Mark White

72 East Broad Oaks Drive

Houston, TX 77056

March 29, 2011

Hon. Pete P. Gallego Hon. Will Hartnett

Chair, Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Vice-Chair, Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives
Room CAP 4N.9, Capitol Room CAP 4N.10, Capitol
P.O. Box 2910 P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768 Austin, TX 78768

Dear Representative Gallego and Representative Hartnett:

I write to express my support of H.B. 1641, which would establish a Texas Capital Punishment
Commission. As former Governor of Texas, I oversaw 19 executions. Before each execution, I
painstakingly reviewed each individual’s case to be as certain as humanly possible that he had
received a fair trial and was guilty of the crime for which he was sentenced to death.

However, there are more safeguards beyond careful gubernatorial review that the State of Texas
should put in place to decrease the likelihood of executing an innocent individual and to increase
fundamental fairness in our capital punishment system. The Texas Capital Punishment Commission
would study and analyze what new safeguards are needed, particularly safeguards related to the
legal representation of capital defendants, the availability of appellate review and access to
exculpatory evidence.

One need not support the abolition of the death penalty to support the establishment of this
Commission and the examination of such safeguards. Accuracy and fairness in the justice system are
ideals upon which we all can agree, regardless of our diverging viewpoints on the death penalty itself.

Last year, I joined The Constitution Project’s Death Penalty Committee because of grave concerns I
had about the possibility of our justice system executing an innocent individual. While this
Committee comprises supporters of the death penalty as well as abolitionists, regardless of our views
on the death penalty itself, we all have profound concerns that the administration of capital
punishment is deeply flawed and believe that all persons facing the death penalty are entitled to the
fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

As our report Mandatory Justice: The Death Penalty Revisited explains, there are certain
recommendations that can make the system more fair and more accurate, including ensuring
competent and adequately compensated counsel at all stages of capital litigation, providing post-
conviction review in cases of credible claims of innocence, and the preservation of potentially
exculpatory evidence.
 Rep. Gallego and Rep. Hartnett
March 29, 2011
Page 2 of 2

The establishment of a Capital Punishment Commission would be a victory for fairness and accuracy
in our justice system. I urge you to support H.B. 1641.

Sincerely,

Mark White
Governor of Texas, 1983-1987; Attorney General of Texas, 1979-1983; Secretary of State of Texas,
1973-1977; Assistant Attorney General of Texas, 1965-1969

cc: Members, Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Texas House of Representatives:

Hon. Jose Aliseda
Hon. Cindy Burkett
Hon. Stefani Carter
Hon. Wayne Christian
Hon. Yvonne Davis
Hon. Eddie Rodriguez
Hon. Bill Zedler