Death Penalty: Applause for Rick Perry’s ‘Ultimate Justice’ at Republican Debate
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Texas Gov. Rick Perry apparently loses no sleep over authorizing 234 executions in more than a decade as Texas governor.
Perry has authorized more executions than any governor in the history of the United States. He said at a Republican presidential debate Wednesday that he has never worried that the state of Texas has executed an innocent man.
“I’ve never struggled with that at all. The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place,” Perry said. “When someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens, they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court of the United States if that’s required.”
Perry said the death penalty should be dealt with on a state-by-state basis but supports the decision of Texas to uphold the death penalty, calling it the “ultimate justice.”
“In the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you’re involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is you will be executed.”
When NBC’s Brian Williams asked Perry the question about the death penalty and pointed to the 234 executions – even before Perry answered – the Republican debate crowd erupted in applause for the governor’s actions. Perry pointed to the applause as indicating a vast majority of Americans supports capital punishment.
The most recent execution authorized by Perry in Texas was in July, when Humberto Leal Garcia, a Mexican national was executed in Texas. The case became controversial because Garcia was denied access to the Mexican consulate when he was arrested, a right guaranteed by the Vienna Convention and upheld by the Supreme Court. The Justice Department, Mexico, and the United Nations urged Perry to stay the execution, but he denied the request.
But Perry’s most controversial death penalty case came in 2004 when Cameron Todd Willingham was executed for the murder of his three daughters in a fire that investigators ruled as arson.
While on the death row, scientists developed a report questioning the legitimacy of the evidence used against Willingham. Following Willingham’s execution, the Texas Forensic Commission ordered a re-examination of the case, and Craig Beyler, a fire scientist, examined the evidence and came to the same conclusion as other scientists: no evidence existed to conclude arson was committed.
Just before Beyler was to present his evidence to the commission, Perry replaced the chair of the commission, who cancelled the meeting. The commission’s work was never finalized, leaving many asking whether was an innocent man executed.
ABC News’ 20/20 aired a special on Cameron Todd Willingham in 2010.
The next execution in Texas is scheduled for September 15.
Polls have consistently shown strong support – nearly two thirds of Americans in favor – for capital punishment in the United States.
But some states have reconsidered. In March, Illinois became the 16h state to abolish the death penalty.
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Apparently, he also does not lose any sleep as his people in Texas are losing their home in fire.
This AWOL ‘Governor’ has been travelling all over the country for personal fame and glory while ignoring the sorrowful plight of his own people which are mostly the result of his misguided attempt to cut the firefighters’ budget.
Posted by: skponggol | September 8, 2011, 9:58 am 9:58 am
Gov. Perry made it abundantly clear last night that he does not think government can do much of anything right with the odd singular exception of capital punishment where he evidently evidently believes it is infallible.
Posted by: Poindexter | September 8, 2011, 10:08 am 10:08 am
People just do not get it. Consequences for your actions. The Nanny state sets
people up to try and get away with anything. Consequences for your actions!
Posted by: deadwrestler | September 8, 2011, 10:20 am 10:20 am
…and sometimes, irreversible consequences for things you didn’t even do.
Posted by: Poindexter | September 8, 2011, 10:26 am 10:26 am
True, although former Gov. George W. Bush (The Texacutioner) still averaged more executioners per year (152 over 5 years).
Posted by: Dave Connelly | September 8, 2011, 11:01 am 11:01 am
Unfortuneately, death is also the ultimate for those who are later found to be not guilty as in many recent cases of DNA evidence, and one of the things about death is that it is final. Our founding fathers, went out of their way to make a legal system that puts the burden of proof on the governement, and we all know of cases where prosecutors have bent the rules or of inadequate representation. Apparently he is not aware of this or this does not enter into his “thinking.” I’m sure there are many who applaud this, but life is not always as simple as Mr. Perry. I hope we can, in this and many other issues, can not run our country by Texas standards e.g. we must all be christians, carry guns etc.
Posted by: GGreen | September 8, 2011, 11:20 am 11:20 am
I do not agree with the death penalty. No one has the right to take another persons life. Either the convict or the state. I feel life in prison, in solitary confinement, not in the general population where they can work out and enjoy other freedoms, is worse punishment than putting them to death.
Posted by: Kathleen | September 8, 2011, 11:24 am 11:24 am
The audience recognizes and appreciates a real leader., someone who’s not afraid to speak his mind, who has principles.
Americans are also completely fed-up with our dysfunctional government that fails to enforce Existing laws, too.
I sympathize with any governor in those border states who has to deal with the real threat of criminals and violence spilling over from Mexico, they encounter problems that the rest of us don’t
experience.
Posted by: Paul | September 8, 2011, 11:28 am 11:28 am
My issues with the death penalty are that we know innocents have been put to death. We also know poor people and minorities tend to get it more as well. That’s not justice.
Posted by: Secondlook | September 8, 2011, 12:09 pm 12:09 pm
This fish is dead in the water. OBAMA 2012!
Posted by: MsT-mac | September 8, 2011, 12:21 pm 12:21 pm
The more I hear and read about Gov. Rick Perry, the more I dislike. Another simple-minded, revenge seeking, “bring it on” gunslinger who thinks tough talk solves everything and someone who appeals only to people’s lower, base human instincts. Go ahead and sleep well, Mr. Executioner. But, please, stay in Texas. America doesn’t need another “leader” like you.
Posted by: FedUp | September 8, 2011, 12:28 pm 12:28 pm
The death penalty is nothing but government sponsored murder. It is clear that it is not a deterrent. One murder does not justify another.
Rick Perry is NOT pro-life.
