Texas has executed 574 people since 1976; the Board of Pardons and Paroles has recommended clemency for five.
A request for clemency is often the last legal move a death row inmate makes before the state of Texas carries out the execution. It amounts to throwing oneself on the mercy of the Texas death penalty apparatus, particularly the seven members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, who are each paid $125,000 a year, partly to make decisions on clemency petitions. They rarely side with the petitioners. Since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S.
At Gonzales' 2006 trial, his court-appointed attorneys didn't challenge the prosecutors' description of him as someone who"got privileges and opportunities that a lot of other kids don't have," rather than as a child who suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
The clemency petition's authors also call attention to the fact that Gonzales was only two months past his 18th birthday when he murdered Townsend, an age at which scientists now know the brain is still developing, making people less accountable for their actions. In 2020 and 2021, Texas executed two other men who had committed their crimes at a very early age – Billy Wardlow and Quintin Jones. Gonzales, like Wardlow and Jones, has apparently become a different person on death row.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Texas-based abortion provider to move Texas clinics to New MexicoThe Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24. Because that decision put the issue back in the hands of the states, there were questions surrounding the legitimacy of a 1925 law that criminalized abortion.
Read more »
Board Calls Emergency Meeting After Vandals Hit Historic North Texas CemeteryHeadstones dating back to the 1800s were destroyed at a historic cemetery in Crowley. The organization that oversees its upkeep is asking for help to find the people responsible.
Read more »
Healthiest States Index: Where does Texas rank?Texas is the 31 healthiest state in the US, according to a new study that ranks all U.S. states and the District of Columbia against 13 contributing factors.
Read more »
Justice Department is investigating Texas’ Operation Lone Star for alleged civil rights violationsThe Department of Justice is investigating alleged civil rights violations under Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar border initiative announced last year by Gov. Greg Abbott, according to state records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
Read more »
5 rigs caught illegally ferrying immigrants in Texas this yearBefore Texas human-smuggling disaster, 5 rigs caught illegally ferrying immigrants this year
Read more »