What Is The Death Penalty In Texas

There are laws and decisions of United States government and higher orders that present controversy to the people of America. In the state of Texas the application of the death penalty is difficult to interpret, especially for the mentally ill, because there is no written law or bill that explains the execution implication in complete detail. The death penalty is a capital punishment of death for those who have committed such high crime. This penalty goes for everyone who does such act no matter who you are, how rich how poor, or where you stand in society. For the longest time, even with the mindset and understanding that those who commit crime to a certain level can receive the execution punishment, the concern and debate whether the mentally

Although the Texas Criminal Justice System gives punishments that are deemed fit to the gravity of the crime, the death penalty is still too harsh of a crime. Prisoners are stripped off their Eighth Amendment rights when they go through the execution, which is an inhumane, cruel and unusual punishment. This can be examined through the methods that the criminal and justice systems and the method of execution.

The death penalty is the punishment of execution. The death penalty was authorized by 32 states, the Federal Government, and the U.S. Military. Throughout the years, the method of the death penalty has changed. Not only has the way it is performed been altered, but also the way our presidential candidates view the death penalty. For example, when George Bush was governor of Texas in the 1990s, he approved executions. He sent some to death who might have been innocent. Death sentences in Texas have dropped nearly 80% since 1999. In 1977, Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection as a form of execution. Lethal injection is the primary method used. On December 2, 1982, Charles Brooks became the first person executed by lethal injection in Texas. Besides the deadly injection, the electric chair nicknamed "Old Sparky," was also an execution method. Texas, along with Louisiana, Ohio, and Illinois used the electric chair. The electric chair was in use from 1924 until 1964. Old Sparky was said to have taken 361 prisoners life's (TexasTribune).

The history from capital punishment starts back to colonial time’s .During the colonial times more than 15,000 people have been executed in the United States. The Capital punishment was first introduce early as biblical times for absolute assurance that a criminal 's life would end. The followers of Christianity and Judaism claimed to find justification for capital punishment in the Bible. According to the facts, in 1608, the first execution in the thirteen centuries was Captain George Kendall, he was executed for spying for the Spanish. In 1632 Jane Champion was the first women to be executed for unknown reasons .Surprisingly, Texas is the state that has a used capital punishment the most since 1976. In 1930 the executions average 167 per year, which was the highest in American history.

So prior to this ruling, the Texas Justice System didn’t care how cruel and inhumane the executions were. So yes Texas has a taste for killing by way of state sanctioned executions.

The first person to ever get execution in the state of texas was in november of 1819. When this was first put into effect they executed offenders by hanging them. Until 1923 ,they began using the electric chair to execute murderers. In the 1970’s that’s when they began using the lethal injections. In the beginning of the death penalty people were only executed for murder and stealing. But now you don’t have to commit a murder to get put on a death row sentence. Although most people who are on death row have committed a murder. Some of the felons who have been on death row have committed a crime such as several rapes, assault and battery, and attempted sexually batter.

Bower was one of many people, mostly men, waiting on death row for their execution. He, like 37% of the population of death row was put to death in Texas (6). Texas’ overuse of the death penalty can be traced back to a few basic causes. The three main problems that contribute to Texas’ high number of executions are its lack of a public defender system and elected judges, (PBS). Because Texas does not have a system of public defenders anyone who cannot afford to hire a lawyer will be assigned a court-appointed attorney. These appointed lawyers are almost never experienced in capital murder trials or the appeals process. Once the initial case was tried with an incompetent lawyer it is almost impossible to go back later and prove bad lawyering. Judges in Texas are elected to office unlike their appointment in most other states. In order to get reelected there is pressure to appear tough on crime and enforce strict punishments for the judge's own self-interest. The high conviction rate within Texas in comparison with the rest if the US and the state-specific failures within its legal system prove that they overuse the death penalty. Criminal or not Texas system does respect the defendant's right to fight to prove their innocence and be given the best chance possible to do

This chart shows how many executions there has been since the year 1976 to how many there are in 2015 and 2016. In the state of Texas, it has the highest death penalty with Oklahoma coming in second. The state of Texas has executed 538 people since 1976 to which 279 occurred when Rick Perry was governor of Texas which is more than any other governor had in their term. The executions had risen up in 2000 in the state of Texas where 40 people were put down. According to the chart from where it is at this year compared to the year 1976, the death penalty has declined to very few numbers to where some states abolished it because it violated the state’s

