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State And Federal Info

Texas

Famous Cases

Karla Faye Tucker (November 18, 1959 – February 3, 1998) was convicted of murder in Texas in 1984 and put to death in 1998. She was the first woman to be executed in the United States since 1984, and the first in Texas since 1863.

Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 for arson in a 1991 house fire that killed his three daughters. The arson theories used as evidence in his case have since be repudiated by scientific advances, and arson experts now believe the fire may have been accidental.

Notable Cases

Anthony Graves spent 16 years in prison before being released on October 27, 2010. He was convicted based on the testimony of Robert Carter, who said Graves was his accomplice. Two weeks before Carter was scheduled to be executed in 2000, he provided a statement saying he lied about Graves’s involvement in the crime. He repeated that statement minutes before his execution. Graves’ conviction was overturned in 2006 due to prosecutorial misconduct, and the special prosecutor assigned to his new trial dropped the charges against him, saying “We found not one piece of credible evidence that links Anthony Graves to the commission of this capital murder…He is an innocent man”

Randall Dale Adams was convicted of killing a police officer. Another suspect, David Harris, was heard bragging about the murder, but said that Adams was the killer. The witnesses in Adams’ case were never cross-examined because they disappeared after testifying. After Adams’ conviction and death sentence were overturned, prosecutors did not seek a new trial due to evidence of Adams’ innocence. This case is the subject of the movie The Thin Blue Line.

Several death row inmates in Texas have been executed despite serious doubts about their guilt, but they have not been officially exonerated. (Names link to details of that case.)

  • Cameron Todd Willingham
  • Gary Graham
  • Carlos De Luna
  • Ruben Cantu
  • Frances Newton

Milestones in Abolition/Reinstatement

In September 2005, Texas implemented life without parole sentencing in capital cases. Prior to that, juries had a choice between the death penalty and life in prison with a possibility of parole after 40 years.

Texas “Firsts”

Texas was the first U.S. state to carry out an execution by lethal injection, executing Charles Brooks on December 7, 1982.

Texas is first in the number of executions carried out in the United States since 1976.

Other Interesting Facts

One Texas county (Harris) accounts for 280+ death sentences and 127 executions since 1982.

The Texas Governor cannot impose a moratorium on executions, as this authority is not allowed in the Texas Constitution. To give the Governor this power would require a constitutional amendment approved by voters.

Clemency process: The governor has clemency authority on the advice of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and needs a favorable recommendation from the Board in order to be able to grant clemency. The governor is not obligated to follow the recommendation of the Board, however. The governor also has the power to grant a one-time 30 day reprieve. The governor appoints the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Of Texas’ 254 counties, 136 have never sent a single offender to death row (1976-present). See a map of death sentences in Texas by county.

Texas has the Law of Parties, which allows offenders to be sentenced to death if present while a capital crime is being committed based on the offender being “criminally responsible for the conduct of another.”

13 juveniles were executed in Texas before the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons. 29 juveniles awaiting execution were sentenced to Life In Prison and removed from death row in response to the decision.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited the application of the death penalty to persons with mental retardation in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the Texas Legislature still has not enacted statutory provisions governing the standards and procedures to be followed in these cases.

Graphic by The Texas Tribune based upon data as of June 24, 2015.
Graphic by The Texas Tribune based upon data as of June 24, 2015.

Resources

  • Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP)
  • American Bar Association Texas Death Penalty Assessment Report
  • TCADP 2017 Annual Report
  • Texas Defender Service
  • Department of Criminal Justice
  • State Prosecuting Attorney
  • Task Force on Indigent Defense
  • Victims’ services
  • The StandDown Texas Project
  • Death Penalty News & Updates from Professor Rick Halperin of Southern Methodist University
  • Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions
  • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
  • Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit
  • Texas Death Row Information from the Dept. of Criminal Justice
  • ExecutionWatch, a radio show with live coverage of every Texas execution
  • Texas After Violence Project
  • List of current Texas death row prisoners, from the Texas Tribune
  • Faces on death row, a project of the Texas Tribune, featuring photographs and demographic data for Texas’ death row prisoners

Texas Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Innocence

May 18, 2023

Texas Prisoner Seeks Supreme Court Review of Conviction Based on Debunked Scientific Evidence

On May 11, attor­neys for Robert Roberson, a death-sen­tenced pris­on­er in Texas, filed a peti­tion for cer­tio­rari to the Supreme Court ask­ing it to reverse the deci­sion of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA). Mr. Roberson’s convicti…

Texas Prisoner Seeks Supreme Court Review of Conviction Based on Debunked Scientific Evidence

Recent Legislative Activity

Apr 21, 2023

Texas House Advances Bill to Limit ​‘Law of Parties’ in Capital Cases

On April 20, 2023, Texas leg­is­la­tors ini­tial­ly approved House Bill (HB) 1736 to lim­it the appli­ca­tion of the death penal­ty in cas­es where a defen­dant com­mits a felony that was accom­pa­nied by a mur­der car­ried out by some­one oth­er than the defendant…

