Governor Approves Life Without Parole

On Friday, Governor Perry signed into law Senate Bill 60 which makes life without parole an option in capital murder prosecutions. Previously, in a capital murder prosecution, jurors could select between either death or life with the possibility of parole.

The old law helped prosecutors secure more death sentences because jurors often did not want to have the possibility of a defendant convicted of capital murder eventually released. The new law should decrease the amount of death sentences as jurors will vote for life knowing that the defendant will never be released from prison.