JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON – A Texas judge in the county that sends more inmates to death row than any other in the nation has declared the death penalty unconstitutional.
State District Judge Kevin Fine made the ruling Thursday in a pre-trial motion in a capital murder case, saying he could assume that innocent people have been executed. He is now facing a torrent of criticism from a string of high-profile Texans including Gov. Rick Perry.
Fine, a Democrat who is heavily tattooed and says he is a recovering alcoholic and former cocaine user, answered some of the criticism on Friday during a court hearing. He denied accusations that he was legislating from the bench and said there was no precedent to guide him in resolving the issues raised by defense attorneys in a case involving a man accused of fatally shooting a Houston woman and wounding her sister in June 2008.