Gov. Rick Perry, in a rare and uncharacteristic move Thursday, spared the life of condemned prisoner Kenneth Foster, hours before he was to be executed for his role in a San Antonio robbery-shooting.The halt to Thursday's execution marked only the second time since Texas resumed carrying out executions in 1982 that the parole board voted to stop an execution this close to punishment time. And in that case, in 2004, Perry rejected the board's recommendation and the prisoner was executed.
But this time, Perry agreed with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles' equally unusual recommendation...
So the governor can ONLY act when the parole board gives him opportunity, and they've only done so one other time.
"Rare" indeed. Actually it comes down to 50% of the time the governor commuted a sentence.
Can’t he issue a 30 day stay of execution without the Board’s approval?