The execution of Charles Brooks Jr. was a landmark moment in the evolution of capital punishment in the United States, as he was the first individual to be put to death via lethal injection. Brooks, convicted for his role in the murder of an Attendant during a gas station robbery in 1981, was sentenced to death in Texas. Faced with mounting concerns over the humaneness of existing execution methods, such as the electric chair and gas chamber, Texas adopted lethal injection as a more humane approach in 1977. The shift aimed to reduce the pain associated with death sentences and respond to public outcry regarding more brutal methods of execution.

On December 7, 1982, Brooks was executed at the Huntsville Unit in Texas, marking the debut of lethal injection in the United States. The process involved administering a series of drugs designed to induce a state of unconsciousness, followed by paralysis and cardiac arrest. The use of this method sparked debates about the ethics of capital punishment, leading to further scrutiny of the death penalty's effectiveness and morality.

Brooks’s execution was closely monitored and elicited reactions from various community leaders, advocates, and opponents of capital punishment. His death symbolized a definitive moment in the history of the American justice system and set a precedent for future executions using lethal injection. The method has since become the primary means of execution in numerous states across the nation.