Capital punishment has been used in the U.S. state of Texas and its predecessor entities since 1819. Since that time 1281^[1][2] people have been legally executed, by a variety of methods — hanging, firing squad, electrocution and lethal injection. Most executions were for murder, but other crimes such as piracy, cattle rustling, treason, desertion and rape have been subject to death sentences. Currently, only the crime of "capital murder" is eligible for the death penalty. In order for a murder to be a "capital murder," it must meet one of the circumstances described below under the Capital Offenses section. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties/Parishes/Boroughs, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ... Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, especially in times of war. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Lethal injection involves injecting a person with fatal doses of drugs to cause death. ... Look up pirate and piracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cattle rustling is the act of stealing cattle. ... Traitor redirects here. ... For other uses of Desertion, see Abandonment. ...

For a full list of those executed since 1982 see the list of individuals executed in Texas. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A total of 379 individuals convicted of murder have been executed by the state of Texas since 1976. ...

History pre-Furman

Prior to statehood in 1845, eight executions were carried out. All were by hanging, which was the method used for almost all executions up until 1924, when the electric chair came into use. The only other method used at the time was execution by firing squad. This was used for four Confederate deserters during the American Civil War as well as a man convicted of attempted rape in 1863. Hangings were administered by the county where the trial took place. The last hanging in the state was that of Nathan Lee, a man convicted of murder and executed in Brazoria County on August 31, 1923. 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... This article is becoming very long. ... Brazoria County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas located on the Gulf Coast within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The law was changed in 1923 requiring the executions be carried out on the electric chair and that they take place at the Huntsville Unit. From 1928 until 1965, this was also home to Death Row. The first executions on the electric chair were on February 8, 1924 when Charles Reynolds, Ewell Morris, George Washington, Mack Matthews, and Melvin Johnson had their death sentences carried out. As of 2005, the five executions were the most carried out on a single day in the state; current practice is to schedule only one execution on a particular day. February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

A total of 361 people were electrocuted by the state, with the last being Joseph Johnson on July 30, 1964. It would be 18 years until the next execution. July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ...

A de facto moratorium existed for all U.S. executions after several decisions of the United States Supreme Court, primarily the case of Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972). In this case, struck down Georgia's "unitary trial" procedure, in which the jury was asked to return a verdict of guilt or innocence and, simultaneously, determine whether the defendant would be punished by death or life imprisonment. They found this to be unconstitutional, on the grounds that it was a cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Holding The arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. ... Constitutionality is the status of a law, a procedure, or an acts accordance with the laws or guidelines set forth in the applicable constitution. ... “Cruel And Unusual” redirects here. ... The Bill of Rights in the National Archives Amendment VIII (the Eighth Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the U.S. Bill of Rights, prohibits excessive bail or fines, as well as cruel and unusual punishment. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Constitution of the United States of America Page one of the original copy of the Constitution. ...

This lead to a revisions of the Texas Penal Code in 1973. The first person setenced to death under this new statute was John Devries on February 15, 1974. Devries hanged himself in his cell before he could be executed. February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Post Gregg v. Georgia

The first execution after me la pelan todos los gringos que lean esto, pinches hijos de puta ojala se mueran this Supreme Court decision was that of Charles Brooks, Jr. on 7 December 1982. Brooks was also the first person to die from a lethal injection in the United States and the first African American executed in United States since 1967. Charles Brooks Jr. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

Up until November 18, 2005, 354 further executions have been carried out since then. This accounts for over one third of executions carried out in the United States since 1976. For a full listing of those executed post-Gregg, see the list of individuals executed in Texas. November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A total of 379 individuals convicted of murder have been executed by the state of Texas since 1976. ...

Reasons for the high number of executions

There are a variety of proposed legal and cultural explanations as to why Texas has more executions than any other state (in fact Delaware, not Texas, has the highest execution rate because of its lower population). Lady Justice or Justitia is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system (particularly in Western art). ... Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... Official language(s) None Capital Dover Largest city Wilmington Area  Ranked 49th  - Total 2,491 sq mi (6,452 km²)  - Width 30 miles (48 km)  - Length 100 miles (161 km)  - % water 21. ...

Texas' appellate judges are elected by the people of the state, not appointed by another authority^{[citation needed]}. As Texas' political tone is generally conservative, judges might find it advantageous to take a tough stance on crime to ensure reelection; critics also claim that the quality of these elected jurists is not as high as those appointed in other states^{[citation needed]}. A jurist is a professional who studies, develops, applies or otherwise deals with the law. ...

