Criminal law, Politics, Society

Texas Executes 500th Prisoner Since 1976

Terrehaute_gurneyperryYesterday presented what some would view as a striking contradiction as Texas Governor proclaimed that Texas “values life” in pushing for a bill that would have imposed strict new regulations on abortion while the state marked its 500th execution with the death of Kimberly McCarthy. She is the 500th to die in Texas since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.

McCarthy was a 52-year-old former occupational therapist who was convicted in 1997 of murdering her elderly neighbor, a retired professor, in a botched robbery.

Texas continues to lead the nation in executions though last year Texas executed more people than people sentenced to death for an eighth year in a row.

Here is the most striking statistic: just four states — Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Arizona — accounted for three quarters of all U.S. executions in 2012.

Source: CNN

59 thoughts on “Texas Executes 500th Prisoner Since 1976”

  1. I had an interesting conversation with a Cornell Law professor who claimed that when you view the amount of capital crimes committed within Texas it cannot be said to be the “leader” although it definitely is a severe offender.The southern states have a disproportionate amount of capital crimes committed.

  2. “”Texas isn’t a ‘red’ state — it’s a non-voting state,” Paul Begala @ Battleground …

    1. Religious people think arresting and death is good. That is what they wanted for Jesus. Why do people want to act like the enemy of Jesus?

    1. Anyone rationalizing killing to be good are religious. That is what they wanted for Jesus. Religious people do that with scripture doing the same thing to others.

  6. Isn’t the US great? We have such diversity from state to state, coast to coast and border to border. Sure folks may think that Texans are crazy mad, and that Californians are crazy nuts, but here we all are. Thanks to John Marshall and Lincoln, plus many, many others, we have held together. We have a Constitution that provides that when it comes to certain rights, the majority does not get to dictate. The same Constitution allows states to control a lot of what goes on exclusively within their borders. Different philosophies thus survive and we are better for it and an example of the advancement of civilization. WE WILL ALL NEVER AGREE, but we should all persevere in our quest, but without killing each other. Boy am I a dreamer.

  7. Brilliant solution [not] – for law enforcers to be military and para-military.

    We already have people with pencils being shot to death in wheel chairs, streakers being tazed/ beaten and women stomped in the head while teens are being forced to do sexual favors.

    So let’s make all police – MP’s – only bound by military laws and powers.

    Wonder what they called that back in the 1930’s and 40’s?

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