As debate rages over the appropriateness of capital punishment, since 1982, hundreds of Texas inmates have been executed using various methods such as hanging, injection lethal and the electric chair. Factors such as racial and sexual profiling, increased public opinion and pressure, reliance on public polls (Ellsworth and Vidmar 1269) have apparently influenced the decision-making process, which in turn has raised ethical and social concerns about genuineness and an impartial implementation of the criteria irreversible capital punishment. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Texas and Virginia alone account for 586 of the 1,277 executions since 1976, with Texas accounting for more than 37 percent of the total executions in the United States of America. The high rate of executions in Texas provides an opportunity to conduct a case study of death row inmates in Texas. Regardless of the method of execution and the state in which it is carried out, prisoners have the opportunity to make their final statements immediately before the execution. It would be intriguing to understand what goes through the mind of an individual facing death and what they consider the most important thought to share in moments of death. Some may express love and gratitude toward their friends and family or remorse for their crimes. Others may be angered by a feeling of injustice and angrily but helplessly declare their innocence. Some may become pious, claiming to be at peace and going to a better place, while others display apathy or shades of humor. All these notions converge towards the analysis of the emotions emanating from the prisoners' statements. A research study to evaluate the topic of displaying emotions would lead to empirical answers. ...... middle of paper ...... Words, claims of innocence, and news coverage from Texas' death row." Thesis. University of North Texas, 2006. Web. December 1, 2011. . "Issue of executions by state and region since 1976." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. November 30, 2011. .Radelet, Michael L., Hugo A. Bedau, and Constance E. Putnam. "In Spiete of Innocence: Erroneous Convictions in Capital Cases. " Google Books. UPNE, May 26, 1994. Web. December 2, 2011. .Vidmar, Neil and Phoebe Ellsworth. "Public Opinion and the Death Penalty." Stanford Law Review 26 (1973): 1245-270. Stock Exchange study Duke Law Repository |. Duke Law Research, June 1974. Web. 2011. .