Last month, the Texas Debates sponsored a debate among the three major Republican candidates for governor. Tonight, organizers held a debate between the two major Democratic candidates, businessman Farouk Shami and former Houston mayor Bill White.
There was one question and a follow-up about their positions on the death penalty and a moratorium on executions. You can watch the archived video at this LINK. The moratorium question occurs at 36:05 into the debate. Shelley Kofler's followup question begins one question later at 41:37 into the debate. For best results, view the video full screen; a time stamp appears in the lower left to aid you in fast forwarding through the video.
What follows is my transcription of the give and take:
Citizen question: Mr. Shami, due to the recent exonerations due to Dallas DA Craig Watkins' Innocence Project, do you think a moratorium should be placed on capital punishment in the state of Texas?
Shami: Yes, mam. A moratorium should be placed. You know what we saw in the last few months and the last few years that (a) few people have been executed in our state of Texas and they were innocent. We need to be 110% that that person really committed that crime and that they deserve death. We cannot be just executing people without being sure. It's just recent ... after 18 years, the man that the government approved the execution was an innocent man. So we cannot ... so I will approve and I will support moratorium of death penalty for our state of Texas.
We cannot be bragging how many people we execute and execute them innocently. I am against that with all my heart.
Question. Thank you Mr. Shami. Now, Mr. White, same question to you: given the recent exonerations would you support a moratorium on the death penalty.
White: No, not in all cases because that would disrespect the juries and the victims and the criminal justice where there is no question in those cases, where there is no question about the evidence used to convict. I don't think you use it as a blunt tool. I'll tell you what we did in Houston. Where there was forensic evidence ... before my administration, there had been bad forensics and where we identified ... we identified cases in which that was critical to the conviction, and we spent millions of dollars going back through those cases, like the DA has here and taking and working with Project Innocence to take a look at those cases to see whether there's a question about the innocence.
But, I want to say also to the citizens of this state, I will never introduce politics into questions of life or death. When I appoint a forensic science commission, I will go with the expert advice. But Texans know that our criminal justice system -- our police, our law enforcement, our prosecutors, our juries -- by and large this is a just system. Any injustice is unacceptable, but we also need to look after the rights of those victims.
After another citizen question, KERA news director Shelley Kofler returned to the issue and asked a followup:
Question: Could we just nail down something that went by a minute ago. Very briefly -- yes or no -- with respect to the death penalty, Mr. White, you support it. Correct?
White: Yes.
Question: Mr. Shami do you support the death penalty?
Shami: The question was on ...
Question: Yes, but my question is do you support the death penalty?
Shami: If we are 110% sure that that person deserved death, I would support it. Yes.
Question: Do you support it as it currently stands?
Shami: Not as it currently stands; absolutely not.
Question: You oppose the death penalty?
Shami: We have killed lots of innocent people. That is human life. We need to be sure.
The party primary elections will be held on Tuesday, March 2.
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