Two area representatives voted “no” against a bill that would prohibit the death penalty for those determined as mentally ill.
House Bill 1936, which went on to the Senate on a 77 to 66 vote, is a rare weakening of Texas’ tough stance on capital punishment.
Voting no was Ben Leman, whose district includes Grimes County, and Trent Ashby, whose district includes Madison and Leon counties.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled mentally disabled people are ineligible for execution, but that prohibition does not include those who are mentally ill. H-B 1936 would take the death penalty off the table for those who had a severe mental illness at the time of the crime.
