TEXAS — The use of the death penalty reached near-historic lows in 2021, according to the annual report released by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Statewide, juries only sentenced three people to death this year. The state's total death row population fell to 199, the lowest amount since 1985. Similarly, Texas only executed three people this year. That number is on par with 2020, and down significantly from 2019, when nine people were put to death.

Overall, Texas has seen a decline in death penalty use, with sentences staying in the single digits since 2017.

“I think that Texas is definitely moving away from use of the death penalty. And that is signified most by the drop in death sentences,” said TCADP executive director Kristin Houlé Cuellar. “That preceded the COVID pandemic, and is due to reasons such as prosecutors exercising greater discretion … [and] juries rejected the death penalty. I do think that we’re going to continue to see declining use of the death penalty.”

But despite the low numbers, Texas still tied the federal government in executions carried out this year, and was one of just five states that executed anyone at all. And people of color are still disproportionately impacted by the death penalty.

Over the last five years, two-thirds of death sentences in Texas have been given to people of color, with 40% of those people being Black. In 2021, two of three people sentenced to death were Black.

You can read that full report from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty here.