Texas Clemency Critique

I found this blog post at Grits for Breakfast. The author Scott Henson brings up the Hank Skinner case. This man is under suspicion of murdering his girlfriend and two sons. He has been put on death row for years and has "retained his innocence". What Texas officials won't do is shed light on the case by letting him take a DNA test. Many think he is innocent. The case leads to the subject of Texas clemency. Henson says that "Skinner's case is casting light on some particularly dark corners of the justice system, most recently the clemency process, which has withered and atrophied from disuse."

He then gives us an article by Brandi Grissom which "gives voice to critiques of enigmatic and abstruse clemency practices at the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole." It explains the process of clemency or the decision of if someone faces death or is able to stay alive and basically how disfunctional it is. There are "seven board members [who recommend to the governor wether an] execution should be delayed, called off or carried out. Yet it's one of the most transparent agencies in state government" (Grissom). The members fax in their votes. This article later explains that if the vote isn't unanimous, it is void and clemency is no longer a factor. It also says that "Criminal justice advocates and some lawmakers have called for reform of the Texas clemency process for years, calling the system opaque and arbitrary"(Grissom). People want change towards clemency before an innocent life is wrongfully taken away.

I would say the intended audience would be the people wrongfully accused of major crimes and for those on deathrow who don't deserve to be there. This could also be for those who want to change Texas clemency. I think the author is credible because he has done political research and "worked professionally in politics [his] whole adult life" (Henson). He was a journalist and is an author of a book. He is a political volunteer and "In 1988, [was] a cofounder of a local political action committee, the Sunshine Project for Police Accountability" (Henson). His background seems to show that he has a lot of political experience and has knowledge of the law. Their argument is that clemency should be taken more seriously since his evidence of the article by Brandi Grissom explains the clemency process and why it isn't effective. He thinks we should take the decision that is literally life and death much more seriously and the clemency process needs reform. I agree with the author because the board of clemency seem to act as if a life is expendable in a way. I agree that much more thought should be put into the decision. The process should be changed so the board members can meet and honestly give a vote and why they chose it. It just seems ridiculous to me that someone isn't given a second chance when they could have been innocent all along but left to suffer on deathrow for possibly years.