Tag: texas execution

Arguments that a convicted killer who shot a city code officer dead in 2005, suffered from severe mental illness, failed to stop Texas from executing another death row inmate this month. Adam Ward, 33, became the fifth prisoner to be executed this year on March 22. He was sentenced to death for the killing of…

execution needle

The number of executions carried out in Texas has been declining at the same time as the rest of the nation. However, Texas still executes far more prisoners than any other state. When inmate Raphael Holiday was put to death last month, he was the 13th convicted killer to be executed in the state this…

Texas has an unenviable reputation as the execution capital of the United States. Although the number of executions carried out in Texas has fallen in recent years, it remains ground zero for capital punishment. In some cases the state has pursued the ultimate sanction even when alarming questions linger over the original convictions. A case…

Texas has a longstanding reputation for being tough on crime and criminals. It executes more convicts than any other state and has a massive prison population. But now the state is making crime headlines for another initiative in which a softer approach brought in seven years ago appears to have reversed the out-of-control growth of…

lethal injection room

Manuel Velez was on death row in Texas for four of the nine years he had been incarcerated. Last week it was disclosed he should never have been in jail, let alone facing the death penalty. The 49-year-old building worker from Texas was released from Huntsville prison a free man last week. He was arrested…

lethal injection room

When it comes to the ultimate punishment, Texas sets many unenviable benchmarks. Last month the state made headlines by executing a woman when it put Lisa Coleman to death. The Washington Post reported on how she was the ninth person executed by Texas in 2014. The Lone Star State has executed more people than any…