Death Penalty in Texas
Capital punishment had become one of the timeliest issues in the contemporary United States. In this perspective, the experience of Texas has to be taken into consideration because this state has a rich history of using death penalty: Texas had been using the capital punishment since the early days of the Republic, and it went through the long path from hanging the death injection. It allows to answer many questions regarding the necessity of capital punishment, and why it is important for the society and the penal system. In addition to historical experience, the recent cases of the criminals on a death row show that the death penalty is definitely crucial because it guarantees that the criminals would not be dangerous for the society in the future (‘future dangerousness’ argument). Therefore, the death penalty in Texas had evolved from the hanging to the death injection, which articulates the tendency to humane ways of execution, and the recent experience shows the necessity of capital punishment for the society because of the ‘future dangerousness’ argument and ability to keep the money of tax payers.
Firstly, it is necessary to describe the first stage capital punishment history in the state of Texas. There are three distinguishable eras of the death penalty in this state, each defined by the method of execution (Goldberg and Bunn 65-66). The first period, when the punishment was carried out by hanging, lasted from the Texas’ origins as the Republic until 1923. At that time, the executions were administered on a county level, which means that there are no state records that belong to that period. Despite the lack of information, there is no doubt that the range of crimes punishable by hanging were ‘historically broad and included treason, murder, rape, robbery, burglary, and arson’ (Goldberg and Bunn 66). Moreover, a considerable part of executions was not controlled by the authorities. It allows making a conclusion that the penal system of Texas experienced the crucial necessity of reforms. In addition to that, racial and gender bias was one of the characteristics of capital punishment institution of that period. In this perspective, the frontier justice and lynching were the features of ‘hanging’ era of capital punishment in Texas.
The second period of capital punishment in Texas has to be taken into consideration. It lasted from 1924 until the late 1960’s. In 1924, the electrocution became the primary method of executions, which were administered by the state authorities (Goldberg and Bunn 66). State officials initiated a number of reforms that were supposed to ensure the fairness of the process and regulate the executions. In addition, the legislators demanded from prison officials to carry out all executions in the state penitentiary in Huntsville (Goldberg and Bunn 66). These policies gave an ability to put the process of execution under the governmental control and increase the overall efficiency of the penal system. Considering the social progress of Texas community, the state officials also narrowed the range of capital …
