Use of The Death Penalty In Texas-Free Assignment Sample

There are fifty-six countries in the world that are giving the death penalty to their residents who accused capital crimes. Texas is a part of the United States and the death penalty is legal in Texas. In this informative post, the writer from a coursework help provider company has addressed the assignment question, the use of the death penalty in Texas, 

Use of The Death Penalty In Texas-Assignment Question

Capital punishment is also known as the death penalty. Death penalty or capital punishment means that a person is killed by a state as a punishment for a crime. The sentence of this crime is known as the death sentence and this act is known as an execution. The crimes that are punishable to death are known as capital crimes. Some essential examples of capital crimes are murder, terrorism, drug dealing and war crime, etc. There are fifty-six countries in the world that are giving the death penalty to their residents who accused capital crimes.

Texas is a part of the United States and the death penalty is legal in Texas. If we take an overview of the death penalty in Texas, we come to know that the history of the death penalty in Texas is very old because the first person was accused of death in 1819. Till 1923, in Texas, the execution was done in the form of hanging. After 1923, this method was changed and the Texas government started to execute the persons who were accused of capital crimes on the electric chairs. Along with men, Texas has also executed some women in its history.

List of capital crimes in Texas

It is a fact that all the crimes don’t come into capital crimes. According to Texas government, some crimes that come into capital crimes are given below;

1. If a person is involved in the murder of a police officer on the duty, he will be sentenced to death.
2. If a person murders another person intentionally, he will also be considered as a culprit of a capital crime.
3. A person involved in the murder of remuneration will also be sentenced to death.
4. If a person tries to escape from the penal institution, he will also be sentenced to death.
5. A person who is involved in the kidnapping and sexual assault will also be considered as a culprit of capital punishment.
6. A person who murders an honorable judge of the Supreme Court or high court will also be sentenced to death.

Legal procedure

Before sentencing the culprit of capital punishment to death, the Texas government has to follow legal procedure. Its reason is that there is a possibility that a person is not committed in the capital punishment crime and he has full chance to prove his innocence in the court. The legal procedure in Texas consists of the following steps;

1) Trial phase

After seeking the prosecution of the death penalty, the jury will decide either a person should be sentenced to the death penalty or not. There are some members of the jury and if all the members of the jury give the vote for capital punishment, a sentence of capital punishment will be issued. On the other hand, if one of the jurors is not agreed, a life sentence will be issued. The jury members keep in mind lots of things like the danger of the defendant for the society, the commitment of the crimes and evidence during the trial phase.

2) Appeals

A person who is sentenced to death has a chance to appeal against the decision of the trial court in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. This court is considered as the highest court of the criminal tribunals in Texas. A person who is sentenced to death has also right to do appeal in the form of the writs of the habeas corpus. This chance of appeal is available for this person not only at the state level but also at the federal level.

3) Clemency

Along with a chance of appeal in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, a person has also a chance to make an appeal in Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. This agency is different from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In this agency, he can request that instead of capital punishment, he should be given the right to spend whole life as a prisoner in the central jail. After hearing the testimony of the criminal, this agency will decide either they should recommend this communication to this culprit or not. If this agency recommends communication for this culprit, Texas government has the right to accept or reject this communication.

Conclusion

The death penalty is another name of capital punishment. Texas is a state of the United States and the death penalty is legal in Texas. The main capital crimes in Texas are the murder of a person, sexual assault and terrorism, etc. Before giving capital punishment to a person, the Texas government has to follow some legal procedures. In these legal procedures, there comes the trial phase, appeals, and clemency.