" (Merillat, 2006). In addition, the classification system does not determine a convict's housing. As a result, convicted murderers are often exposed to other prisoners in general population, who have been convicted of non-violent offenses. For example, mass murderers Abdelkrim Belachheb and Elmer Wayne Henley were both housed in general population when they were sent to prison. (Merillat, 2006).
The reality is that when the prosecutor makes the decision to charge someone with capital murder, they do so because the murder in question has a particularly heinous aspect, which may make the defendant a future danger. Furthermore, "capital murderers can and do commit acts of violence in the penitentiary." (Merillat, 2006). In fact, Jermarr Arnold and David Gibbs both managed to commit murder while on death row. (Merillat, 2006). Furthermore, a disproportionate number of prison murders since 1999 have been committed by capital defendants serving life sentences. (Merillat, 2006). Of course, murder is not the only way that capital defendants can present a future danger. For example, these convicts can assault guards and other inmates, commit sexual assaults, become in involved in the distribution of controlled substances, possess forbidden contraband,...
The fact is that, at least in the current Texas
prison system, confinement in a prison does little to prevent a defendant from re-offending. It is not fair to other inmates, who may have been convicted of much less serious offenses, to assume that limiting the
risk to the prison population makes a defendant incapable of future violence. Therefore, until the prison system can develop a system that absolutely prevents capital defendants from having the opportunity to re-offend, it is important for jurors to be aware that every capital defendant in the Texas prison system will have the opportunity to re-offend. It then becomes the defense's job to convince the
jury that an individual defendant will not take that opportunity.
References
Merillat, a.P. (2006). The question of future dangerousness of capital defendants. Texas Bar
Journal, 69(8),…
