Capital Punishment, 2019 - Statistical Tables

U.S. Department of Justice

Oce of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Bureau of Justice Statistics · Statistical Tables

June 2021, NCJ 300381

Capital Punishment, 2019 –

Statistical Tables

Tracy L. Snell, BJS Statistician

t year-end 2019, a total of 29 states and

the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)

held 2,570 prisoners under sentence of

death, which was 56 (2%) fewer than at year-end

2018. During 2019, the number of prisoners

under sentence of death declined for the

19thconsecutive year. California (28%), Florida

(13%), and Texas (8%) held about half of the

prisoners under sentence of death in the United

States on December 31, 2019. e BOP held

61prisoners under sentence of death at year-end.

Seven states executed a total of 22 prisoners

in 2019. Texas executed 9 prisoners, which

accounted for 41% of the executions carried out

in 2019.

is report presents statistics on persons who

were under sentence of death or were executed

in 2019, and on state and federal death penalty

laws. At year-end 2019, a total of 32 states and

the federal government authorized the death

penalty (map 1).

MAP 1

States with and without death penalty statutes, year-end 2019

Note: See table 2 for details on states that authorized the death penalty.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Had the death penalty as of December

31, 2019, and carried out an execution

in 2019

Had the death penalty as of December

31, 2019, but did not carry out an

execution in 2019

Had no death penalty as of December

31, 2019

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 2

Highlights

Eleven states and the BOP received a total of

31prisoners under sentence of death in 2019.

Twenty-one states and the BOP removed a total of 65

prisoners from under sentence of death by means other

than execution.

The New Hampshire legislature repealed the death

penalty provision of the capital murder statute, but

the repeal was prospective, leaving one male prisoner

under a previously imposed sentence of death.

The New Mexico Supreme Court declared the state

capital statute unconstitutional, and the two prisoners

under sentence of death were resentenced to life.

The largest decline in the number of prisoners under

sentence of death in 2019 occurred in California

(down 11 prisoners), followed by Pennsylvania

(down 8), Texas (down 7), and Tennessee (down 6).

FIGURE 1

Number of prisoners under sentence of death,

1953–2019

Number

,000

,500

,000

,500

,000

,500

,000

500

1953 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2019

Note: Data on the number of prisoners under sentence of death

at year-end have been collected since 1953. See appendix table 2

forcounts.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program

(NPS-8), 1953–2019.

During 2019, the number of prisoners held under

sentence of death increased in three states: North

Carolina (up 3), Ohio (up 2), and South Carolina (up 1).

Ninety-eight percent of prisoners under sentence of

death were male.

Among prisoners under sentence of death at year-end

2019, about 56% were white and 41% were black.

Among prisoners under sentence of death at year-end

2019 with a known ethnicity, 15% were Hispanic.

As of December 31, 2019, prisoners under sentence

of death had been on death row for an average of

18.7years.

Prisoners executed during 2019 had been on death row

for an average of 22 years.

FIGURE 2

Admissions to and removals from under sentence of

death, 1973–2019

Number

350

300

250

200

150

100

1973 1980 1990 2000 2010 2019

Removals

Admissions

Note: Removals can be due to any cause, including execution, other

death, or appeal. See appendix table 3 for counts.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program

(NPS-8), 1973–2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 3

FIGURE 3

Number of prisoners executed under civil authority in

the United States, 1930–2019

Executions

200

150

100

Note: Excludes 160 executions carried out by military authorities from

1930 to 1961. See appendix table 4 for counts.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program

(NPS-8), 1930–2019.

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2019

FIGURE 4

Number of prisoners under sentence of death, by race,

1968–2019

Number

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

Note: Data on Hispanic origin was not collected prior to 1977. See

appendix table 5 for counts.

Includes persons of Hispanic origin.

Includes American Indians or Alaska Natives; Asians, Native Hawaiians,

or Other Pacic Islanders; and persons for whom only ethnicity

wasidentied.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program

(NPS-8), 1968–2019.

Other

a,b

Black

White

1968 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2019

Terms and denitions

Aggravating factors—Specic elements of a crime Civil authority—The state or federal entity responsible

dened by statute. When present, these factors may for implementation and enforcement of capital

allow a jury to impose a death sentence for a person punishment laws, excluding military authorities.

convicted of a capital oense. Sometimes these are also

Commutation—Reduction of a death sentence by

called aggravating circumstances.

the president (federal) or by a governor or a board of

Capital conviction—A formal declaration that a advisors empaneled to review sentences (state). Criteria

defendant is guilty of a capital oense, made by the for granting a commutation vary by state. The new

verdict of a jury, the decision of a judge, or a guilty plea sentence can be to life or a term of years.

by the defendant in a court of law.

