The concerns about Texas reflect a new scrutiny of death penalty convictions in general. Illinois decided in January to declare a death penalty moratorium after DNA evidence spared 13 people on that state's death row from execution. Columbia University researchers reported in June that a study of nearly 5,800 capital cases from 1973 to 1995 found serious errors in 68 percent. Bush, however, has always insisted that everyone executed in Texas was guilty, and said that he reviews each death penalty case personally. That month, Bush stopped the scheduled execution of Ricky McGinn for DNA tests to confirm his guilt in the 1993 rape of his 12-year stepdaughter, whom he was also convicted of murdering.
Rape is an aggravating charge that can lead to the death penalty in Texas.
Subsequent tests found McGinn was responsible, and he was executed in September. Also in June, Bush decided not to intervene to stop the execution of Gary Graham, who was convicted in a 1981 murder on the testimony of a lone eyewitness, represented by a lawyer whose competence was questionable. Appeals courts and the state parole board also rejected Graham's claims of innocence. His execution has been set for Nov. 1. In a statement Tuesday, Bush's presidential campaign said that crime has dropped dramatically during the governor's time in office, with the state reporting its lowest overall crime rate in 25 years, its lowest violent crime rate since 1985 and its lowest murder rate since the 1950s.