TEXAS, USA — The high-profile scheduled executions of Carl Wayne Buntion and Melissa Lucio are bringing to light more information about what life on death row is like for inmates in Texas. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice provides a history of Texas Death Row and statistics on its website.
Since 1999, inmates have been detained at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, where inmates live in single-person cells with a window.
Inmates on death row also get individual recreation time and receive a regular diet. They also get access to reading, writing and legal materials. Some inmates get radio depending on their custody level.
RELATED: Interview with a death row inmate | Awaiting execution, Carl Wayne Buntion talks to KHOU 11 News
How are inmates executed?
Between 1819 and 1923, inmates were executed by hanging.
In 1923, the State of Texas authorized use of the electric chair and for all executions to be carried out in Huntsville.
Charles Reynolds was the first inmate executed by the electric chair. Four more inmates followed on the same day.
A total of 361 inmates were electrocuted before capital punishment was deemed "cruel and unusual punishment" by the Supreme Court in 1972.
Lethal injection was adopted as a means of execution in 1977.
The first inmate to die by injection was Charlie Brooks in 1982.
Relatives and friends of deceased victims were allowed to witness executions starting in January of 1996.
Five methods of execution are used in the United States: Lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, and firing squads.
What does a lethal injection consist of?
Lethal injections consist of a single dose of Pentobarbital. The drug can be used as a sedative, but in high doses can cause respiratory arrest.
How long do inmates stay on death row?
The average time for an inmate is 11.22 years, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Joe Gonzales holds the record for the shortest time on death row at 252 days. David Lee Powell spent the longest time on death row at 11,575 days (31 years).
RELATED: Melissa Lucio execution: Time is running out for Texas woman on death row for young daughter's death
How old are executed death row inmates?
The average age of those executed is 39 years.
Jay Pinkerton, Jesse De La Rosa, and Toronto Patterson were the youngest inmates ever executed on death row. All three were 24 years old.
Billie Coble was 70 years old at the time of execution, but will no longer hold the oldest inmate executed once the 78-year-old Buntion is put to death for killing a Houston police officer.