Texas prosecutors bring different insights to death penalty debate

Texas is the death penalty capital of America. In recent decades, the state has executed 405 men and women.

For many, the death penalty is a vague abstraction that rarely grabs their attention longer than the time it takes to scan a news brief.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection in a Kentucky case. As it did so, Justice John Paul Stevens called for a national debate over the morality of the death penalty.

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins thinks the spark for the debate "is going to come from someone in a district attorney's seat."

For prosecutors, capital punishment is breathtakingly real. They are the men and women who parse mountains of evidence, interview shattered survivors, depose witnesses and decide what charges to file. They are the ones who ask 12 people to sentence someone to death.

Some prosecutors, such as David Weeks in Walker County, arrive at their position on the death penalty gradually. Mr. Weeks has come full circle, from a pacifist upbringing to being a vocal proponent of capital punishment.

Others change their minds only after leaving office. Sam Millsap, former district attorney in Bexar County, grew up as a "full-throated" supporter of the death penalty. He is now an outspoken opponent.

Their conclusions differ, but they agree on one thing: Texans need to talk about the death penalty.

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To see arguments FOR and AGAINST the death penalty CLICK HERE

What is your opinion on the death penalty?

Do you think that lethal injection should be allowed?

In what instances should the death penalty be allowed - for what kinds of crimes?

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