By Diane Jennings
The Dallas Morning News
TEXAS — While some states have declared blanket moratoriums on lethal injections as they deal with legal challenges to the process, Texas officials have shown no interest in such a move, despite a U.S. Supreme Court announcement last month that it would examine the practice.
Case in point: A few days after the Supreme Court announcement, a Tyler judge set a November execution date for an inmate - even though the high court’s decision is not expected until next year.
The decision is just one more example of how Texas — along with a handful of other states — plans to continue deciding such cases on an individual basis.
“It’s political arrogance,” said Steve Hall, project director of StandDown Texas, an organization pushing for a death penalty moratorium.
“It is a political culture that ‘they can’t tell me what to do.’”
Texas elected officials, hesitant to appear soft on crime, take refuge in the fact that only the Legislature - which is adjourned until 2009 - can implement a moratorium.
Gov. Rick Perry, even if he wanted to, couldn’t follow the lead of Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, who issued a 45-day halt of executions to implement a new lethal injection protocol after the Supreme Court’s action.
“The governor’s authority is limited,” said spokeswoman Krista Moody. “There would have to be legislation passed.”
Except for a one-time, 30-day reprieve, Mr. Perry can only issue a stay of execution with the written recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, Ms. Moody said.
Board of Pardons and Paroles chairwoman Rissie Owens said the board cannot issue a blanket halt on executions. Not every condemned inmate seeks clemency, she said, and “all petitions before the board are not based on the chemical cocktail” used in Texas executions.
The “my hands are tied” reasoning used by Mr. Perry doesn’t hold much weight with Mr. Hall.
“While the governor relies on his lack of authority, the fact is, as the elected leader, the executive leader of Texas, he’s got the power of persuasion,” he said. “That’s a power that he’s utilized regularly on a wide range of issues.”
Ms. Moody acknowledged that Mr. Perry could make a political statement by calling for a suspension of executions until the Supreme Court issues a ruling but doubts that he would because “he supports the death penalty.”
Oklahoma request
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson also supports capital punishment. Nonetheless, he recently asked that state’s highest court to delay setting execution dates until the Supreme Court rules, citing judicial prudence and “the state’s best interest.”
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott doesn’t plan to make a similar request, according to spokesman Jerry Strickland. “We are going to continue to address these issues through the appellate process,” he said.
In several other states, courts began halting lethal injection executions last year as the question of whether the deadly drug mixture is cruel and unusual punishment gained steam.
But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals still reviews each case individually, and will continue “to address them on a case-by-case basis as they arise,” said presiding judge Sharon Keller.
Mr. Hall says since the outcome of such cases is virtually certain to result in a stay, that approach is “a waste of time, energy, resources and money.”
Judge Keller, however, disagrees and notes that “the attorney general hasn’t requested we do anything else.”
Besides, she said, “there are not a lot that are set for execution the next couple of months.”
But there may be more. Just as some Texas judges continued to set execution dates several years ago after the Supreme Court took up the issue of executing juveniles, at least one Texas judge has set an execution date after the high court agreed to decide the constitutionality of lethal injection.
On Oct. 3, Judge Cynthia Kent of Tyler scheduled Allen Bridgers to die Nov. 6 for the shooting death of a woman 10 years ago.
“To go ahead and set an execution date ... is simply to insult the power and integrity, not just of the Supreme Court, but of our judicial system,” Mr. Hall said.
Andrea Keilen, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, which is handling Mr. Bridgers’ case, said Judge Kent’s action was “puzzling and nonsensical. But it certainly isn’t the first time that Texas has appeared to drag its heels when asked to do something by the Supreme Court.”
Judge Kent did not return a call for comment, but Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham disagreed with Ms. Keilen. After Mr. Bridgers’ latest appeal was denied, Judge Kent was required to set an execution date, he said.
“This is the next step in the case,” Mr. Bingham said.
Mr. Bridgers did not ask for a specific date but suggested it be set “as early as possible,” and Judge Kent obliged. The judge could have set a date several months later, Mr. Bingham acknowledged, giving the Supreme Court time to hand down a decision. Some legal experts say that decision could come early next year.
But now defense attorneys and prosecutors must prepare filings, and judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals will be forced to address Mr. Bridger’s case.
“That’s a political statement by the judge,” said Dr. Corey Ditslear, assistant professor of political science at the University of North Texas.
“That’s a clear attempt to flout the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal government, to say ‘Until you tell us to stop, we’re going to keep killing ‘em,’” added Dr. Ditslear, who also holds a law degree and specializes in judicial politics.
‘Justice for victim’
But Mr. Bingham is offended at the notion that setting an execution date while a Supreme Court decision is pending is “political posturing.”
“This is about justice for the victims and about following the law,” the Smith County District Attorney said.
At least one Texas district attorney has said he would defer to the Supreme Court until a ruling is made. A spokesman for Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said he would ask to withdraw a February execution date previously set for a Dallas County inmate if the Supreme Court has not ruled by then.
Meanwhile, lawmakers who could impose a moratorium may be breathing a sigh of relief that the Legislature is not in session.
“They can’t act on this issue now that the session is over,” Dr. Ditslear said. “If this had happened six months ago, near the end of the legislative session, it would have been easy to expect the Legislature to do something. Whether they would or not is another question.”
In a strong death penalty state like Texas, calling for a moratorium, “even with the Supreme Court’s pending action, could be seen as a political death knell,” he said.
Copyright 2007 The Dallas Morning News