Texas

===Criminal law===
{{main|Crime in Texas}}
{{see also|List of law enforcement agencies in Texas}}
Texas has a reputation of very harsh criminal punishment for criminal offenses. It is one of the 32 states that practice [[capital punishment in Texas|capital punishment]], and since the [[US Supreme Court]] allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976, 40% of all U.S. executions have taken place in Texas.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23075873 |title=Texas executes 500th person since resuming death penalty |work=[[BBC News]]|date=June 27, 2013 |access-date=July 8, 2013}}</ref> As of 2018, Texas had the 8th highest [[List of U.S. states and territories by incarceration and correctional supervision rate|incarceration rate]] in the U.S.<ref name=cpusa2018>{{cite web |author=Laura M. Maruschak |author2=Todd D. Minton |title=Appendix Table 1 |work=Correctional Populations in the United States, 2017–2018 |publisher=[[Bureau of Justice Statistics]], United States Department of Justice |year=2020 |url=https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus1718.pdf |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref> Texas also has strong [[right of self-defense]] and [[Self-defense|self defense]] laws, allowing citizens to use lethal force to defend themselves, their families, or their property.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/txstatutes/PE/2/9/D/9.42 |title=Tex Pe. Code Ann. §&nbsp;9.42: Texas Statutes—Section 9.42: Deadly Force to Protect Property |website=Codes.lp.findlaw.com |access-date=July 8, 2013}}</ref>