The Texas Capital Punishment System is Designed to Kill People w/Ray Keith

Sep 30

When people discuss the criminal legal system, you may often hear someone say, “the system is not broken. It is acting exactly was it was designed.” On today’s episode, Hunter and guest Ray Keith discuss the ways in which the legal system in Texas is designed to kill people.

As the head of the Regional Public Defenders for Capital Cases in Texas, Ray is intimately familiar with the statutory language and process that directs the jury towards a death penalty over life. While this is a highly technical episode, it is important to dig down into the weeds to examine the insidious ways the legal system is operating exactly as it was intended.

Hopefully, this episode will also spark a curiosity in you to understand the complex legal technicalities in your own state may drive harsher punishments. While Texas is the focus of this episode, we know they are not alone in designing a system with the goal of producing the harshest possible outcomes for those being processed through it

Guests:

Ray Keith, Chief Public Defender, Regional Public Defenders for Capital Cases, Texas

Key Topics and Takeaways:

What the RPDO does and how Ray got there [7:40]

Difficulties of being a Criminal Defense Attorney in Texas [13:20]

The Texas Capital Statue [15:36]

How a Capital Jury is Selected [20:00]

The Questions you Can't ask a Jury [27:00]

The Punishment Phase of a Capital Case [30:46]

Why Doesn't Texas Explain "Reasonable Doubt" to Jurors [32:30]

The Questions Jurors need to Answer to Give the Death Penalty [34:70]

The "Evidence" Used to Prove Future Threat [40:00]