In Eschaton’s comments Jeff talks about Texas and the death penalty:
I live in Austin, and got my start in grassroots political work fighting the death penalty in Texas.
I can tell you in addition to Banks, we have the ongoing case of Rodney Reed, another man almost cetainly innocent and who there is still time to save (not likely tho, if Texas history is an indicator).
You’re pro-death penalty friends will tell you there has never been an innocent man executed. Not true. The fact is, the lawyers working to save people like Banks and Reed usually work pro bono or are supported on meager salaries (often by grants from European organizations). They are busy saving lives case by case, and when someone dies, the case usually closes. Few attorneys will continue to work on a case for no money and after the defendent is dead. Which is why the innocents on death row in Illnois were exposed by college students doing a project, and not by the state’s courts or by activist attorneys. We do kill innocent people, potentially in every state.
But according to legal groups in this state, there have been 6 executions of innocent men since 1982. I’m not sure that list counts Gary Graham, who was executed amid much publicity during the 2000 presidential campaign. Graham was definitely a career criminal and a bad dude, but there is little doubt he did not commit the crime he was executed for.