The Effect of the Death Penalty in Texas - 1316 Words

The Effect of the Death Penalty in Texas Introduction A lot of heat and controversy surrounds capital punishment in today’s society. The death penalty was built into the Texas justice system in 1835 and has retained most of its strength compared to the rest of the states. The famous motto â€Å"Don’t Mess with Texas† stands true when concerning the death penalty; In Kenneth William’s article, â€Å"Texas: Tough on Murderers or on Fairness?.† Williams states, â€Å"No one promotes this message [Don’t Mess with Texas] more than Texas prosecutors with their use of the death penalty. While the nation as a whole has become somewhat ambivalent about capital punishment, Texas prosecutors continue to seek death sentences on a regular basis, and the state†¦show more content†¦They randomly selected address throughout Texas and sent them a questionnaire filled with questions such as, â€Å"Do you support the death penalty?†,-â€Å"Should there be a waiting period to ensure an innocent li fe is not taken?†, and â€Å"Do you have confidence in the death penalty system?† Their research found that the majority of Texans still support the death penalty, yet they have little confidence in the system. The subjects surveyed expressed concern with the due process in which it is administered to inmates. Alternative Research However, In Morgan Reynolds online article, â€Å"Fair and Effective in Texas† on the Heartland Institute website, she states that she believes the death penalty in Texas does serve as a deterrent. She states that in Texas the death penalty is saved for the worst criminals who are truly deserving. She says that crime rates in Texas have fallen nearly sixty percent since the state started using the sentence for selective crimes in the 1990’s. She also states that if there is no death penalty than what value you are putting on the life of the victim. On the website Waco Trib, Tommy Witherspoon writes in his article â€Å"Pursuit of death penalty slows in McLennan County, Texas†, that the amount of inmates being sentences to death row is dwindling each year in Texas because of the new law enacting the option of life without parole. Life without parole is becoming popularShow MoreRelatedJust Kill Em? Essay1431 Words   |  6 PagesJust Kill ‘Em? The United States has a long history with the death penalty. The â€Å"first recorded execution was in Jamestown in 1608† (â€Å"Death Penalty in America† 259). Since then, thirty five states have continued to use the death penalty. Now it can be considered a normal punishment and many people feel strongly about it, but maybe we should forget what we have done in the past and take a second look. The death penalty should not be used in the United States because it is too expensive, affectsRead MoreThe Controversy Over the Death Penalty Essay907 Words   |  4 PagesThe Controversy Over the Death Penalty Why is the death penalty used as a means of punishment for crime? Is this just a way to solve the nations growing problem of overcrowded prisons, or is justice really being served? Why do some view the taking of a life morally correct? These questions are discussed and debated upon in every state and national legislature throughout the country. Advantages and disadvantages for the death penalty exist, and many members of the United States, and individualRead MorePro Death Penalty Speech1482 Words   |  6 Pagesintroduce myself before we get started. 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By the 10th Century BC, hanging, drowning, boiling, and burning, were added as ways for punishing simple crimes, or even for actions that today would not be consideredRead MoreEssay on Preserve or Outlaw?1731 Words   |  7 Pagesbeen executed as a result of a guilty verdict. Yet, 138 people in 26 states have been exonerated from death row with evidence proving their innocence, while many more have been executed despite evidence indicating possible innocence. In the United States, 34 states have the death penalty in place, while 16 states prohibit it (Death Penalty Information Center, â€Å"States With and Without the Death Penalty†). This shows the indecisiveness among the states on whether or not capital punishment should be allowedRead MoreThe Death Penalty: The Case of Carlos DeLuna Essay1321 Words   |  6 Pagesit’s right. † A man called Carlos DeLuna made his comment a couple years before his execution. In February 1983, Wanda Lopez was killed at a g as station in Texas. One witness argued that he saw a Spanish man, maybe Deluna, running out of the station. About 40 minutes later, Carlos Deluna was arrested near the gas station and sentenced to death in 1989. Deluna protested that he did not commit the crime, however, he was arrested. He even went further, he named the culprit, a violent criminal named CarlosRead MoreIs Capital Punishment a Deterrent? Murder Rates Compared with Execution Rates in Texas, and on a National Level1486 Words   |  6 PagesIB Math Studies IA Is Capital Punishment a Deterrent? | Murder Rates compared with Execution Rates in Texas, and on a National Level | | The United States of America is one of the only democratic countries that still use capital punishment. This has raised a rather extensive debate, especially over the last 4 decades. I became interested in this issue in 2011 after the controversy surrounding the execution of Troy Davis, and the issue has remained. In my research, one argumentRead More Death Penalty Essay664 Words   |  3 Pages The use of the death penalty in the United States has been a great debate for many years. One of the major aspects of this debate is whether or not we should continue to use this form of punishment for criminals. In my opinion, the death penalty should be abolished because it costs taxpayers much more than sending an inmate to prison and there is no factual evidence that it has any greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;One major reason that I believe thatRead MoreThe Arson Investigation Of The Texas Forensic Science Commission1432 Words   |  6 Pagessetting fire to their home in Corsicana, Texas. The damning evidence against Willingham was the arson investigator’s findings—that the fire was intentionally set with the help of a liquid accelerant, a discovery proven by laboratory tests and burn patterns. 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