Taking a Look at the Top 11 Counties for Executions in the Texas

For us in Tyler, Texas, for the most part, we have no problem with the death penalty. If a crime is heinous enough to warrant the ultimate punishment of death, we can accept that here. Other parts of the country don't see it that way and think it is cruel and unusual punishment. Texas leads the way for the number of executions per year with 11 counties having either double or triple digit executions throughout the years. Let's look at those 11 counties and how many executions have been carried out in East Texas.

Many Types of Brutal Executions Throughout Time

Executions have been a form of punishment since almost the beginning of time. Executions in those times would be considered horrifying in today's day and age. There was the guillotine where a person's head was placed in a stock and a large blade was dropped that would sever the head from the body. There was crucifixion like what Jesus we sentenced to in the Bible. Hanging was another form of execution. As firearms became the weapon of choice, firing squads became a common way to carry out a punishment. The electric chair, which used electricity to electrocute the condemned, was a common form of punishment, too. All of those ways were cruel and excruciating ways to die.

Today, executions are not carried not in that manner, at least not in the United States. Those who have been convicted and given the sentence of death are given a cocktail of drugs that will essentially put the person to sleep. The method is painless and peaceful which some would say is not the way they should go considering the brutality of the crime they carried out.

Executions in East Texas

East Texas is no stranger to carrying out executions. Below are the numbers for each county in our area:

• Smith - 14
• Titus - 8
• Gregg - 5
• Anderson - 4
• Hunt - 4
• Cherokee - 3
• Henderson - 2
• Hopkins - 2
• Polk - 2
• Harrison - 1
• Jasper - 1
• Kaufman - 1
• Nacogdoches - 1
• Newton - 1
• Sabine - 1
• Shelby - 1
• Trinity - 1
• Upshur - 1
• Wood - 1
• Houston - 1
• Morris - 1

Texas has no problem sentencing a criminal to death if the nature of the crime calls for it. This sentence is usually reserved who those commit murder, or multiple murders, that are done in a brutal or senseless manner. Below, we'll look at the Top 11 counties for executions in Texas and a prisoner that was executed in each of those counties.

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