. Renee Feltz, KPFT News, Houston.
E-mail Renee Feltz at chickpea_@ziplip.com .
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