On one hand I have chosen the subject of this homepage - on the other hand I didn't: The way I came to this subject was much more accidental than planned. At the beginning there wasn't an unemotional and matter-of-fact exposition with the Death Penalty, but my own personal experiences. Therefore the main point of this homepage are not lifeless numbers and statistics, but the personal fate of human beings, especially of Clifford Boggess. Cliff became a very close friend to me in a very short time, and I had to let him go so soon. The experience to witness his execution, I will never forget in my life. James Beathard was Cliff's closest friend and was executed although there had been serious doubts concerning his guilt - he wrote down his moving story before he died.
My sincere sympathy and compassion is with Frank Collier and Ray Vance Hazelwood, the victims of Cliff Boggess, and their relatives - and with all victims of violence and murder. Unfortunately the execution of a murderer is unable to undo the worst wrong. An execution is only one more act of violence in our world and creates more hurt and grief.
The original version of this website appeared under the URL www.todesstrafe-texas.de in 1999 and can still be accessed there in the original layout in the latest version from
2015. For better readability, the page now appears updated in this design.