Texas Senate rejects life without parole bill

[Rose Siding]

AUSTIN — The Senate today rejected a bill that would have given juries the power to sentence capital murderers to life in prison without parole.

Texas juries have only two options after reaching a guilty verdict in capital murder cases: execution by lethal injection or life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

The bill by Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, had the support of the majority of the senators but failed to garner the two-thirds support required by Senate rules to bring it up for debate. By a 19-12 decision, the bill failed by two votes. All 12 "no" votes were cast by Republicans.
.....
Critics of the bill, including some prosecutors and victims' rights advocates, have argued that a life-without-parole option would weaken capital punishment by giving jurors a middle ground to avoid agreeing on the death penalty.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3119177

Two thirds required for DEBATE??? How does ANYTHING get done in Texas?

[merwin]

1. *ahem* that's why they're in the stone age still. They just have to count

on the Dems not getting 65% of anything there... and they get to have their fucked-up-ness of a state

[salib]

2. Things happen here, but, it takes a lot of grease

From Russian (and other) interests.

[w4rma]

3. Repukes filbustered it. Slimey death dealers. (nt)

[efhmc]

4. They will have to execute me before I will serve on one of those

juries. I will never vote to kill another person. Bring it on.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. They will excuse you if you can't consider the death penalty.

It's one of the questions they ask when they select a jury for a capital murder case. I could sentence a person to life in prison, but never to death.

[rainbow4321]

5. It doesn't.....

They are too busy trying to get stuff done like putting kids' body fat index on report cards <yes, really> to "help childhood obesity" and ridding the state of what they consider sexually explicit cheerleader dances <yes, really, Part 2>....they feel no need to keep track of the piddly things like, oh, school funding, kids' health care, incompetant Child Protective Service, OR bitchslapping Delay and Cornyn.
Thank God they only convene every TWO years, it's such an embarrassment for the state when all their decisions and laws make national news.