Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, also raised questions about the role of the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory in keeping evidence. He noted that an employee of the crime lab was indicted in December on allegations of falsifying evidence. Duncan noted that employee has nothing to do with forensic DNA testing. Reinstituting the death penalty in Massachusetts will be the subject of a legislative hearing today, but even supporters say the chances of passage are slim. But you can't give up just because you don't think it's going to pass this time.
Many bills pass after many tries.
Marini said his bill provides for the death penalty in cases of 1st- degree murder involving police officers, children or certain types of atrocities. Gov. Paul Cellucci has filed a similar bill. The hearing, before the Criminal Justice Committee, is set for 10 a.m. But in the past few years opposition to capital punishment has been on the rise nationally after a number of celebrated cases in which prisoners on death row had been exonerated using new DNA evidence. There's too great a possibility of innocent people ending up on death row.