Texas has no more executions scheduled in 2008. Eighteen people were executed in Texas this year. There probably would have been more, but there was a de facto moratorium on executions lasting from Sept 26, 2007 through the first 2008 execution in Texas on June 11. The de facto moratorium, which was caused by the wait for a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Baze case, started one day earlier in the rest of the nation, but Texas was able to execute one more person than it should have in 2007 after Sharon Keller said, “We close at 5” and refused to accept an appeal for Michael Richard on Sept 25, 2007.
Nine of the eighteen people executed in Texas in 2008 were African-American.
Six of the eighteen people executed in Texas in 2008 were white.
Three of the eighteen people executed in Texas were Hispanic.
66 percent of the people executed in Texas were Hispanic or black.
33 percent of the people executed in Texas were white.
Seven people were executed from Dallas County, the most from any county in 2008.
In 2007, Texas executed 26 people.
In 2008 as of November 26, there were 18 executions in Texas and 18 in other U.S. states.
Executed Offenders
| Execution | Link | Link | Last Name | First Name | TDCJ Number | Age | Date | Race | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 423 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Hudson | Robert | 999353 | 45 | 11/20/2008 | Black | Dallas |
| 422 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Manns | Denard | 999405 | 42 | 11/13/2008 | Black | Bell |
| 421 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Whitaker III | George | 999196 | 36 | 11/12/2008 | Black | Harris |
| 420 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Taylor | Elkie | 999112 | 46 | 11/6/2008 | Black | Tarrant |
| 419 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Wright | Gregory | 999253 | 42 | 10/30/2008 | White | Dallas |
| 418 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Nenno | Eric | 999188 | 45 | 10/28/2008 | White | Harris |
| 417 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Ries | Joseph | 999335 | 29 | 10/21/2008 | White | Hopkins |
| 416 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Watts | Kevin | 999456 | 27 | 10/16/2008 | Black | Bexar |
| 415 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Kelly | Alvin | 999012 | 57 | 10/14/2008 | White | Gregg |
| 414 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Murray | William | 999313 | 39 | 09/17/2008 | White | Dallas |
| 413 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Rodriguez | Michael | 999413 | 40 | 08/14/2008 | Hispanic | Dallas |
| 412 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Dorsey | Leon | 999359 | 32 | 8/12/2008 | Black | Dallas |
| 411 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Chi | Heliberto | 999437 | 29 | 8/7/2008 | Hispanic | Tarrant |
| 410 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Medellin | Jose | 999134 | 33 | 8/5/2008 | Hispanic | Harris |
| 409 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Davis | Larry | 999316 | 40 | 7/31/2008 | Black | Potter |
| 408 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Sonnier | Derrick | 999054 | 40 | 07/23/2008 | Black | Harris |
| 407 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Turner | Carlton | 999321 | 29 | 07/10/2008 | Black | Dallas |
| 406 | Offender Information | Last Statement | Chamberlain | Karl | 999241 | 37 | 06/11/2008 | White | Dallas |
Join the “Abolish the Death Penalty Project” on Amazee.com and help us win the Amazee Bucket membership contest. We could win up to $5,000 to use against the death penalty. The project with the most members by Jan 22 wins. If we win, we plan to use one-half of any prize money we win to help needy families of people on death row travel to visit their loved ones on death row. We will use the other half of the prize money to fight against the death penalty.
First go to the project page, then you have to click on “join project” on the right hand side, then click on “register”. Then to qualify as one of the members who count towards the contest, you have to upload a picture or avatar of yourself.
We were all moved by the family members who spoke at the 9th Annual March to Stop Executions in Houston, so we were thinking of how we could help them. We all know that the death penalty is reserved for the poor. There are no rich people on death row. We will use one half of any prize money we get through this contest to help family members visit their loved ones on death row. Many families have a hard time making ends meet and the extra cost of traveling long distances to visit their loved ones on death row is a great financial burden. Some of the people on death row have young children who rarely get to visit them. The other half would be used for activities during the upcoming Texas legislative session from Jan to May 2009, such as a big anti-death penalty rally at the capitol and other projects to persuade people to support abolishing the death penalty.
