Perry's Death Penalty Stance

Texas is tough on crime, but the number of death penalties since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1974 is shocking. What is even more shocking is that Governor Rick Perry has overseen almost half of them during his time in office. Perry’s constant support of the death penalty will either make or break his chances in the upcoming 2012 presidential election. Perry’s approval of the death penalty primarily only hands him votes of the conservative states. When it comes to democrats, Perry will appear as George W. Bush just turned up a couple of notches in regards to his eager support of the death penalty.  The truth will lie in the swing states, and the death penalty could potentially be a hard topic to sell.

Even though I do consider myself a conservative, I am also very pro-life and do not think that the death penalty should even be considered under any circumstance. No one deserves death.  The statistics in this Texas Tribune article are extremely disturbing. On many accounts Perry has commuted a death sentence to a life in prison, even up until a few hours before an execution. An innocent man was almost executed twice. Many clemencies have been given.  All Rick Perry has to say on the matter is that this is just proof that the justice system is working and that they will continue to “find errors that were made and clear them up”.

The death penalty is not something that should be taken lightly. There is no reason for such extremities, especially when so many mistakes are made and so many sentences commuted. At this point, despite the severity of the issue, Perry’s stance on the death penalty never seems to be a hot topic of debate in primaries.