Undermining the death penalty

This really ticks me off.

The Texas Senate refused to create a new alternative to the death penalty Tuesday when it rejected a proposal that would allow juries to lock up capital murderers without any chance for parole...
...Blocked by senators heeding the arguments of some prosecutors who believe the change would undermine the death penalty, it fell just short of the 21 votes — or two-thirds majority — necessary to bring any proposal to the Senate floor.

So they are afraid to give jurors the option of life without parole for fear that it might lead to fewer people being sentenced to death. Oh how horrible!

And they do this during the same week that people are mourning the death of Pope John Paul II, one of the leading opponents of the death penalty.