Before 1990, Texas governors commuted 27 death sentences at the recommendation of the Parole Board. Most of the criticism leveled at the current Board of Pardons and Paroles has been over the way it reaches its decisions. From seven satellite offices around the state, the board members review thick dossiers on each case and then decide, without discussing the case, whether the death sentence should be commuted, whether the execution should be postponed for further investigation, or whether it should proceed as scheduled. It takes a majority vote to win a recommendation for commutation. The board members do not meet publicly to debate the issues in a case or to explain their votes.
Nobody can determine how they make their decisions.
The 38 states that have the death penalty deal with clemency in a variety of ways. Texas is one of nine states that limits the governor to acting only in cases the board recommends. Of those nine, Texas and Florida are the only two that do not require their clemency boards to meet publicly while deciding cases. Lewis has introduced a bill this legislative session that would require the board to hold public meetings. A similar bill introduced last session failed to become law.