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Edward Busby, shown tearing up during a 2004 jailhouse interview, recently became the 600th person executed since Texas resumed executions in 1982. He was put to death despite agreement among experts that he was ineligible for execution due to his intellectual disability.<\/p>\n
HUY NGUYEN\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Texas executed Edward Busby\u00a0Jr.<\/a> on May 14, marking a devastating milestone in our state\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Busby is the 600th person to be executed under Texas\u2019 modern-day death penalty system. He was put to death despite a lengthy legal battle<\/a>, multiple stays, and agreement by experts retained by both the defense and the Tarrant County District Attorney\u2019s Office that Busby was ineligible for execution due to his intellectual disability.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n We\u2019ve learned a lot about the death penalty since 1982, when Texas resumed executions. Busby\u2019s case is one of many examples of the flaws and failures that permeate the system<\/a> \u2014 particularly the inherent arbitrariness. Since 2017, 19 people in Texas have been removed from death row after courts recognized they were intellectually disabled and ineligible for execution. Yet Busby was denied this same finding despite experts in his case agreeing he meets the criteria.<\/p>\n But the persistent issues with capital punishment in Texas don\u2019t stop there. With 18 exonerations from Texas death row, evidence of at least eight wrongful executions, millions of wasted taxpayer dollars, and countless grieving families torn apart, it is clear the death penalty is a failure both morally and systemically.<\/p>\n On this somber occasion, Texans must reckon with the realities of capital punishment and decry the state\u2019s continued use of the death penalty.\u00a0At the same time, Texans should recognize that our state has\u00a0made great strides in reducing the prevalence of capital punishment.<\/p>\n The use of the death penalty in Texas has dropped sharply since peaking in the early 2000s \u2014 leaving only a handful of counties that rely on this antiquated punishment. Of the state\u2019s 600 executions, 71%\u00a0occurred between 1996 and 2015. In the last decade, the state has put 69 people to death.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n