Rick Perry: Criminal Justice Reformer?

On October 2nd, Scott Henson wrote a blog post on Grits for Breakfast regarding Governor Rick Perry's record on criminal justice.  Henson begins by quoting an article in which Cory Sessions of the Innocence Project of Texas praises Perry's support for life without parole and his signing of reform-minded criminal justice bills.  These included bills dealing with compensation of wrongly incarcerated men and women, and with policies regarding eyewitness identification of suspects.  Furthermore, according to Henson, much of the talk surrounding the large number of inmates put to death during Perry's governorship has more to do with his lengthy tenure and the small role of the Texas governor in capital punishment than with a hard-line death penalty stance.  The Texas governor, unlike many other states, can only issue a 30-day stay of execution.  In addition, because of the protracted nature of the appeals process, many of the inmates executed under Perry's watch were sentenced under previous governors.

Henson suspects that while the record portrays a somewhat moderate governor content to stay with mainstream conservative opinion in the arena of criminal justice, Perry's political ambitions necessitate projecting an image of the tough Texas lawman, unhesitatingly sending the worst criminals to their deaths.  The post also notes polls indicating that most people who believe innocent people have been put to death still support the death penalty.  Henson concludes that while Perry may not be the killing machine made out by the press, neither is he a crusading reformer out to right the wrongs of Texas' criminal justice machine.

Taking a moderate approach himself, Henson has written a pragmatic analysis of Perry's record. This approach is refreshing, especially given the funhouse mirror through which most political reporting seems filtered.  Henson's extensive background in criminal justice advocacy establishes his credibility, as does his avoidance of inflammatory rhetoric.  His claims are clearly backed by public record, and the resulting post should resonate with readers who wish to discern the hard reality behind Perry's bluster.