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Capital punishment in the U.S. state of Texas is a form of punishment in which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime. Since the death penalty was re-instituted in the United States with the 1976 ''Gregg v. Georgia'' decision, Texas has executed more inmates than any other state, beginning in 1982 with the execution of Charles Brooks, Jr.. Since 1982, 531 people have been executed in Texas.〔https://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_executed_offenders.html〕 Since 1923, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has been in charge of executions in the state. TDCJ houses death row prisoners after they are transported from their counties of conviction, and administers the death penalty on a condemned person's court-scheduled date of execution.〔"(Death row )." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on September 27, 2010.〕 Male death row inmates are held at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit and female death row inmates are held at the Mountain View Unit, while all executions occur at the Huntsville Unit. Texas has used a variety of execution methods: until 1924, the state used hanging; from 1924 - 1964, Texas used electrocution; and lethal injection has been since the ''Gregg'' ruling. Most executions were for murder, but other crimes such as piracy, cattle rustling, treason, desertion, and rape were subject to death sentences historically. Under current state law, the crime of capital murder is eligible for the death penalty. In order for a murder to be a "capital murder," it must meet one of the aggravating circumstances. A capital murder trial is divided into a guilt and punishment stages. At the punishment stage, a jury is required to consider mitigating circumstances before imposing a death sentence. Death row inmates in Texas often have a lengthy appellate process involving their conviction. ==History== The first recorded execution in Texas occurred in 1819 with the execution of a white male, George Brown, for piracy.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/ESPYyear.pdf )〕 In 1840, a black male, Henry Forbes, was executed for jail-breaking. Prior to Texas statehood in 1846, eight executions—all by hanging—were carried out.〔 Upon statehood, hanging would be the method used for almost all executions until 1924. Hangings were administered by the county where the trial took place. The last hanging in the state was that of Nathan Lee, a man convicted of murder and executed in Angleton, Brazoria County, Texas on August 31, 1923.〔"http://www.executedtoday.com/2010/08/31/1923-nathan-lee-angleton-last-public-hanging-in-texas/. ''Executed Today.com''. Retrieved 8 May 2014.〕 The only other method used at the time was execution by firing squad, which was used for three Confederate deserters during the American Civil War as well as a man convicted of attempted rape in 1863.〔(The Espy File: 1608–2002 ). ''Death Penalty Information Center''. Retrieved 23 February 2009.〕 Texas changed its execution laws in 1923, requiring the executions be carried out on the electric chair and that they take place at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville (also known as Huntsville Unit). From 1928 until 1965, this was also home to the state's male death row. The first executions on the electric chair were on February 8, 1924, when Charles Reynolds, Ewell Morris, George Washington, Mack Matthews, and Melvin Johnson had their death sentences carried out. The five executions were the most carried out on a single day in the state. The state would conduct multiple executions on a single day on several other occasions, the last being on September 5, 1951. Since then, the state has not executed more than one person on a single day, though there is no law prohibiting it. A total of 361 people were electrocuted in Texas, with the last being Joseph Johnson on July 30, 1964. The United States Supreme Court decision in ''Furman v. Georgia'' (), which declared Georgia's "unitary trial" procedure (in which the jury was asked to return a verdict of guilt or innocence and, simultaneously, determine whether the defendant would be punished by death or life imprisonment) to be unconstitutional on the grounds that it was a cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, essentially negated all death penalty sentences nationwide. At the time of the decision 52 inmates (45 on death row and seven in county jails awaiting transfer to TDCJ) had been given the death penalty; all were commuted to life in prison.〔"(Death Row Facts )." ''Texas Department of Criminal Justice''. Retrieved on May 6, 2010.〕 The ''Furman'' decision led to a 1973 revision of the laws, primarily by introducing the bifurcated trial process (where the guilt-innocence and punishment phases are separate) and narrowly limiting the legal definition of capital murder (and, thus, those offenses for which the death penalty could be imposed). The first person sentenced to death under a new Texas statute was John Devries on February 15, 1974; Devries hanged himself in his cell on July 1, 1974 (using bedsheets from his bunk) before he could be executed.〔 The Supreme Court decision in ''Gregg v. Georgia'' in 1976 once again allowed for the death penalty to be imposed. (A Texas case was a companion case in the ''Gregg'' decision and was upheld by the Court; the Court stated that Texas' death penalty scheme could potentially result in fewer death penalty cases, an irony given that post-''Gregg'' Texas has by far executed more inmates than any other state.) However, the first execution in Texas after this decision would not take place until December 7, 1982 with that of Charles Brooks, Jr.. Brooks was also the first person to be judicially executed by lethal injection in the world, and the first African American to be executed in the United States since 1967. In the post-''Gregg'' era, Texas has executed 531 people.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/number-executions-state-and-region-1976 )〕 There are a variety of proposed legal and cultural explanations as to why Texas has more executions than any other state. One possible reason is due to the federal appellate structure – federal appeals from Texas are made to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Michael Sharlot, dean of the University of Texas at Austin Law School, found the Fifth Circuit to be a "much more conservative circuit" than the Ninth Circuit to which federal appeals from California are made. According to him, the Fifth is "more deferential to the popular will" that is strongly pro-death penalty and creates few legal obstacles to execution within its jurisdiction.〔As quoted in Robert Bryce, "Why Texas is Execution Capital," The Christian Science Monitor, December 14, 1998.〕 As of 2004, however, Texas may have a lower rate of death sentencing than other states, according to a study by Cornell University.〔"(Cornell study reveals surprising findings on death row, race and the most death penalty-prone states )." ''Cornell University''. February 26, 2004. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.〕 Texas has executed nine women in its history, the most recent being Lisa Ann Coleman on September 17, 2014. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Capital punishment in Texas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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