The Death Penalty in Texas

How Texas law treats death penalty, from the state code and official state agencies.

Short answer: Texas has the death penalty. A person found guilty of a capital felony in a case where the state seeks death is punished by life without parole or death; Tex. Penal Code §§ 12.31(a), 19.03; Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 43.14(a)

Death penalty	Texas has the death penalty. A person found guilty of a capital felony in a case where the state seeks death is punished by life without parole or death; if the state does not seek death, the sentence is life without parole (life, if the offender was younger than 18). Capital murder is murder with a listed aggravating circumstance, such as killing a peace officer or firefighter on duty, murder during a kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault or arson, murder for hire, killing more than one person, or killing a child younger than 15. Executions are carried out by intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity, supervised by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Capital murder: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/pe/htm/pe.19.htm ; method: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/cr/htm/cr.43.htm Source: Tex. Penal Code §§ 12.31(a), 19.03; Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 43.14(a)

Death penalty

Texas has the death penalty. A person found guilty of a capital felony in a case where the state seeks death is punished by life without parole or death; if the state does not seek death, the sentence is life without parole (life, if the offender was younger than 18). Capital murder is murder with a listed aggravating circumstance, such as killing a peace officer or firefighter on duty, murder during a kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault or arson, murder for hire, killing more than one person, or killing a child younger than 15. Executions are carried out by intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity, supervised by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Capital murder: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/pe/htm/pe.19.htm ; method: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/cr/htm/cr.43.htm

Source: Tex. Penal Code §§ 12.31(a), 19.03; Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 43.14(a)

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FAQ

Does Texas have the death penalty?

General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.