The Conservative Case for Sparing Bobby Moore's Life

I am a conservative, a Republican and a proud Texan. Recently, I joined with numerous other prominent Texans — including retired judges, former prosecutors, and others — to urge our Court of Criminal Appeals to follow the Constitution and the Supreme Court and end the threat of the death penalty to Bobby Moore, a man who is clearly intellectually disabled.I strongly believe that this is the only option consistent with conservative principles — because our great Constitution prohibits executing the intellectually disabled, because the Supreme Court already has ruled in this very case, and because any other path would be a terrible and inexcusable waste of public money and resources.Some of us who have weighed in supporting Moore in this case favor the death penalty generally. Some of us oppose it. But we are all united in opposing Moore's execution because of our support for the Constitution, for the rule of law, and for the proper administration of our justice system.Executing Moore, who was convicted of killing a grocery store employee during a bungled robbery in Houston in 1980, would violate the U.S. Constitution. In Atkins vs. Virginia (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution prohibits taking the life of an intellectually disabled person. As the Supreme Court has explained: "To impose the harshest of punishments on an intellectually disabled person violates his or her inherent dignity as a human being."  Continue reading...