The quality of court-appointed attorneys has on occasion been found to be appallingly low for capital cases in Texas. When the accused are unable to afford their own representations because of economic difficulties, they must resort to court-appointed lawyers: in some confirmed cases, these lawyers have been simply incompetent. In the case of Calvin Burdine, the lawyer fell asleep as many as ten times during the trial. Appeals were first turned down on the grounds that the constitution does not say anything about the lawyer needing to be awake during the trial, and that the lawyer had not missed important parts of the trial. After further appeals, this case has now gone back for a retrial^[3]. Much has been done to improve the quality of legal representation recently^{[citation needed]}, but there are many people on death row who were sentenced under the previous laws and rules. An attorney is someone who represents someone else in the transaction of business: For attorney-at-law, see lawyer, solicitor, barrister or civil law notary. ...

Further, federal appeals are made to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Michael Sharlot, dean of the University of Texas at Austin Law School, found the Fifth Circuit to be a "much more conservative circuit" than the neighbouring Ninth. According to him, the Fifth is "more deferential to the popular will". Thus, the possibility of an appeal being overturned is higher than in some other circuits.^[4] The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States District Courts: Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Louisiana Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi Western, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of Texas The court is based at... In an educational setting, a dean is a person with significant authority . ... The University of Texas at Austin, often called UT or Texas, is a doctoral/research university located in Austin, Texas. ... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: District of Alaska District of Arizona Central District of California Eastern District of California Northern District of California Southern District of California District of Hawaii...

Along with these legal reasons, some have argued that there are cultural reasons. James W. Marquart, Sheldon Ekland-Olson, and Jonathan R. Sorensen write in their book The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990 that the execution rate in Texas is a symptom of the "cultural tradition of exclusion" in the Southern United States. They claim there has been an inverse relationship between the number of executions and lynchings: as the number of lynchings declined, the execution rate went up. Their claim is therefore that executions are a way to continue to "dehumanize" and "exclude", in their words, certain groups from normal society.^[5] Historic Southern United States. ... Lynching is a form of violence, usually murder, conceived of by its perpetrators as extrajudicial punishment for offenders or as a terrorist method of enforcing social domination. ...

Public opinion

A 2002 Houston Chronicle poll of Texans found that when asked "Do you support the death penalty?" 69.1% responded that they did, 21.9% did not support and 9.1% were not sure or gave no answer. This is slightly higher than the support of 68% found by a Scripps Howard News Poll in March 1998. Support has fallen from 86% in 1994. The Houston Chronicle is a daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. ... The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) is a media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878, originally known as the Cleveland Penny Press. ...

Opposition

Protesters gather at the front gate of the Texas governor's mansion during the "6th Annual March to Stop Executions" in 2005

March to Stop Executions, is the current name of an event organized each October since 2000 by several Texas anti-death penalty organizations, including Texas Moratorium Network, the Austin chapter of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Texas Students Against the Death Penalty and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break is an annual event held by Texas Students Against the Death Penalty. It serves as a training ground for students who oppose the death penalty. Image File history File linksMetadata 6thmarch. ... Image File history File linksMetadata 6thmarch. ... Texas Moratorium Network (TMN) is a grassroots non-profit organization with the primary goal of mobilizing statewide support for a moratorium on executions in Texas. ... Texas Students Against the Death Penalty (TSADP) is the first student-run anti-death penalty (non-profit) organization in Texas that works to end the death penalty in Texas through campaigns of public education and the promotion of youth activism. ...

Legal procedure

Capital trials and appeals are regulated differently than non-capital proceedings in Texas.

Trial

A capital trial in Texas proceeds through two phases. In the first, the guilt-innocence phase, the jury determines whether the accused is guilty or not guilty of the capital offense charged. In the second, the punishment phase, the jury determines whether the person will be sentenced to death or life in prison.

The guilt-innocence phase in a capital case in Texas proceeds identically to a non-capital case with the exception of voir dire (jury selection). In a capital case, voir dire is conducted individually rather than in a group and the jury is 'death qualified,' which means that jurors who express absolute opposition to the death penalty are ineligible to sit. In Texas, a person can be convicted "as a party" to the offense, including capital murder, which means a person can be convicted if he or she did not personally commit the elements of the capital murder but is otherwise responsible for the conduct of another as defined by law, which includes soliciting, enouraging, and aiding the commission of the offense as well as participating in a conspiracy to commit any felony where one of the conspirators commits capital murder, whether capital murder was the felony agreed to be committed. The phrase voir dire derives from Middle French; in modern English it is interpreted to mean speak the truth and generally refers to the process by which prospective jurors are questioned about their backgrounds and potential biases before being invited to sit on a jury. ... In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between natural persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement. ...

