Gov. Rick Perry designated DNA testing legislation an "emergency" Thursday and urged lawmakers to consider passing it immediately. Perry wants approval of Senate Bill 3, which would give Texas inmates more access to post-conviction DNA testing that could prove their innocence. The bill also would require biological evidence to be retained for possible testing. Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, and 2 other senators are sponsoring the bill, which has support from Democrats and Republicans, and from prosecutors and defense lawyers. "Last week, I issued my 1st pardon to a Dallas man who had wrongfully been imprisoned for 15 years after DNA testing excluded him as the assailant in the crime for which he had been convicted," Perry said.Perry pardoned David Shawn Pope of Dallas, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for an aggravated sexual assault in 1986. "That case illustrates that DNA evidence is an effective tool to be used in cases where it can shed light on the innocence or guilt of an individual," Perry said. With the governor's declaration of an emergency, the bill can be passed within the 1st 60 days of the legislative session without suspending the usual operating rules of the House and Senate. Senate Bill 3 is awaiting a vote by the Senate Jurisprudence Committee.

Moratorium legislation proposed

False convictions and DNA testing that has freed several inmates have prompted some lawmakers to call for a halt to executions in Texas to examine the death penalty. At least 3 bills have been filed in the Texas legislature calling for a moratorium similar to one that Illinois Gov. George Ryan declared a year ago.Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, filed a bill Wednesday that would give Gov. Rick Perry power to order a moratorium to immediately stop executions.Texas has executed more prisoners than any other state, with 242 since 1976. The execution toll focused national attention on Texas during former Gov. George W. Bush's campaign for president.  "This is not a debate on whether to continue capital punishment, but whether we have minimized the possibility we have executed someone who is innocent," said Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, who is proposing a moratorium until September 2003 to study the system. "Even if you're a fan of capital punishment, I think most Texans want a system that is fair, so when someone is executed that we're certain."  None of the lawmakers pushing the bills says they oppose the death penalty. But all said Texas has serious problems that must be corrected."No Texan wants to be a part of the death of an innocent man," said Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso. "Texas executes people in a way that's fundamentally flawed. We have a system that does not remove doubt. But I believe a just society can still exact execution and be just."Shapleigh is drafting a bill calling for a two-year moratorium to allow a state commission to study DNA testing, the appeals system and other issues.By contrast, Naishtat's bill sets no time period for a moratorium but gives the governor the right to halt executions.  "I believe my constitutional amendment may be more palatable to the governor, and in turn to members of the legislature because it simply gives the governor authority to declare a moratorium," he said. "Without this authority, the governor has an easy cop-out when the issue of a moratorium is raised. He can simply say, `I don't have the power to do this.'"   Perry has urged the legislature to consider giving Texas juries the option of sentencing defendants in death penalty cases to life without parole. But the governor's spokeswoman, Kathy Walt, said Wednesday that this does not mean Perry has weakened his support for the death penalty or that he would favor a halt in executions.  "He has not supported a moratorium because, by and large, Governor Perry believes the system works and does not see why justice should be delayed in cases where the defendant has had due process," Walt said.  Still, Naishtat said he doesn't think the governor has closed the door.  "I would be surprised to see the governor objecting to legislation that would simply give him discretion to declare a moratorium," he said.  Supporters readily concede that the moratorium effort will be an uphill fight. But they say growing attention to DNA testing and executions is encouraging.  "Certainly, it's a bigger issue today than it was a year ago, and more people are forced to think about it," Shapleigh said. "The public believes a sleeping lawyer cannot defend a case. Texans are uncomfortable with what has happened in Texas. But I don't know if we have political support to pass a moratorium."  Shapleigh pointed to Illinois, where he noted that a conservative Republican governor ordered a halt to executions to review the process.  "Of course, there's great opposition to it here," said James Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project and a longtime death penalty foe.  "But what's the harm of stepping back for a year or 2 years and looking at it? It's better than killing someone who's innocent."  Even some typical death penalty supporters, such as a statewide group of prosecutors, say the proposals are a new twist.  "Nobody's ever talked about a moratorium in Texas," said Rob Kepple of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. "If you ask Texas prosecutors, they'll tell you they like it how it is. But I think everyone wants to make sure it's fair."    (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)