Texas House Rejects Parole Option

By AUSTIN, Texas  -- The Texas House has rejected a bill that would have given juries in the nation's No. 1 death penalty state a new sentencing option for murderers: life without parole. The 72-65 vote against the measure Monday was close enough that the bill's sponsor, Rep. Juan Hinojosa, said he would try to get members to reconsider it as soon as Tuesday. The Senate already approved the bill. Texas law allows juries two options for capital murder convictions: death, or a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 40 years. Some lawmakers and prosecutors have objected to the bill, saying it would make it difficult to get death sentences. Experts for both sides have testified that convicted murderers sentenced to life under the current law are unlikely to get out of prison before they die. Rep. Pat Haggerty, a Republican who voted against the bill, argued that life without parole is more inhumane than the death penalty. ``All you're asking for is to create a situation where a person would want to commit suicide to get away from this 'humane' treatment that you are giving him instead of the death penalty that he deserves,'' said Haggerty. The bill is one of several proposed changes to the Texas criminal justice system, which has also been criticized for providing faulty defense of the poor and allowing the execution of the mentally retarded. Texas has executed 246 inmates since 1982, including a record 40 last year. Seven people have been put to death in Texas this year.