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Totals On Death Row In Texas (As of July 1, 2003)

There are 453 inmates on death row
188 African-Americans
145 Caucasians
115 Latino/as
5 Asians

Minimum age for the application of the death penalty

According to statute, in order to be eligible for execution, Texas offenders must be at least 17 at the time of the offense (the minimum age for execution as required by Stanford v. Kentucky is 16).

Texas Penal Code § 8.07. Age Affecting Criminal Responsibility (a) A person may not be prosecuted for or convicted of any offense that the person committed when younger than 15 years of age except:

…
(c) No person may, in any case, be punished by death for an offense committed while he was younger than 17 years.

Texas and Mental Retardation

Texas does not statutorily forbid the execution of those with mental retardation, however, the practice is prohibited by Atkins v. Virginia.

Texas' means of execution

All executions in Texas are by lethal injection.

Texas' procedure for pardons or granting clemency

The Governor of Texas does not have the sole authority to grant clemency. In order to attain clemency an inmate must first obtain the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The question of clemency will then appear before the Governor, who acts independently when making his decision. The Governor also has the authority to grant a 30-day reprieve without the recommendation of the board.

Governor
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-2000

Board of Pardons and Paroles
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
Executive Clemency Section
P.O. Box 13401, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone (512) 406-5852
Fax (512) 467-0945

Cases of Clemency Granted to Inmates with Death Sentences

Since Furman v Georgia, and the subsequent reinstatement of the death penalty, 289 Texas death row inmates have been executed (as of December 17, 2002). Within that same time frame, only one death row inmate has been granted clemency. In 1998, then Governor George W. Bush granted clemency to Henry Lee Lucas on the grounds of possible innocence.

Texas Death Row Statistics

Since Furman and the reinstatement of the death penalty in the US:

• There have been 305 executions in Texas (as of July 1, 2003).
• Texas accounts for 35.51% of the nation's executions since Furman.
• Texas has executed 14 of the 22 juveniles executed since Furman

(Death Row, U.S.A., Spring 2003, NAACP, Legal Defense and Educational Fund)

Texas Juvenile Executions Since 1976

Juveniles

Texas has 28 of the nation's 82 juvenile offenders on death row (As of 1 July 2003)

Foreign Nationals

Of the 454 inmates on Texas' death row as of July 1, 2003, 24 are reportedly foreign nationals.

Edgar Tamayo Arias

Juan Carlos Alvarez Banda

Ruben Ramirez Cardenas

Félix Rocha Díaz

Cesar Roberto Fierro Reyna

Ignacio Gómez

Humberto Leal Garcia

Ramiro Hernández Llanas

Roberto Moreno Ramos

Virgilio Maldonado Rodriguez

Ramiro Ibarra Rubí

Juan Ruiz

Héctor García Torres

Victor Saldano

Syed Rabani

Lim Kim Ly

Hector Romero

Walter Alexander Sorto

Gilmar Alexander Guevara

Dennis Corea

Edgardo Cubas

Bernardo Tercero

Linda Carty (Dual National - USA)

Chuong Duong Tong

Foreign Nationals Executed in Texas Since 1976:

All information about foreign nationals provided by Mark Warren, Human Rights Research

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