Policy Quick Facts: TX Death Penalty

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is an act that takes the lives of criminals whose actions are deemed heinous enough to be put to death. The death penalty is currently not seen as a violation of the eighth amendment and is legal in the United States. (LII Staff ,2018, para 1). Texas is one of the several states that still implement the death penalty as a form of criminal punishment. Currently, 31 states still have the death penalty. In Texas, in order to be sentenced to death, one must first be found guilty of a capital felony. A capital felony is a crime "in which an individual intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual" ( Texas Death Penalty Law: Intro, 2017, para 1). Within the state of Texas, district courts have original jurisdiction of all criminal felony cases( Texas Death Penalty Law: Intro, 2017, para 1). When in court, it is up to the state prosecutor to provide the burden of proof that will inevitably decide whether or not a person is guilty of a capital offense. Before a capital felony trial, there is a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute an accused person. ( overview of, 2018, pg1) One must be at least 18 years of age to be given the punishment of the death penalty. (Texas Penal Code, Sec 8.07c) Once one is found guilty of a capital offense and sentenced to the death penalty, the defendant may now start the appeals process. The appeals process is a lengthy and tedious process that begins at the local court of appeals, sometimes ending at the United States Supreme Court. In Texas, all cases that rule in favor of sentencing a person to death are subject to automatic review by the Court of Appeals. (Texas Code of Criminal Procedures, Sec 37.071) The appeals process re-examines the case to ensure that the case was handled properly. When examining a case, the prior court's weight of evidence and whether or not it supports the verdict is examined, along with the effectiveness of the defendant's counsel is also examined. ( The Bias, para 1) In short, the appellate courts make dissents if a case that was previously tried and ruled upon was constitutional and that the defendant's rights weren't stripped away during the judgment process. Within the state of Texas, the direct appeal process has been in practice since 1973 (Texas Code of Criminal Procedures, Sec 37.071), in hopes of catching any mistakes that might lead to the wrongful death of an individual. If a defendant sentenced to death has not been given the lesser sentence of life in jail without parole or acquitted for their crime through the appeals process, they have one more chance to execute through the action of Clemency. "Clemency under the criminal justice system is the act by an executive member of the government of extending mercy to a convicted individual. In the United States, Clemency is granted by a governor for state crimes and by a president for federal crimes. Clemency can take one of three forms: a reprieve, a commutation of sentence, or a pardon" (Staff, F,2018, para 1).In Texas the Governor has the right to grant a prisoner for a capital offense a single 30-day reprieve of a scheduled execution. With the reprieve the Governor does not have to include the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in his/her decision. ( Texas Death Penalty Law:Intro, 2017, para 3) in the case the Governor does not by his or her own will grant a reprieve, a prisoner may submit a petition to the Board "for a communication of a lesser punishment" ( Texas Death Penalty Law: Intro, 2017, para 3). It is then up to the Board whether or not to communicate a prisoner's petition to the Governor based on a majority vote from the Board. When it comes to the execution of a prisoner in Texas, lethal injection is the most common practice. In 1997 lethal injection replaced the electric chair as Texas's legal method of execution. ( Texas Death Penalty Law: Intro, 2017, para 3) The lethal drug used is Pentobarbital. Currently, the average time one typically spends on death row before execution is 10.87 years; this is mainly due to how long the appeals process can be. Resources

LII Staff. (2018, September 02). Death Penalty. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/death_penalty

Texas Death Penalty Law: Introduction. (2017, November 3). Retrieved November 6, 2018, from https://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/texas-death-penalty

Staff, F. (n.d.). What Is Clemency? Retrieved November 7, 2018, from https://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/parole_probation/clemency.htm

The Basis for a Criminal Appeal. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2018, from https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/the-basis-for-a-criminal-appeal.html

(n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2018, from https://capitalpunishmentincontext.org/resources/trialprocess

T. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2018, from http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_facts.html