Perry presided over most executions

• Tweet

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- As the chief executive of the state of Texas, Gov. Rick Perry has overseen more executions than any other governor in modern history, records indicate.

To date, the Republican presidential primary candidate has allowed 234 death row inmates in Texas to be executed, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

That number, the Post said, is more than the combined total of the next two states -- Oklahoma and Virginia -- since the death penalty was restored 35 years ago.

During his nearly 11-year tenure as governor, Perry has found only one death row inmate he thought should receive the lesser sentence of life in prison.

Perry vetoed a bill that would have spared the mentally retarded from execution and also criticized a Supreme Court ruling that juveniles aren't eligible for the death penalty, the Post reported.

In his book "Fed Up," Perry wrote "If you don't support the death penalty and citizens packing a pistol, don't come to Texas."