Over the past 25 years, Texas has led the nation in the number of executions, with 456 taking place from 1985 through June 16, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website. But the executions are slowing.
Statistics on TDCJ’s website show that the number of executions carried out in Texas reached an all-time high in 2000, when the state put to death 40 inmates. That accounted foralmost half of all executions in the country that year. As noted on the Death Penalty Information Center website, 85 executions occurred nationwide in 2000. The DPIC is a nonprofit organization that looks at issues related to the death penalty, says Richard Dieter, DPIC’s executive director.
