Texas Governor Rick Perry on Thursday spared the life of a death row inmate who had never killed anyone, commuting his sentence hours before an execution that had drawn international attention.
Perry's decision came after the pardons and parole board voted 6-1 to recommend that he commute Kenneth Foster's sentence to life in prison.
"After carefully considering the facts of this case, along with the recommendations from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, I believe the right and just decision is to commute Foster's sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment," Perry said in a statement.
