Does Texas have the death penalty?
Retained / in use
The death penalty is legal and executions are not suspended.
Texas is classified “Retained / in use” for the death penalty, as are 15 of the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. For the United States as a whole, the classification is “Retained / in use”.
Source
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Read from the source’s state-by-state coverage; the topic is published only once hand-verified reference states match it.
Across the United States
- Retained / in use 16 states, including Texas.
- Not used in practice 11 states.
- Fully abolished 23 states and the District of Columbia.
Nearby states
- Oklahoma
- Retained / in use The death penalty is legal and executions are not suspended.
- Louisiana
- Retained / in use The death penalty is legal and executions are not suspended.
- New Mexico
- Fully abolished New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009.
- Arkansas
- Retained / in use The death penalty is legal and executions are not suspended.
- Mississippi
- Retained / in use The death penalty is legal and executions are not suspended.
- Kansas
- Not used in practice The death penalty remains in law, but executions are suspended (de facto moratorium).
Other laws in Texas
- Abortion
- Illegal (with exceptions)
- Euthanasia
- Illegal
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Marriage legal
- Age of Consent
- 16–17
- Sex Work
- Illegal
- Gun Laws
- Permissive
- Cannabis
- Legal (Medical)
The death penalty in the United States → · Which countries have the death penalty? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.