"It is one thing for a state to say that it is dedicated to doing justice in capital cases. It is quite another for them to turn those commitments into action. All too frequently, in those cases, words don't govern actions. We say we are in favor of equal treatment but stand by while race shapes the fates of those accused of capital crimes. We say that we will not punish cruelly, but use methods of execution that impose unnecessary suffering on those we execute."
"Earlier this month, Charles Flores filed a petition in the United States Supreme Court offering it the chance to change that by saying that Texas has to fulfill promises it has made to death row inmates. In his case, he wants to take advantage of a law that allows death row inmates to prove they were falsely convicted and are actually innocent. The court should hear his case and require the Lone Star State to follow its own laws."
States often proclaim commitments to justice in capital cases but frequently fail to translate those commitments into action, allowing race and cruel methods to influence outcomes. Charles Flores filed a petition in the United States Supreme Court arguing that Texas must honor its laws that allow death-row inmates to prove actual innocence. Flores was convicted in the 1998 killing of Betty Black but has maintained his innocence. His co-defendant, Richard Childs, pleaded guilty, served time, and was paroled in 2016. Key prosecution testimony came from neighbor Jill Barganier, whose eyewitness identification at trial was decisive despite known unreliability and alleged tainting.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]