Can Innocence Be Saved?

It seems some players on the state and national scene believe there are innocent people on death row that might need a break from the fear of being put to death over crimes they didn't commit. I cry fowl and in the proper forum, I would call their bluffs instead.

In an article from Fort Worth's Star Telegram, we find the details of Lt. Governor, David Dewhurst's decision to support Sen. Rodney Ellis's (D-Houston) sponsored legislation to create an innocence commission. The Start Telegram goes on to say, this "follows 14 DNA exoneration's of prison inmates from Dallas County... more than any other county in the U.S.", but I think it's interesting to note there are more executions in the county and state than anywhere else in the U.S. Why is that? Doesn't the fact that Texas leads the rest of the country in executions provide enough of a deterrent? The population on death row has gone up considerably since 1974 and I wonder if a faster judgment wouldn't be the better route to take.

Now, I believe in the right of the appeals process being afforded to every innocent inmate, but it seems to me, the criminals play on the weakness of society. Perhaps that is where the deterrent loses its "umph".

My thought: there are criminals on Death Row 15-20 years that admit to the crime. Why should they sit there and use up tax payer money? Give them the swift execution they ask for and deserve, and lets use that saved money to thoroughly investigate the claims of innocence.

What do you think?