Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Grits for Breakfast

Criminal Law

: Grits for Breakfast

Man bites dog: Williamson DA John Bradley says remove LWOP for juvie capital offenders

Who would have thought?The first bill up in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee today would eliminate life without parole in capital cases for juveniles, substituting a 40-year minimum.In a surreal moment, the first speaker was Williamson County DA John Bradley, an avowed death penalty proponent, who testified that he "really supported the bill," declaring that Sen. Juan Hinojosa's SB 839 was a "rational approach" for juveniles, giving them "incentive to behave" while in prison as well as opportunities for "rehabilitation." Someone from the ACLU followed up expressing an essentially similar sentiment.Only the Harris County District Attorney's office was opposed, seemingly out of habit.If the DAs are split and nobody else opposes the bill, this legislation could have a decent chance of passing this year.continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on March 17, 2009 (boomark / email).