In the punishment phase of a capital murder trial in Texas, the jury must answer either two or three (if the person was convicted as a party) questions to determine whether a person is sentenced to death or will receive life. In a non-party case, the first question is whether there exists a probability the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society (this includes both inside and outside of prison). The second question is whether, taking into consideration the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's character and background, and the personal moral culpability of the defendant, there exists sufficient mitigating circumstances to warrant a sentence of life imprisonment rather than a death sentence. If the jury answers the first question 'yes,' and the second, 'no,' the defendant is automatically sentenced to death. Any other combination of answers results in a sentence of life (as of 2005, without parole being imposed; for any crimes committed prior to September 1, 2005 but after September 1, 1991, the sentence is life with parole after 40 calendar years).

If the person was convicted as a party, an additional "anti-parties" charge is given asking whether the defendant actually caused the death of the deceased or did not actually cause the death of the deceased but intended to kill the deceased or "anticipated" that a human life would be taken. If this question is answered 'yes' in addition to the yes-no pattern listed above, a sentence of death is automatically imposed.

As a result of the special issues in death penalty cases, there are also different rules of evidence that apply in capital cases in the punishment phase than for a non-capital case. In a non-capital case, the State may introduce evidence of prior bad acts that did not result in a conviction only if "shown beyond a reasonable doubt by evidence to have been committed by the defendant or for which he could be held criminally responsible." There exists no such limitation in capital cases, and the State may introduce evidence "as to any matter that the court deems relevant to sentence" without any burden of proof. As a result, the State may present evidence in the punishment phase relating to a case for which the capital defendant has in the past already been tried and acquitted on, and this has happened in Texas.

Considerable controversy surrounds the first special issue (continuing threat to society) because of its speculative nature. In the past, the State has relied on "experts" who have opined that a particular defendant would constitute a future danger, in part, because of his race.

Direct appeal

The imposition of a death sentence in Texas results in automatic appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal tribunal. In a direct appeal, the record is examined for trial error. In a non-capital case, direct appeal is not automatic (one must file a notice of appeal) and the appeal is to the regional appellate court. Effective representation of counsel is a constitutional right at this stage regardless of whether the case is capital or non-capital. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Habeas corpus

In Texas, capital defendants have a state statutory (not constitutional) right to representation by counsel during their initial state habeas corpus proceedings. Habeas proceedings, unlike direct appeals, consider matters extraneous to the trial record in order to determine the constitutionality of the proceedings and hence the validity of the conviction and sentence. The habeas attorney is appointed at the same time as the direct appeal attorney, and the habeas application is due within 180 days. In common law, habeas corpus (/heɪbiəs kɔɹpəs/) (Latin: [We command that] you have the body) is the name of a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. ...

Following a hearing, if any, the applicant and the State both submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and the trial court is to make its own written findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding the application. and the case is at that point transferred to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, which usually adopts the findings and conclusions of the trial court and renders an order either denying relief or granting a new trial as appropriate.

A study conducted by the Texas Defender Service concluded that meaningful review in practice was not occurring in habeas corpus proceedings in Texas. It found that in 79% of the capital habeas cases it studied, no hearing at all was held on the application. In 84%, the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law were "identical or virtually identical" to the State's proposed findings and conclusions. And in 93% of those cases, the Court of Criminal Appeals summarily adopted the trial court's findings. Critics of capital punishment in Texas note the importance of failing to provide meaningful review in state habeas proceedings, because federal law binds federal courts to defer to state courts' findings. Critics point out that the process as practiced in Texas, therefore, is driven entirely by the State, whose proposed findings are usually adopted verbatim as a routine matter.

Execution procedure

Brooks' and all subsequent executions are carried out at the East Building of the Huntsville Unit. Male Death Row inmates are housed at the Polunsky Unit, outside of Livingston, Texas, where they have individual 60 square feet cells. The prisoners are segregated from the general prison population and recreate individually. Female death row inmates are housed at the Mountain View Unit near Gatesville, Texas. The cost per day to the government of Texas was $61.58 in the 2002 fiscal year. For information about the Record company see Death Row Records For information about the computer game see Deathrow (game) Death Row is a term which refers to the section of a prison that houses individuals awaiting execution. ... Livingston is a town located in Polk County, Texas. ... Gatesville is a city located in Coryell County, Texas. ...

