The case concerning Karla Faye Tucker is closed.

Her claims of being a born-again Christian and numerous pleas for clemency held no weight.

The woman convicted of murdering two people with a pickax in 1983 was put to death at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.

But the controversy is still lingering.

Questions about religion of inmates played a large role with supporters of Tucker. They, along with Tucker’s lawyers, argued that Tucker’s conversion merited leniency.

Tucker did clearly display her changed ways while in prison.

Her advocacy work with grade-school children was a model for all prison inmates to follow. Her regular prayer time also backs up her claim of being born again.

She herself expressed contentment in living out a life sentence to continue her work with children.

So isn’t a person like this worth more to the world alive?

Maybe, but Tucker’s crime was apparently forgotten in the religious frenzy.

The fact remains that Tucker committed her heinous crime in Texas, a state that not only carries the death penalty, but uses it more than any other state in the nation. Right or wrong, that’s the law in Texas.

The appeal denial should be no surprise either, since all 76 requests for clemency since 1993 in Texas have been denied.

And they should be denied. If Texas is going to carry and use the death penalty, they have to stick to it, despite the “changes” in criminals.

But doesn’t a changed person deserve forgiveness? Yes, but she still must be accountable for her actions.

Granting Tucker clemency would have set a dangerous precedent. What would keep someone else from following in her footsteps? Soon, every death row inmate would claim to be “born again.”

The decision to deny Tucker clemency was not inhumane. It was simply a decision based on a law.

There are many different opinions and views on capital punishment. The state of Texas made the decision to instate the death penalty.

The law had been set, and it had to be followed.