Texas Led U.S. In Executions In 2023 Despite Decline In Death Penalty Use, Report Reveals

LOADING ERROR LOADING Despite declining death penalty usage, Texas still led the nation in executions this year, according to a new report that highlights the continuous failures of the state’s capital punishment system. “Receiving a death sentence or being executed amounts to a ‘lethal lottery,’ one that does nothing to deter crime or promote public safety.” - Kristin Houlé Cuellar, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty “Their trials, many of which took place decades ago, were plagued by egregious flaws ― including racial bias, junk science, testimony confusing jury instructions, and inflammatory testimony ― and their post-conviction appeals raised troubling concerns about the fairness of the death penalty system,” TCADP said in its report. “The randomness of capital punishment ― coupled with the egregiously flawed cases of those who remain on death row ― should compel Texans to abandon the death penalty altogether.” Texas’ capital punishment system also disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities. Despite Black people making up 11.8% of the Texas population, they comprise almost 46% of the state’s death row population, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.