Death row—A slang term that originally referred to

Capital oense—A criminal oense punishable by the area of a prison in which prisoners under sentence

death. Oenses that are eligible for a death sentence of death were housed. Usage of the term “death row”

are dened by statute in each jurisdiction that continues despite the fact that many states do not

authorizes capital punishment. The most common maintain a separate unit or facility for prisoners under

is rst-degree murder accompanied by at least one sentence of death.

aggravating factor.

Received under sentence of death—The admission

Capital punishment—The process of sentencing of a person to prison after being sentenced to death by

convicted oenders to death for the most serious a court.

crimes and carrying out that sentence. The specic

Removal from under sentence of death—The removal

oenses and circumstances that determine whether

of a prisoner who was previously under sentence of

a crime is eligible for a death sentence are dened

death and is no longer included in the count of persons

by statute and are prescribed by Congress or a

under sentence of death. A prisoner can be relieved of

state legislature.

a death sentence by several methods: execution, death

Capital statutes—State or federal laws dictating by causes other than execution, commutation, or an

specic crimes that are eligible for a death sentence overturned capital conviction or sentence.

and specic procedures to be followed in carrying out

Sentence of death—A sentence imposed by a court for

such sentences.

a capital oense which authorizes the state to execute a

convicted oender.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 4

List of tables

TABLE 1. Status of the death penalty, December 31, 2019

TABLE 2. Capital oenses, by state, 2019

TABLE 10. Prisoners under sentence of death on December 31, 2019, by year of sentencing

TABLE 11. Prisoners removed from under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and method of

TABLE 3. Federal capital oenses, 2019

TABLE 4. Authorized method of execution, by state, 2019

TABLE 5. Prisoners under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and race, 2018 and 2019

TABLE 6. Demographic characteristics of prisoners under sentence of death, 2019

TABLE 7. Female prisoners under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and race, 2018 and 2019

TABLE 8. Hispanic prisoners under sentence of death, by region and jurisdiction, 2018 and 2019

TABLE 9. Criminal history of prisoners under sentence of death, by race or ethnicity, 2019

removal, 2019

TABLE 12. Average elapsed time between sentencing and execution, 1977–2019

TABLE 13. Number of prisoners executed, by race or ethnicity, 1977–2019

TABLE 14. Number of executions, by method and jurisdiction, 1977–2019

TABLE 15. Number of executions, by jurisdiction, 1930–2019 and 1977–2019

List of gures

MAP 1. States with and without death penalty statutes, year-end 2019

FIGURE 1. Number of prisoners under sentence of death, 1953–2019

FIGURE 2. Admissions to and removals from under sentence of death, 1973–2019

FIGURE 3. Number of prisoners executed under civil authority in the United States, 1930–2019

FIGURE 4. Number of prisoners under sentence of death, by race, 1968–2019

FIGURE 5. Advance count of executions, January 1, 2020–December 31, 2020

Continued on next page

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 5

List of appendix tables

APPENDIX TABLE 1. Demographic characteristics for prisoners under sentence of death, 2019

APPENDIX TABLE 2. Counts for gure 1: Number of prisoners under sentence of death, 1953–2019

APPENDIX TABLE 3. Counts for gure 2: Admissions to and removals from under sentence of death,

1973–2019

APPENDIX TABLE 4. Counts for gure 3: Number of prisoners executed under civil authority in the

United States, 1930–2019

APPENDIX TABLE 5. Counts for gure 4: Number of prisoners under sentence of death, by race,

1968–2019

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 6

Status of the death penalty in 2019

As of December 31, 2019, a total of 32 states and the

federal government authorized the death penalty

(tables 1, 2, and 3). While the Washington Supreme

Court declared the state death penalty statute

unconstitutional, as applied, on October 11, 2018 (State

v. Gregory, 192 Wash. 2d 1, 427 P.3d 621 (2018)), the

Washington state legislature has neither revised nor

repealed the statute. During 2019, one state repealed

its death penalty statute, one had its statute ruled

unconstitutional by the state’s highest court, and ve

revised statutes related to the death penalty.

In 2019, the New Hampshire legislature repealed

the death penalty (HB 455), eective May 30, 2019.