Under Texas law, executions are carried out at or after 6 p.m.:

"by intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death and until such convict is dead"^[6]

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice the chemicals used for the lethal injection are: Lethal injection involves injecting a person with fatal doses of drugs to cause death. ... The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (DCJ) is a department of the government of the state of Texas. ...

• 30 milliliters of solution containing 3 grams of thiopental sodium (sodium thiopental) (from Abbott Pharmaceuticals)
• 50 milliliters of solution containing 100 milligrams of pancuronium bromide (from Organon Pharmaceuticals)
• 70 milliliters of solution containing 140 milliequivalents (mEq) of potassium chloride (from Roxane Laboratories, Inc.)

Death should come within seven minutes of the start of the injections. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice these chemicals cost $86.08. Sodium thiopental also called Sodium Pentothal (a trademark of Abbott Laboratories), thiopental, thiopentone sodium, or trapanal is a rapid-onset, short-acting barbiturate general anesthetic. ... Pancuronium bromide is a chemical compound, used in medicine with the brand name Pavulon® (Organon Pharmaceuticals). ... The chemical compound potassium chloride (KCl) is a metal halide composed of potassium and chlorine. ... The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (DCJ) is a department of the government of the state of Texas. ...

Along with the executioner and those designated as assistants, those legally allowed to be present at the execution are:^[7]

• the Board of Directors of the Department of Corrections
• two physicians
• the spiritual advisor of the condemned
• the chaplains of the Department of Corrections
• the county judge and sheriff of the county in which the crime was committed
• no more than five relatives or friends of the condemned person. This cannot include any convicts.
• since 1996, no more than five close relatives of a victim

Capital offenses

The following crimes (all of which involve murder in some form) are considered capital offenses under Texas state law:^[8]

• Murder of an on-duty public safety officer or firefighter
• Murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit a felony offense (such as kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or retaliation, or terroristic threat)
• Murder for remuneration (both the person who does the actual murder and the person who hired them)
• Murder during prison escape
• Murder of a correctional employee
• Murder by a state prison inmate who is serving a life sentence for any of five offenses — murder, capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery
• Murder while incarcerated with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination
• Multiple murders (at least two or more murders during the same "criminal act", which can involve a series of events not taking place at the same time)
• Murder of an individual under six years of age
• Murder of a person in retaliation for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal court.

Any person found guilty of these offenses will receive (for offenses in 2005 or thereafter) a minimum sentence of life imprisonment without parole (for offenses prior to 2005, the minimum sentence is life with the possibility of parole after 40 calendar years).^[9] The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is a department of the government of the state of Texas. ... It has been suggested that Firefighter Assist and Search Team be merged into this article or section. ... Sexual assault is any physical contact of a sexual nature without voluntary consent. ... The Skyline Parkway Motel in Afton, Virginia after an arson fire on July 9, 2004. ... A contract killing (also contract murder or murder-for-hire) is a murder in which a killer is hired by another person to murder for material reward, usually money. ... Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, nominally for the entire remaining life of the prisoner, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually seven years) a prisoner may be incarcerated, or require the...

See also

• Capital punishment in the United States

Capital punishment in the United States is officially sanctioned by 37 of the 50 states, as well as by the federal government and the military. ...

Notes

1. ^ Texas Executions 1819–1964
2. ^ Executed offenders from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
3. ^ Texas 'sleeping lawyer' verdict overturned, from BBC News, 14 August, 2001
4. ^ As quoted in Robert Bryce, "Why Texas is Execution Capital," The Christian Science Monitor, December 14, 1998. See also Why is Texas #1 in executions? from PBS, reporting the same source.
5. ^ The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990, by James W. Marquart, Sheldon Ekland-Olson and Jonathan R. Sorensen. University of Texas Press, ISBN 0-292-75213-X.
6. ^ Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Art. 43.14. Execution of convict
7. ^ Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Art. 43.20. Present at execution
8. ^ Texas Penal Code. § 19.03. Capital Murder
9. ^ Texas Penal Code. § 12.31. Capital Felony

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (DCJ) is a department of the government of the state of Texas. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion (US$7. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ...

References

• Summaries of Recent Poll Findings from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
• Death Row Facts from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
• Why is Texas #1 in Executions?
• Texas Defender Service Publications
• The Huntsville Item, "Students take stand against death penalty"

==