"It was Matagorda County’s first potential death penalty case in years. If it did become a capital murder case, a jury would have to decide whether Kotlar should be sentenced to death. It would then be up to state and federal appeals courts to uphold the verdict, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to carry out the execution by lethal injection.
"But whether to seek the death penalty, whether it was even on the table, was Steven Reis’ decision alone."
Read my long exploration of a district attorney's decision about the death penalty in The Texas Observer
Photo by Michael Stravato
