Texas and the death penalty. It’s a pairing as synonymous with the state as BBQ or high school football. But if you’ve been watching the news lately, you might be wondering where things actually stand. With all the headlines about stayed executions, "shaken baby syndrome" science, and dwindling death row numbers, the reality is a lot more complicated than the "Old West" reputation suggests.
So, to answer the big question: Yes, Texas still has the death penalty.
But "having it" and "using it" look very different in 2026 than they did twenty years ago. The state hasn't abolished capital punishment—far from it—but the machinery of death has slowed down to a pace that would have been unthinkable in the 1990s.
The State of Play in 2026
Right now, capital punishment is still the law of the land in the Lone Star State. As of early 2026, there are roughly 160 to 170 people living on death row at the Polunsky Unit in West Livingston. If you’re looking for the hard numbers on the schedule, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) already has several dates on the books for this year.
For instance, Charles Thompson, who has been on death row since 1999, has a scheduled date for late January. Others like Cedric Ricks and James Broadnax are slated for the spring. But if 2025 taught us anything, it’s that a date on a calendar is no longer a guarantee of an execution.
Last year was actually a bit of a milestone, but maybe not the kind you’d expect. For the second year in a row, Texas wasn't the "execution capital" of America. That title went to Florida. In 2025, Texas judges set the fewest execution dates in over thirty years. Only five people were actually put to death. Just as many death row inmates died of natural causes or other issues in custody as were executed by the state.
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Why the Slowdown?
It isn't just one thing. It's a mix of legal shifts, changing science, and frankly, the astronomical cost.
Honestly, the "shaken baby syndrome" debate has been a massive wrench in the gears. The case of Robert Roberson really brought this to a head. He was scheduled to die in late 2024, but a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers did something unprecedented: they subpoenaed him to testify before a House committee just days before his execution. This move, combined with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) eventually granting a stay, signaled a huge shift.
Lawmakers and judges are now forced to reckon with the "junk science" law (Article 11.073 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure). This law allows prisoners to challenge convictions based on scientific evidence that has since been debunked or changed. Because Roberson's case is still looming large in 2026, it's making prosecutors a lot more cautious.
Geography Matters More Than the Crime
You’ve probably heard people say that justice depends on where you are. In Texas, that's literally true for the death penalty.
Most of the state has basically stopped seeking it. Out of 254 counties, only a tiny handful—mostly Harris (Houston) and Tarrant (Fort Worth)—regularly send people to death row. If you commit a capital crime in a smaller rural county, the local DA might look at the $2 million price tag of a death penalty trial and decide that life without parole is a much better deal for the taxpayers.
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Basically, the death penalty is becoming a "zip code" punishment.
What Crimes Actually Qualify?
You can't get the death penalty for just any murder. In Texas, it has to be "Capital Murder." That’s a specific bucket of crimes defined under Section 19.03 of the Penal Code.
Here is the gist of what gets you there:
- Killing a first responder: Police officers or firefighters on duty.
- Murder-for-hire: Whether you’re the one who paid or the one who pulled the trigger.
- The "Plus One" rule: Murdering someone while also committing another serious felony like kidnapping, burglary, or aggravated sexual assault.
- Multiple victims: Killing more than one person in the same "criminal episode."
- The age of the victim: Murdering a child under the age of 15 (this age threshold was updated in recent years).
- Retaliation: Killing a judge or justice because of their rulings.
Even if a crime fits these categories, a jury has to be unanimous on two "Special Issues":
- Is there a probability the defendant will be a "future danger" to society?
- Is there mitigating evidence (like childhood trauma or mental health issues) that makes a life sentence more appropriate than death?
If even one juror says "no" to the first or "yes" to the second, the defendant gets life without parole. No exceptions.
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The Legal Limbo of 2026
The vibe right now is one of "legal limbo." We’re seeing a lot of high-profile appeals coming to a head this year. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which used to be known for rubber-stamping death sentences, has become surprisingly active in granting stays lately.
They’re looking at things like:
- Intellectual Disability: Following the Moore v. Texas Supreme Court ruling, the state has had to rethink how it measures "clinical" disability.
- Racial Bias: Cases like Duane Buck's have forced courts to look at how race influenced expert testimony in the past.
- DNA Testing: There’s a constant tug-of-war over post-conviction DNA testing. Ruben Gutierrez, for example, has been fighting for over a decade just to get evidence from his case tested.
What’s Next?
If you’re following this because you care about the law or just want to know how your tax dollars are spent, here is the "actionable" part.
First, keep an eye on the Texas Legislature. There’s a growing, bipartisan group of members—people like Rep. Joe Moody and Rep. Jeff Leach—who are pushing for more oversight. They aren't all "abolitionists," but they are worried about the state killing an innocent person.
Second, watch the 2026 execution dates. The first few months of this year will tell us if the TCCA is going to continue its trend of granting stays or if the "machinery" is going to speed back up.
Actionable Insights for Following the Issue:
- Check the TDCJ website: They maintain a public list of "Scheduled Executions." It’s the most direct way to see who is next.
- Follow the TCADP (Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty): Even if you don’t agree with their mission, their annual reports are the gold standard for statistics on how many people are being sentenced and where.
- Watch the "Junk Science" Rulings: The outcome of Robert Roberson’s hearings in 2026 will likely set the precedent for dozens of other inmates who claim they were convicted on outdated medical theories.
Texas isn't going to abolish the death penalty this year. The political appetite just isn't there yet. But the era of Texas leading the world in executions every single year? That seems to be fading into the rearview mirror, replaced by a much slower, more expensive, and more legally fraught process.