Texas did not perform the most executions in the US this year

>>Click to read Texas death row facts. The number of executions in Texas is down this year. >>Click to read Texas death row facts. The number of executions in Texas is down this year. Photo: Sue Ogrocki, STF Photo: Sue Ogrocki, STF Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close Texas did not perform the most executions in the US this year 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

In an unusual shift, Texas is not the state with the most executions in the U.S. this year.

In 2016, Georgia performed nine executions while Texas executed seven inmates.

Some experts predict this may be related to the controversy over the lethal drug that's administered in Texas.

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The decrease in executions in 2016 and other recent years might also have something to do with some high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases. Among these is the Florida Supreme Court's review of that state's new death penalty law, and whether or not it's constitutional. The new statute would not require juries to be unanimous when handing down death sentences.

Recently, a number of topics have halted planned executions at least temporarily. In November, justices debated on how to define intellectual disability in Texas death row cases.

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However, since the death penalty was reinstated, Texas still claims the overall highest number of executions.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the state of Texas has executed 538 death row inmates since 1982. Since that time, the highest number of executions in one year was in 2000, when a reported 40 inmates were put to death, the TDCJ website reports.

The Texas Tribune reports that the highest number of men and women on death row in Texas peaked at 460 in 1999.