Better Than Innocent Death

Hey, at least Kenneth Foster isn't going to die tonight. I don't think keeping him in jail is the right thing to do either, but I think that Foster will be a case for later pardoning if Texas ever takes the Law of Parties off of the books like it should.

From The Houston Chronicle:

HUNTSVILLE — Gov. Rick Perry accepted a recommendation from the state parole board and said today he would spare condemned prisoner Kenneth Foster from execution and commute his sentence to life.

Foster had been scheduled to die tonight.

"After carefully considering the facts of this case, along with the recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, I believe the right and just decision is to commute Foster's sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment," Perry said in a statement.

Just to show you how fucked up this case actually is, this is the first time in eight years that Perry actually listened to the parole board. This is the first commutation in his entire administration. That's saying something. At least, Texas does display a semblance of humanity from time to time.