Public Defenseless 51: The Texas Capital Punishment System is Designed to Kill w/Ray Keith
When people discuss the criminal legal system, you may often hear someone say, "the system is not broken. It is acting exactly was it was designed." On today's episode, Hunter and guest Ray Keith discuss the ways in which the legal system in Texas is designed to kill people.
As the head of the Regional Public Defenders for Capital Cases in Texas, Ray is intimately familiar with the statutory language and process that directs the jury towards a death penalty over life. While this is a highly technical episode, it is important to dig down into the weeds to examine the insidious ways the legal system is operating exactly as it was intended.
Hopefully, this episode will also spark a curiosity in you to understand the complex legal technicalities in your own state may drive harsher punishments. While Texas is the focus of this episode, we know they are not alone in designing a system with the goal of producing the harshest possible outcomes for those being processed through it
Guests:
Ray Keith, Chief Public Defender, Regional Public Defenders for Capital Cases, Texas
Key Topics and Takeaways:
What the RPDO does and how Ray got there [7:40]
Difficulties of being a Criminal Defense Attorney in Texas [13:20]
The Texas Capital Statute [15:36]
How a Capital Jury is Selected [20:00]
The Questions you Can't ask a Jury [27:00]
The Punishment Phase of a Capital Case [30:46]
Why Doesn't Texas Explain "Reasonable Doubt" to Jurors [32:30]
The Questions Jurors need to Answer to Give the Death Penalty [34:70]
The "Evidence" Used to Prove Future Threat [40:00]
Why Rehabilitation is disregarded in Texas Capital Cases [45:00]
The Second Question Jurors Consider [48:00]
How the State Proves Someone Should be Killed [50:00]
The Way Jury Instructions Lead to Death Sentences [58:00]
Why Is this So Hard to Fix and What Can be Done [1:03:00]
Resources:
Regional Public Defenders for Capital Cases Website
Texas Indigent Defense Commission
Contact Hunter Parnell:
hwparnell@publicdefenseless.com