EoT: Another British Look at Huntsville

A weekly look at how the media outside of the state view Texas.

This week, the Guardian once again has its eyes on the Texas prison system — and Gov. Rick Perry. It reported on the state’s death penalty track record, which constitutes more than one-third of the 1,310 executions in the U.S. since the Supreme Court reinstituted capital punishment in 1976. It also reports that Rick Perry has presided over more executions than any other U.S. governor in modern history, calling the record “a symbol” of Perry’s “continued enthusiasm for punishing murder with death.”

The Chicago Tribune, via Reuters, reported on Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s recent letter advising Sec. of State Hillary Clinton against messing with Texas election laws. Abbott threatened criminal prosecution against “unauthorized” international vote monitors entering Texas polling sites, a violation of the Texas Election Code. Jenez Lenarcic, director of election monitor Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, called Abbott’s threats “unacceptable and unprecedented.”

John Henderson of the Denver Post savaged the Texas football team in a column this week. “Texas’ defense is on pace for the worst in school history,” he wrote. “Its quarterback situation is a mess … The Longhorns’ inflated No. 23 ranking in the BCS standings is a bigger indictment against the Bowl Championship Series than the inane coaches poll.”