Texas has always had one of the highest capital punishment rates in the nation. This is long before Bush was Governer, and has continued years after he left the governership. I'll ask you again to back your arguments up with credibal sources. The New York Times is not one of them. They are widely considered to be one of the most openly bias, and anti-american news organisations in the country, to which has resulted in sales of their publication plumetting in recent years, to the point where talks of buy-outs and mergers have been widely discussed. You also fail to realize it is the people who elect the states attorney, governers, etc, who then elect judges, and then to public defenders etc. The study done by columbia univeristy, was based on a national study of death penalty cases as well. The burden ultimately lies on the individual voter.