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With executions down, will the death penalty disappear?

The death penalty has been slowly on the decline in the U.S. Tough-on-crime Texas has also seen a decline in its use. What could that mean for the future of the penalty here?

by Ben Philpott, KUT News

Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

The death penalty has been slowly on the decline in the U.S. Tough-on-crime Texas has also seen a decline in its use. What could that mean for the future of the penalty here?

Read the full story — which is part of a series called State of Execution — at Texas Standard. The series also includes a look at elderly inmates and a story about the emotional toll of the death penalty on victims' families.

Read more from The Texas Tribune:

  • After a nearly four-hour delay while waiting on final appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, Terry Edwards was executed Thursday night for a robbery turned murder he claimed he did not commit.
  • Here is a look at the inmates currently on Texas' death row.

 

 

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Information about the authors

Ben Philpott

KUT NEWS