Texas House Advances Bill to Limit ‘Law of Parties’ in Capital Cases

Innocence

Apr 20, 2023

Supreme Court (6 – 3) Allows Death Row Prisoner’s Bid for DNA Testing to Proceed

On April 19, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (6 – 3) in Reed v. Goertz that a Texas death row pris­on­er could con­tin­ue his pur­suit of DNA test­ing that a low­er court had blocked. The Court held that Rodney Reed’s (pic­tured) civ­il rights…

Supreme Court (6-3) Allows Death Row Prisoner’s Bid for DNA Testing to Proceed

Mental Illness

Apr 10, 2023

Editorial: Texas Should Bar the Death Penalty for Severely Mentally Ill Defendants

An edi­to­r­i­al in the Dallas Morning News urges the Texas leg­is­la­ture to pass a bill to ban the death penal­ty for peo­ple with severe men­tal ill­ness, stat­ing, it ​“seems like an obvi­ous deci­sion in a decent soci­ety.” House Bill 727, sponsored…

Editorial: Texas Should Bar the Death Penalty for Severely Mentally Ill Defendants

Innocence

Apr 04, 2023

After Being Exonerated From Texas’ Death Row, Clarence Brandley Never Received Justice

Clarence Brandley (pic­tured) was wrong­ful­ly con­vict­ed and sen­tenced to death in 1981 in Texas for the rape and mur­der of a 16-year-old white girl. From the out­set, he was tar­get­ed based on his race. On the day of the mur­der, a police offi­cer said …

After Being Exonerated From Texas’ Death Row, Clarence Brandley Never Received Justice

Arbitrariness

Mar 24, 2023

REPRESENTATION: Why Poor People in Texas End Up on Death Row and Face Execution

An in-depth piece in the Huffington Post exam­ines Harris County’s (Texas) sys­tem for pro­vid­ing rep­re­sen­ta­tion to those fac­ing the death penal­ty who can­not afford their own attor­ney. The process is explored through the sto­ry of Obel Cruz‑G…

REPRESENTATION: Why Poor People in Texas End Up on Death Row and Face Execution

Recent Legislative Activity

Mar 13, 2023

LEGISLATION: High Profile Cases in Texas Spur Legislative Activity on the Death Penalty

Prompted by the high-pro­file cas­es of Melissa Lucio, Andre Thomas, and John Ramirez, bills have been intro­duced in the Texas leg­is­la­ture to help pre­vent mis­car­riages of jus­tice. Representative Joe Moody (pic­tured right) has authored two bills, one…

LEGISLATION: High Profile Cases in Texas Spur Legislative Activity on the Death Penalty

Intellectual Disability

Mar 08, 2023

Texas Withdraws Execution Date to Allow for Mental Competency Consideration

A Grayson County, Texas court has with­drawn the April 5, 2023 exe­cu­tion date for Andre Thomas (pic­tured), a seri­ous­ly men­tal­ly ill pris­on­er whose legal team request­ed more time to demon­strate that Thomas is incom­pe­tent to be exe­cut­ed. While incarc…

Texas Withdraws Execution Date to Allow for Mental Competency Consideration

Conditions on Death Row

Feb 28, 2023

NEW RESOURCES: Interactive Display Illustrates Conditions on Death Row

A joint research project begun by two Texas uni­ver­si­ties illus­trates the con­fine­ment con­di­tions of death-row pris­on­ers, includ­ing areas such as vis­i­ta­tion, health care, attor­ney vis­its, recre­ation, food, and oppor­tu­ni­ties for work. The Capital…

NEW RESOURCES: Interactive Display Illustrates Conditions on Death Row

Intellectual Disability

Feb 20, 2023

Upcoming Executions Raise Concerns about Mental Illness and the Death Penalty

The cas­es of two defen­dants fac­ing immi­nent exe­cu­tion raise con­cerns about the appro­pri­ate­ness of death sen­tences for those with severe men­tal ill­ness or sharply-lim­it­ing men­tal dis­abil­i­ties. Andre Thomas is sched­uled for exe­cu­tion on April 5, 2…

Upcoming Executions Raise Concerns about Mental Illness and the Death Penalty
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View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: Yes
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 577 state executions, 6 federal executions
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 755
  • Current Death Row Population: 196
  • Women on Death Row: 6
  • Number of Innocent People Freed From Death Row: 16
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 3
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): January 1, 1974
  • First Execution After Reinstatement: 1982
  • Location of Death Row (Men): Polunsky Unit, Livingston
  • Location of Death Row (Women): Mountain View Unit (DR), Gatesville
  • Location of Execution: Walls Unit, Huntsville
  • Capital: Austin
  • Region: South
  • Population: 29,145,505*
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 4.86
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option?: Yes
  • Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder?: Yes
  • Method of Execution: Injection
  • How is Sentence Determined?: Jury
  • Clemency Process: Governor must have the Board of Pardons and Paroles' recommendation for clemency.
  • Governor: Greg Abbott

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