The Senate approved legislation that would reduce the...

The Senate approved legislation that would reduce the size of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles and require the panel to meet when considering death-penalty cases. The board is currently an 18-member body that recommends clemency or commutation of death sentences in Texas. But the board is not required to meet in public as a group when making such decisions, and members can cast their votes by fax or telephone. That process has been criticized by state and federal judges as well as death-penalty opponents, who say decisions should not be so secret. The bill would reduce the board to 7 members and require it to meet as a group in person or by teleconference in capital cases.