Texas put two men to death last week and has 16 more scheduled for injection by the end of April, putting the state on a record-setting pace at a time when capital punishment has come under increased scrutiny elsewhere. Even as the decision to empty Illinois' death row continues to reverberate, and as the Texas Legislature prepares to deal with a new U.S. Supreme Court prohibition on executing the mentally retarded, the Lone Star state's death penalty system churns forward with machine-like efficiency.

"Of the 823 executions nationwide since [1976] Texas has carried out 291 -- or 35 percent. Nearly two-thirds of those executions have taken place in just the last six years. In 2002, Texas put 33 men to death, nearly half of the U.S. total and far more than Oklahoma, the second-busiest state, which killed seven people." "Since 1997, 186 have been executed. During that period, only eight months passed without an execution here. Another 442 men and eight women remain on death row."

16 more are scheduled for execution by May. We are going to tell the story of one of them later today, so please check back.