Posted by: Emgee | September 8, 2011, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
So Mr. ‘Pro-life’ doesn’t lose sleep over executions. Doesn’t surprise me. You need to have compassion and actually believe in Christian doctrine in order to have any qualms about it. I have to wonder if he would lose any sleep over soldiers’ deaths. Would his take on it be when they signed up for the military, they knew it was a possibility they would get killed?
Posted by: Catherine commentary | September 8, 2011, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm
I hope you’re all the same bleeding heart libs that raised such a fuss when Obama gave the death sentence to Bin Laden. If not, you’re just a bunch of hypocrites!
Posted by: Gunner_1959 | September 8, 2011, 1:47 pm 1:47 pm
It is so wonderful to see all of the people who are posting here and the author of this piece of garbage who have NO IDEA of what they are talking about! It gives idiots a place to vent. First, no Gov of Texas authorizes ANY executions. Look it up for your self — all he/she can do is give a one time stay. Second, several people have posted thatt there have been innocent people executed — name one since 1976! (Not opinion, just the legal facts)
Posted by: Bill ----- | September 8, 2011, 2:03 pm 2:03 pm
Didn’t Perry allow the execution of a guy who had a very low IQ and people argued that the defendant did not have the intellect to understand what he had done? I don’t think deth penelty decisions come up often for the president.
Posted by: Greggw | September 8, 2011, 2:13 pm 2:13 pm
My issues with the death penalty are that we know innocents have been put to death. We also know poor people and minorities tend to get it more as well. That’s not justice.
Posted by: Secondlook | September 8, 2011, 12:09 pm 12:09 pm
How many innocents are killed by drunk drivers? How many innicents are killed by suicide bombers?
Posted by: deanbob | September 8, 2011, 2:34 pm 2:34 pm
The problem with the death penelty is that it costs much more to go through the appeals process to execute someone than it does to leave thme in prison for the rest of their life. This tells us something about Perry’s character. To feel manly because he killed lots of bad people he spent hundreds of millions of TX tax dollars. How many hundreds of billions of US tax dollars might he spend to feel manly if he were to become president? After all, GWB, also a TX governor, spent $1T invading Iraq jsut so he could feel like more of a man than his father.
Posted by: Greggw | September 8, 2011, 2:53 pm 2:53 pm
I found the audience’s applause to be literally revolting. My stomach turned at the idea that people would applaud a man because his state executes the most people. Even if you believe in the death penalty, you should never want it to be used, or be glad that it has been used!
Of the states that still have the death penalty, shouldn’t people be applauding the ones that DON’T have to use it 234 times in a decade?!
Oh, and if it really was the deterrent to crime the right claims it is, shouldn’t Texas’ execution numbers be trending steadily downward? Yeah, that’s what I thought – insert excuse here.
Posted by: ForeignObserver | September 8, 2011, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm
Well, of course he didn’t lose sleep over executing the man who may well have been innocent of his daughters’ murder by arson.
He’s a crusading Christian, therefore morally certain that whatever he feels impelled to do is correct. And if it isn’t, hey, JC died for him so he won’t have to burn in hell regardless.
Posted by: J | September 8, 2011, 5:24 pm 5:24 pm
An eye for an eye I guess but he doesn’t care if it’s from the guilty one only that it’s an eye for an eye?? Nero fiddled while Rome burned, and now Perry doing the same — and he left Rove swinging in the wind — Huntsman is the only one with appeal for indies — cuckoo birds!!! How will the audience applaud when the seniors whose Social Security is tied up on Wall Street start dropping dead of heart attacks every time the dow goes down!
Posted by: Paulet | September 8, 2011, 5:59 pm 5:59 pm
Hey thats less people competeing for jobs.
Posted by: Michael Joseph Speights | September 8, 2011, 10:08 pm 10:08 pm
Oh and there is a difference between killing innocent babies and killing someone that has murder families or police officers or kids. You guys that are cracking on Perry comparing anti abortion to the death penalty? Is that really your argument ? Can you REALLY with a straight face .. a total straight face say the ( murder of babies .. let me repeat that the MURDER of innocent babies is the same as Murdering a criminal, a killer, a rapist ? . WOW and i thought Libs are the intellectual ones!?
Posted by: Michael Joseph Speights | September 8, 2011, 10:15 pm 10:15 pm
Absolutely.
We have to stop coddling criminals, and we should NOT have to pay to house and feed them for life, when they have committed horrendous crimes, against society.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | September 9, 2011, 12:57 pm 12:57 pm
WWJD
Posted by: EL LEFTO | September 10, 2011, 3:19 pm 3:19 pm
They say this is an innocent man, the due process allows one to prove this before it gets to this point, it’s not my place to say if he’s guilty or innocent, a jury made this decision on the facts. I know years went by why not bring this up before now? I had someone very close to me murdered and it appears the victim has no rights, in this case the children are crying out for justice, crying to us to punish the man who took their life. I only can say let the steps of our legal system work, it seems to me that this man had every opportunity to prove his case. now let our system carry out his punishment.
Posted by: Betty Burlile | September 15, 2011, 9:20 pm 9:20 pm
The judge and jury all agreed
Don’t do the crime if you can’t spare the time, doncha doit!
Posted by: hillcoguy | September 15, 2011, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
So where is it?
You are posting comments too quickly. Slow down.
Posted by: hillcoguy | September 15, 2011, 11:28 pm 11:28 pm
He clearly has no respect for others peoples lives, He would have no problem putting our military men and women in harms way…No Thanks!
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Posted by: pozycjonowanie | September 29, 2011, 5:33 pm 5:33 pm