Thirteen prisoners executed by the state of Texas in 2011 are the fewest since 1996—and well below the record of 40 executions set in 2000—according to a new report from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

The TCADP report corresponds to national trends indicating that fewer death penalty sentences are being handed out nationwide—falling below 100 (to 78) for the first time since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

TCADP Executive Director Kristin Houlé attributed the drop to five death row inmates receiving stays of execution this year and an undeniable decrease of death sentences handed down by Texas juries since 2003. Only eight death sentences were issued this year.

Analysts speculate that public concerns about the racial fairness, costs, and growing numbers of life-without-parole sentences have all played a role in a steep decline in the number of executions and death penalty sentences in the United States.  For Texas, in particular, the high-profile cases of Hank Skinner and of Cameron Todd Willingham have led some to raise serious questions about the fairness and accountability of the judicial process for death penalty cases.

Jeffery R. Patterson, executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference, said that the TCADP Report, Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2011: The Year in Review, was welcome news.

“The Catholic Church has always regarded human life as sacred and demanding of respect,” Patterson said.  “This is especially true in modern age, when taking a life is an inexorable and irrevocable act that deprives offenders of redemption, fails to relieve victims of their grief, and is unnecessary to ensuring public safety. ”

Patterson said the TCC works closely with TCADP and other partners on legislative efforts to end the use of the death penalty in Texas. Positive legislation to provide improved representation for defendants in capital cases and increased access to post-conviction DNA testing successfully passed the legislature this year.

You can access the TCC Death Penalty Policy Paper online here, and view other issue resources here. You can also hear Bishop Cantu reflect on the use of the death penalty on theTCC podcast here. Sign up to receive news and action alerts on this issue and other issues central to the Catholic faith here.