Throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s, if the State asked for the death penalty in Tarrant County, the jury would hand it to them on a silver platter.
No more.
Case in point: Three guys were allegedly involved in the shooting a clerk. One struck a deal for life in prison if he would testify that one of the other three was the shooter. That trial was this week. Verdict: Guilty. Punishment: In less than an hour, the jury rejected the death penalty and sentenced the man to life in prison (their only other option.)
You wouldn't have seen that 15 years ago.
And the other man who didn't plea? He was found "not guilty" of capital murder a couple of months ago. That's almost unheard of. (I'm looking for a link to back this up. If I'm wrong, I've officially lost my mind. Edit: Yep, I got it right. )
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8.18.2008
These Times They Are A Changing
Throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s, if the State asked for the death penalty in Tarrant County, the jury would hand it to them on a silver platter.
No more.
Case in point: Three guys were allegedly involved in the shooting a clerk. One struck a deal for life in prison if he would testify that one of the other three was the shooter. That trial was this week. Verdict: Guilty. Punishment: In less than an hour, the jury rejected the death penalty and sentenced the man to life in prison (their only other option.)
You wouldn't have seen that 15 years ago.
And the other man who didn't plea? He was found "not guilty" of capital murder a couple of months ago. That's almost unheard of. (I'm looking for a link to back this up. If I'm wrong, I've officially lost my mind. Edit: Yep, I got it right. )
