Law Allows Jury to Give Life Without Parole

Gov. Rick Perry signed a law in Austin that gives juries the option of sentencing murderers to life without parole -- a measure some foes of capital punishment contend will lead to fewer executions in the country’s No. 1 death penalty state.

Juries in capital murder cases in the state previously had two options: the death penalty, or life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

“I believe this bill will improve our criminal justice system because it gives jurors a new option to protect the public with the certainty a convicted killer will never roam our streets again,” said Perry, a Republican.