The concept of separation of church and state apparently doesn’t have much meaning in the good old boy state of Texas. Consider the case of Khristian Oliver, found guilty of murder during a 1998 burglary. Oliver is set to be executed on November 5, despite appeals by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations.

More people are executed in Texas than in any other of the 35 states that have the death penalty. Since 1976, 1,175 inmates have been murdered nationwide, 442 of them in Texas. In 2009 alone, 18 of the 39 executions in this country have been in Texas.

Oliver’s case illustrates the travesty that is justice Texas style. According to the testimony of jurors, they used the bible to justify their decision to allow the state to kill Oliver. In fact, several copies of the religious book were present in the jury room during their deliberations.

At one point, a juror read a biblical passage supporting the death sentence for murderers: “And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.”

Another juror admitted that 80% of the jurors had “brought scripture into the deliberation.” He said that he believed biblical law superseded the laws of Texas and that if he had been forbidden to use the bible, “I would have left the courtroom.”

Juror Michael Brenneisen wasn’t too concerned about the laws of Texas, either. He asked himself, “Is this the way the lord would decide the case?”

Appeals by defense attorneys failed to overturn the decision. The Texas Appeals Court admitted that the bibles should not have been consulted, but didn’t believe that they had presented “improper outside influence” on the case. The U.S. Supreme Court would not touch the matter.

The Colorado state supreme court threw out a death sentence for Robert Harlan after it was revealed that jurors had been using a bible in their deliberations. Harlan ended up instead with life in prison without parole. Obviously, Texas doesn’t follow the same law as Colorado does.

Kate Allen of Amnesty International told the London Telegraph, “Religious texts provide consolation and spiritual guidance for billions of people the world over, but this use of the Bible to decide life or death in a capital trial is deeply, deeply troubling.”

It’s beyond troubling. It’s a clear violation of church and state. People can believe in whatever religious beliefs they choose, but when deciding a man or woman’s fate in a jury room, they have a legal obligation to stick to human laws. Bibles and other religious books should be left outside the door.

How would those Texas jurors would feel if they were on trial and jury members used the Koran to deliberate their fate?


Tommi Avicolli Mecca is co-editor of Avanti Popolo: Italians Sailing Beyond Columbus, and editor of Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation, which has been nominated for an American Library Association award. His website is www.avicollimecca.com.