1. Texas minority representation on death row as a percentage of the state’s population.
Minority overrepresentation of inmates on death row exists in the state of Texas. The Death Penalty Information Center (2006) reported that 69 percent of the prison population on death row in Texas constitutes minority groups when compared to the 82.7 percent white population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008) in the state. This means that even if minority groups constitute only 17.3 percent of the total population of Texas, 69 percent of the people in death row comprise of minority groups. Texas Department of Criminal Justice (2008a) reported that as of December 2007, 70.1 percent of the prison population under death row constitutes the minority group when compared to the total Texas population. When compared to the distribution of the minority population comprising 17.3 percent and white population comprising of 82.7 percent in Texas, there is a minority overrepresentation in terms of race in the prison population under death row in Texas. Although there are more while people in Texas when compared to the minority population, there are more inmates in death row belonging to the minority group. Texas Department of Criminal Justice (2008a) also reported that there are more males under death row when compared to females. The U.S. Bureau of Statistics reported that 50.2 percent of the total Texas population is made up of females. Although, there is a more or less equal distribution of males and females in Texas, there are more males under death row. Of the male death row population, more than half belong to the minority group in terms of race while in the female population, almost equal percentage are whites or falling under minority groups.
2. Texas mechanism for the housing and execution of death row inmates.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice (2008b) provides that inmates under death row are housed in the separate unit of the prison compound. In 1999, the unit where death row prisoners were housed was named the Polunsky Unit. Every inmate under death row is assigned to a single-person cell that measures 60 square feet with a window. Death row inmates have a regular food ration. Inmates under the death row also engage in recreational activities individually and they also have access to writing and reading materials, especially on the legal materials they need for their case. Access to the radio depends upon the level of custody of the inmate under death row. Men and women under death row are housed in a separate unit so that the women are held at the Mountain View Unit. Death row offenders do not have the TDCJ numbers as regular inmates since they are assigned with death row numbers.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice (2008b) also explains that the present mechanism for execution of death row inmates is by lethal injection, which was adopted in 1977. This constituted a development from the previous modes of execution such as hanging followed by electrocution. Lethal injection occurred by injecting through an IV, three drugs starting with an anesthetic followed by a paralyzing chemical and then by the toxic chemical to administer death. Although, the death penalty by lethal injection has been approved in 1977, it was only in 1982 that this was first used on an inmate found to be guilty of kidnapping and murder. As of 1996, the family members and friends of the victim were allowed to watch the execution.
3. Texas administrative rules pertaining to the execution of minors and mentally retarded inmates.
As early as Thompson v Oklahoma (1988), the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that the execution of inmates below the age of 15 is unconstitutional. As such, in states that previously allowed the execution of minors under death row, executions were limited only to individuals under death row who have committed the crime while they were above 15 but below 18 years of age. Recently, the Supreme Court issued another landmark decision in Roper v Simmons (2005) that declared unconstitutional the execution of inmates under death row who have committed the crimes while they were above 15 but below 18 years of age. This decision abolished the execution of inmates committing their crimes as minors. The decision also lowered the commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment. In effect, the execution of inmates who committed crimes punishable by death when they were minors will be stayed in Texas subject to the commutation of death penalty to life imprisonment.
In the case of the execution of inmates considered to be mentally retarded, Ford v Wainwright (1984) and Atkins v Virginia (2002) have banned the execution of inmates under death row with mental disabilities but in Texas, some inmates received sentence commutation while others have not because of lack of proof of mental disability. Texas employs expert evidence in determining mental disability. However, the problem in the case of inmates under death row is the lack of guidelines in determining those with mental disabilities for purposes of sentence commutation. (Death Penalty Information Center, 2008b)
Reference List
Atkins v Virginia (2002) 536 U.S. 304
Death Penalty Information Center. (2006). Resources: “DEATH ROW USA” fall 2006 now available – Florida surpasses Texas. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2036&scid=. Death Penalty Information Center. (2008). Mental illness news and developments: 2006. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2096.
Ford v Wainwright (1984) 467 U.S. 1220
Roper v Simmons (2005) 543 U.S. 551
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (2008a). Gender and racial statistics of death row offenders. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/racial.htm.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (2008b). Death Row Facts. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/drowfacts.htm.
Thompson v Oklahoma (1988) 487 U.S. 815
U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). State and county quickfacts: Texas. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48000.html.
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