The death penalty is a controversial issue that has been debated in the United States for a long period of time. In our own state of Texas, executing convicted criminals has become second nature. This is due to the fact that Texas has executed more people than any other state in the United States since 1976. So why does Texas lead the United States in executions? There are many reasons and factors that has led to this point. It is important to know the reasons to have a better understanding of capital punishment in Texas. Three of the reasons include a weak public defender system, desires of district attorneys and judges, and the governors limited power to grant clemency. Since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976 Texas has executed 531 inmates. That is 419 more executions than Oklahoma, the second leading state. Even more …show more content…
To win any kind of election/re-election candidates must work to please voters. Here in Texas where a majority of people have a strong pro-death penalty stance, judges must also have a strong stance regarding the death penalty if they would like to remain in office. This is concerning because judges will be more likely to seek he death penalty for the convicted so they can create a record of toughness to win over voters. Some elected judges are sometimes of lesser quality than appointed judges in other states, but since they have a record of toughness everything else is thrown out the window. District attorneys also try to maintain a tough reputation as well. Former Harris County District Attorney Johnny Holmes sought the death penalty as often as possible. It is record that after he left the office the number of death sentences as reduced drastically. The reasoning makes sense because of course the elected officials are here to serve the public, however they should not allow their egos and personal career stand in the way of giving out proper sentences to those that are
Humans have realized throughout the years since we have been on this planet that history repeats itself. They have also been proving innocent people guilty since the beginning of time, to prove certain situations that they would go to extremes to prove one person guilty. According to Pew Research Center found in 2015, “56% favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, while 38% are opposed”. When in 1996 “ 78% favored the death penalty, while just 18% were opposed”.
RUNNING HEAD: Executions pg. 1 Inmate Executions COR 120_191 Mia Lombardi Tiffin University RUNNING HEAD: Executions pg. 2 The question of the constitutionality of the sentencing of an inmate on Death Row in Texas is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court and found in favor of defendant Duane Buck.
New death sentences in Texas have dropped nearly 80% since 1999. Juries condemned 3 new individuals to death in Texas in 2016. Death sentences in 1999 when juries sent 48 people to death row. In 2015 and 2016, new death sentences fell to their lowest number since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas’ revised death penalty statute in 1976. In 2017, prosecutors sought death in 7 cases resulting in 4 new sentences.
Famous American cereal killer, John Wayne Gacy, had murdered and raped 33 adolescents, many of whom were teenagers, the justice system made sure this man could never do this again. The public is turning a blind eye to the many contributions the justice system makes, we should look at not only how we can reform, but how it contributes to society The justice system creates many contributions to society, such as the safety it provides for children and their chances of exploitation, the many instances where they convict dangerous individuals therefore creating a safer environment for the present and future of society, and the fact it provides all citizens of the public and private sectors, to have the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial,
The three most common reasons for retaining the death penalty are retribution, deterrence, and assuagement. Assuagement of course, refers to easing the pain of the victim's loved ones. Retribution is a society's need to “punish particularly egregious crimes.” Deterrence is the desire to prevent future crimes. By maintaining punishment for horrendous crimes in our
The University of Texas-Pan American Essay #2 Anna Salkinder LSPI July 27, 2015 The death penalty has been a major topic of debate in the United States as well as various parts of the world for numerous years. At this time, there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is legal. Nineteen states have completely abolished it (“States with and without The Death Penalty”). Since its initial development back in the 1600’s, the death penalty has taken a different course in the way it is utilized. In its early days, the death penalty was greatly used and implemented for several offenses.
Although Texas is the state with the greatest number of death row sentences and executions, it has one of the highest crime rates in the entire nation. Therefore, the death penalty is ineffective because it does not diminish the incidence of crimes, take the life of innocent people, is racially unequal, costly, and alternative measure can be implemented
Using the taxpayer’s money to keep a prisoner in a special system is not good for anyone. The death penalty is not good at deterring criminals, unlike having life in prison. California should change their death penalty system to cut the billions of dollars going to keep prisoners on death row. Works Cited “End the death penalty in California.”
The cost of appeals and other legal proceedings also adds to the overall cost of the death penalty. Furthermore, the use of the death penalty in Texas has been controversial due to the possibility of wrongful convictions. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, 173 people have been exonerated from death row in the U.S., including 13 in Texas. The possibility of executing an innocent person has led to calls for the abolition of the death penalty in Texas and other
One reason why capital punishment sanctions should not be allowed in Texas is due to the possibility of wrongful conviction towards
Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal process in which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime by the government of a nation. The United States is in the minority group of nations that uses the death penalty. There are thirty-three states that allow capital punishment and seventeen states that abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center). The morality of the death penalty has been debated for many years. Some people want capital punishment to be abolished due to how it can cost a lot more than life imprisonment without parole, how they think it is immoral to kill, and how innocent people can be put to death.
The death penalty should continue to be legal because it is inexpensive. The death penalty makes for a good way for people to get the justice they deserve. In Texas the death penalty being legal makes sure that the people that commit heinous crimes pay. Texas does not suffer from political doubt, and certain cases are a no other answer that the death penalty. It cost the Texas Department of Criminal Justice $83 to execute a prisoner by lethal injection alone.
Just in my state of Tennessee alone the trial average for a death penalty sentence is 48 percent higher than what it is for the typical life sentence trial (Tennessee Treasury Report, 2004).When you look into going to trial to prosecute someone for the death penalty it just gets more expensive year after year. The fact is that you have to pay more attorneys, more experts to go over the files, and more time is put into making sure that all things are in order (Chammah, 2016). You are paying multiple attorney's, defenders, judges, clerks, and juries to insure that every detail is covered within
There is a very short explanation to why the big numbers plays part in this. Death penalty is flawed in many ways. Together with all the required appeals to execute someone actually costs more than a lifetime in prison. Think about how much money the government would save if they stopped executing people. Let us take Texas as an example.
Waiting in a prison cell for many years, an inmate in death row doesn’t know when his life will come to an end. This is a law under the U.S. government that is allowed to kill people who have committed a crime that’s grave enough. If someone commits a capital crime, they will be punished legally under the law. Taking a rope to the neck, or charging volts to the brain, it’s what people are fighting against today. Organizations are taking action against the death penalty by researching, publishing, and exposing facts whenever officials want to abuse their power with the law.