To keep up the ideals of fair and equal justice, states with the death penalty need to pull the plug on their forms of capital punishment.

Protesters rallied outside of the Texas governor’s mansion Monday and the Texas state Capitol on Sunday, asking for a moratorium on capital punishment. The protest followed a report recently released by the Texas Defender Service - a nonprofit group that represents death row inmates.

One hundred and three appeals cases were examined in the Texas Defender Service report. In 79 percent of those cases, the judge did not hold a hearing, but ruled using only documents submitted to the court.

It’s time to take a look at the death penalty, not just in Texas, but throughout the United States. If only one person is falsely executed, justice has not been served.

The report stated that 121 Texas inmates are on death row because of questionable psychiatric testimony used in the sentencing. It also stated that in 43 cases, unreliable jailhouse informers had been used by prosecutors, and in 41 cases prosecutors “intentionally distorted the truth-seeking process” by presenting false evidence or changing theories in order to get a conviction.

A moratorium should be granted to ensure that death row inmates will be given fair trials. This is not to say that the death penalty should be banned entirely, but it should at the very least be revised.

The performance of defense lawyers and prosecutors should be examined. The report found that many of the defense lawyers did not represent their clients well, many times failing to look for new evidence.

One story tells about a death row inmate’s defense lawyer who used cocaine on the way to the trial. Another inmate’s lawyer fell asleep during trial.

This is a matter of life and death. Those put to death should be given ample avenues through which to appeal. New evidence-gathering techniques should be used, including DNA testing. Every effort should be made to determine innocence or guilt - guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of DNA testing.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush should make his state an example. With the attention given to him in the presidential election he should explore his newly founded “compassionate conservatism.” By granting a moratorium, he would set an example for other states to follow by displaying compassion for inmates who may not be receiving fair trials.

Until the system is examined and modified, states should not exercise use of the death penalty. Death row inmates have the same rights as others to be well represented and given a fair trial. Little is accomplished by executing those who have not been given fair treatment in the justice system, guilty or not.

Granting a moratorium is not admitting defeat for those who favor capital punishment, but it does allow for needed revisions of problems that have been uncovered in the Texas Defender Service’s report.

It is time to step back and look at the system instead of blindly defending it.