The House voted down a bill that would have allowed...

The House voted down a bill that would have allowed the sentencing option of life without parole. On January 17, Gov. Rick Perry said it's time state lawmakers seriously consider letting juries choose life without parole as an alternative to the death penalty. "Like a number of death penalty states, we should take a hard look at giving juries the option," Perry said in a wide-ranging criminal justice policy speech. "Today, juries have just 2 options -- death or the possibility that a violent criminal may one day be paroled," he said. Under current law, a life sentence means at least 40 years before parole can be considered. But just a decade ago, good behavior credits sometimes turned life- sentenced criminals out on the streets in as little as 6 years. In his speech to the Texas Association of Broadcasters, Perry also called for statewide standards for attorneys defending indigent clients in death penalty cases. Perry also backed a plan to allow post-conviction DNA testing. He refused to lend support, however, for a proposed ban on executions of the mentally retarded, pending the outcome of a Texas death penalty case involving the mentally retarded Johnny Paul Penry. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.