I think Texas needs to discriminate certain behaviors. Many people spent so many years in prison waiting to be executed. I think the government needs to reduce the waiting period for only those people who they are sure that they committed the crime and needs to be executed. Most of the time it’s unfair because those people spend their years waiting and enjoying in prison while the family members are still waiting for justice. It’s unfair that sometimes the family members don’t even witness the justice because they die before the person who committed the crime is executed. The Texas government also needs to reduce jail length for people arrested because of possession of drugs. The government needs to punish them, instead of putting them in

In the United States, there are around 40 to 50 executions per year, Texas with 10 or more prisoners put to death each year. Texas has the highest rate of deaths out of all the other states with the death penalty. Texas currently has three prisoners put to death already. The United States has currently 31 states with the death penalty; the remaining states abolished it. The death penalty should be abolished because of the cost, it shortens punishment for the person who did the crime,and it puts innocent lives at risk.

The sentencing structure in Texas is in need of reform within several different areas of the state’s death penalty system. The American Bar Association with their Texas Capital Punishment Assessment Team reports recommendations in regards to the areas that need to be assesse: [(Law Enforcement Identification Procedures, Law Enforcement Interrogation Procedures, Preservation of Biological Evidence, Access to testing Biological Evidence, Crime Laboratories and Medical Examiner Offices, Forensic Science Commission, Texas Capital Sentencing Structure, Jury Instructions, Treatment of Persons with Mental Retardation, Treatment of the Severely Mentally Ill, Proportionality Review, State Habeas Corpus Proceedings, Clemency, External Review of

In 1976 a law was passed by the state of Missouri and 25 other states. This was called the Death Penalty. Since then we have put 62 total people to death using the Death Penalty. Some states have only used this penalty 1 or 2 times, others states like Missouri, Texas, and Virginia, have used this penalty more than 5 times. Texas is even up to 11 since its legalization. The Death Penalty should not be allowed because, it violates the 8th amendment, what if someone gets falsely accused, and it violates a physician's oath to protect.

The death penalty has been carried out in several ways throughout its existence which include Lethal Injection, electrocution, Gas chamber, Hanging, and Firing squad. There has always been the thought of just which way is the best way to put someone to death. Lethal Injection has been the newest form of execution for the death penalty. It was “first adopted by the U.S. state of Oklahoma in 1977” to replace all other forms of execution because “it was considered cheaper and more humane” (Ecenbarger, 1994 and Weisberg, 1991).” During a lethal-injection procedure, a prisoner is strapped to a gurney” where three drugs are put into the person’s body (Ecenbarger, 1994 and Weisberg, 1991). The first drug is “sodium thiopental, a barbiturate anesthetic, which is supposed to induce deep unconsciousness in about 20 seconds.” (Ecenbarger, 1994 and Weisberg, 1991) The second drug is “pancuronium bromide, a total muscle relaxant that, given in sufficient dosages, paralyzes all voluntary muscles, thereby causing suffocation” (Ecenbarger, 1994 and Weisberg, 1991). The last drug is “potassium chloride, which induces irreversible cardiac arrest” (Ecenbarger, 1994 and Weisberg, 1991). The result is “death usually occurring less than two minutes after the final injection. In truth, lethal injection is a better way to give someone the death penalty” (Ecenbarger, 1994 and Weisberg, 1991). Although recently there has been much controversy over lethal injections becoming “botched” to where it

One of the most difficult concepts for everybody to come to terms with is how the worst felons should be persecuted. The first use of lethal injection was on December 7, 1982 on Charles Brooks, Jr. lethal injection is the newest form of execution used on death row inmates; either alongside other methods, or fully replacing them. The death penalty has always been criticized, but even more so now with its new execution method. The creation of lethal injection has had a successful impact on capital punishment due to its many factors: being cost effective, having support of the public and government, and being a better alternative.

First, Capital punishment should no longer be used as punishment because of botched executions. Execution in any method has high risk of pain and torture. In Austin Sarat’s book, Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty, reports that between 1890 to 2010, 276 of the 8,776 executions went wrong in some from or another, roughly 3.15%. What is even more interesting is that lethal injection, America’s favored form of execution, has a 7.12% botched execution rate, the highest off every method. With each new development in the methods of execution, they are advertised as safe, effective, and humane, but that is not the case. There are too many horrific stories of executions gone awry. Given these points, there is also no method of execution that can completely comply with our constitutional protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The risk of botched executions, especially with