Some members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles...

Some members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles have expressed doubts about Gov. George W. Bush's assertion that, "every person that has been put to death in Texas, under [his] watch, has been guilty of the crime charged." (see Texas)Recently, Board member and death penalty supporter, Paddy Lann Burwell, stated: "I worry that we may execute an innocent person. Any person would know that is a possibility, I think our system needs to be improved." Board Members Tom Moss and Cynthia Tauss, who both voted for clemency in the case of Troy Farris, also expressed doubts. The Farris case, according to Moss, was one of two cases in which he "saw something that may have indicated that [the inmate was] innocent." Tauss stated that she "cried all day" when Farris was executed for killing a police officer. "I wasn't sure he should have been given the death penalty," said Tauss. "That is why I voted to commute."