Life without parole is death in slow motion

Just when death sentences are fading from courtrooms across the United States — even in Texas — here comes an experienced appeals judge with serious questions about the most popular alternative, life without parole.

Judge Larry Meyers of Fort Worth is the longest-serving member of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court.

Meyers told reporter Chuck Lindell of the Austin American-Statesman that life without parole is really a slow-motion death sentence.

His concern, he said, is that “there are two variations of the death penalty; one is just longer than the other. People are getting a [life without parole] death sentence without the same safeguards and procedures that you get when there is a death sentence.”

Befitting a judge who has heard the state’s toughest criminal cases for 23 years, he makes good points.

Life without parole is a way for prosecutors and juries to get bad people off the streets without the moral dilemmas and lengthy court appeals involved in executions — more of a feel-good option in murder cases.

Still, the defendant will die in prison from old age, illness or prison violence. Proper legal protections are important.

Life without parole has been an option in Texas capital murder cases since 2005. The number of inmates on Death Row is down about 40 percent since then and stands at 244 today.

That compares with 782 inmates serving life without parole for capital murder as of July 31, Lindell reported.

When a prosecutor seeks the death penalty, jurors first decide whether the defendant is guilty. If so, they hear further arguments on punishment.

Prosecutors argue that the defendant will be a continuing danger unless put to death, and defense attorneys try to show that execution is not justified.

If jurors do not agree unanimously on the death sentence, the defendant automatically gets life without parole.

It’s much easier for all involved if the prosecutor goes for life without parole in the first place. Plus, the automatic appeals process in death penalty cases is very expensive.

Life-without-parole cases would be more fair, Meyers says, if jurors had to consider the question of future danger. If they don’t agree on that danger, the defendant should be eligible for parole after 40 years or some other suitable period.

It’s unlikely that Texas lawmakers will eliminate the death penalty option. It might be equally unlikely that they’ll soften life without parole.

Still, Meyers makes us think about it, and that’s good.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Life without parole is death in slow motion."