Only used in 38 out of 50 states, the death penalty is one of the forms of capital punishment. Texas does have the death penalty available as a capital punishment, but there are a number of qualifications that you must meet before you can be assigned a capital punishment. Anyone who is up for getting a capital punishment must be at least 17 years of age or older.
Only people that have committed a capital crime can be given the death penalty. A capital felony is a crime that is committed on the highest degree level possible. This includes murder of a police officer, multiple murders, murdering of a child under 6, or murder during a prison escape. This is just a small list of the many people that can and are sentenced to the death penalty on a daily basis. The death penalty can be a very serious conviction and many people need just the right criminal lawyer to take care of it.
Each case is normally looked at on a case by case basis. The judge will usually give you a trial which will either be a bench trial or a jury trial. With a bench trial, the judge will make the decision to whether the person is guilty or not. They judge will also make a ruling to what punishment the person will get. A jury trial, means that the jury will make the decision or guilty or not and the judge will rule on the punishment. You always have the choice to speak with your lawyer and decide what type of trial you want. They each have their positives and negatives that you could understand if you were in a trial for capital punishment.
Appeals normally go through the Court of Appeals, Texas Supreme Court, US Circuit Court of Appeals, and finally reach the US Supreme Court. Each of these courts will make a ruling to whether or not the person is guilty. Once the ruling has been made over the US Supreme Court, the trial is over. The person will then be put on death row and will wait for his sentence to be carried out.
The court system requires that the person have exhausted all types of appeals before the death sentence be carried out. The person will have to have an attorney before anything can ever take place. The court also requires that you have someone representing you before you will go into a trial.
