Texas Death Penalty

Death Penalty The death penalty has been and will always be one of the most controversial topics in life, with opposing sides for and against, the death penalty is still obscure to many. The official definition of death penalty is execution of an offender being sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of criminal offense. The terms capital punishment and death penalty are frequently used to mean the same thing, though some believe there is a small difference between the terms. Death penalty is referring to the penalty received while capital punishment is referring to merely the execution. Around the world, death penalty has been exercised thousands of times throughout many centuries, the first execution in America occurred in
The states alone have executed fifteen thousand, eight hundred and thirty four, the federal government has executed thirty seven and the military has executed one thousand, four hundred and six. Death penalty peaked at its highest point in history from 1920 to 1939 resulting in two thousand, nine hundred and sixty eight executions. Since 1976 one thousand, three hundred and ninety two people have been executed, the majority of executions that took place, were in the South, resulting in eighty one percent of all executions. In Texas and Oklahoma alone there has been six hundred and fifty two executions. Virginia holds the highest number of executions since 1608, at one thousand, three hundred and eighty seven, and Wisconsin holds the lowest number of executions, one. A yearly statistic is taken as to how many executions have occurred per year since 1976, and 1999 leads with 98 executions that year. Death row is something that has definitely decreased over the years, but that hardly means it's not still around, because it is and there are many people today facing death penalty and currently on death row
For a person on death row to be found innocent they must have all charges related to the crime that put them on death row dismissed, be acquitted of all charges related to the crime that put the on death row or be granted a pardon based on evidence of innocence ( Death Penalty Information Center). With DNA technology developing greatly, the number of exonerations(the action of officially absolving someone from blame) have accelerated rapidly. Modern science and more intensified re- investigating of cases has led to the increasing number of freed