Because the repeal was prospective, it did not aect

the previously imposed death sentence of one

male prisoner.

e New Mexico Supreme Court invalidated the state’s

death penalty statute on June 28, 2019. e court found

in Fry v. Lopez (2019-NMSC-013, 447 P.3d 1086) that,

by allowing the death penalty for murders committed

prior to the enactment date but not for similar murders

committed aer the enactment date, imposition of

a death sentence conicted with the proportionality

provision of the same statute. e ruling eectively

removed the state’s two remaining prisoners from

under sentence of death.

During 2019, Alabama revised statutory provisions

relating to its death penalty. e legislature added

murder of any rst responder operating in an ocial

capacity (Ala. Code § 13A-5-40(a)(21)) to the list of

oenses eligible for the death penalty. It also added

two aggravating circumstances: the victim was a law

enforcement or correctional ocer murdered while on

duty or for reasons related to their job; and the victim

was a rst responder who was operating in an ocial

capacity (Ala. Code § 13A-5-49 (13), (14)). ese

changes became eective October 1, 2019.

Arizona amended the list of aggravating circumstances

required to make a murder eligible for the death

penalty (A.R.S. § 13-751(F)). e state’s legislature

removed elements from the statute: that the defendant

knowingly created a grave risk of death to persons

other than the murder victim (A.R.S. § 13-751(F)(3));

committed the oense in a cold, calculated manner

without pretense of moral or legal justication

(A.R.S. §13-751(F)(13)); or used a stun gun

(A.R.S. § 13-751(F)(14)). e changes resulted in a total

of 10 possible aggravating circumstances and became

eective on August 27, 2019.

Arkansas revised its code of criminal procedure to

prohibit disclosure of information or documents related

to the execution process and participants (Ark. Code

Ann. § 5-4-617), eective July 24, 2019.

e Oregon legislature revised several elements of the

statute related to the state’s death penalty (SB 1013

(2019)), which became eective September 29, 2019.

Oregon revised the denition of aggravated murder.

e changes allow for the death penalty in only the

following circumstances: murder of two or more

persons for the purpose of inuencing the public

or government through intimidation or coercion;

murder committed by an inmate or someone with a

prior conviction for aggravated murder; premeditated

murder of a child age 13 or younger; and murder of

police, correctional, probation, or parole ocers when

the murder was related to their ocial duties. e

changes also added a new oense: rst-degree murder,

which encompasses elements previously classied as

aggravated murder, which is punishable by life without

the possibility of parole.

Tennessee revised two statutory provisions related

to the death penalty. e specied aggravating

circumstances were amended to include knowingly

selling or distributing fentanyl or other opiates with

the intent to commit murder (Tenn. Code Ann.

§ 39-13-204(i)(18)). e state also revised the code of

criminal procedure to provide that when a judgment

has become nal in trial court, the conviction and the

sentence of death will be automatically reviewed by

the Tennessee Supreme Court instead of requiring the

defendant to le a direct appeal from the trial court

to the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals (Tenn. Code

Ann. § 39-13-206(a)-(c)). e changes became eective

July1, 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 7

TABLE 1

Status of the death penalty, December 31, 2019

Executions in 2019 Number of prisoners under sentence of death Jurisdictions with no death penalty (19)

Texas 9 California 724 Alaska

Alabama 3 Florida 340 Connecticut

Georgia 3 Texas 216 District of Columbia

Tennessee 3 Alabama 175 Hawaii

Florida 2 North Carolina 143 Illinois

Missouri 1 Ohio 139 Iowa

South Dakota 1 Pennsylvania 134 Maine

Arizona 116 Maryland

Nevada 71 Massachusetts

Louisiana 68 Michigan

Federal Bureau of Prisons 61 Minnesota

Tennessee 52 New Hampshire

Georgia 46 New Jersey

Oklahoma 46 New Mexico

Mississippi 40 North Dakota

South Carolina 36 Rhode Island

Arkansas 30 Vermont

Oregon 29 West Virginia

Kentucky 27 Wisconsin

Missouri 22

Nebraska 12

Kansas 10

Idaho 9

Indiana 8

Utah 7

Colorado 3

Virginia 2

Montana 2

New Hampshire

South Dakota 1

Total 22 Total

2,570

Note: While the Washington Supreme Court has declared the state’s death penalty statute unconstitutional as applied (State v. Gregory, 192 Wash.

2d 1, 427 P.3d 621 (2018)), no legislative action has been taken to revise or repeal the statute. The state continues to report that the death penalty is

authorized. See table 2 for information on statutes.

New Hampshire repealed its death penalty statute, eective May 30, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, one male prisoner remained under a previously

imposed sentence of death.

New York, Delaware, Washington, and Wyoming held no inmates under sentence of death on December 31, 2019.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 8

TABLE 2

Capital oenses, by state, 2019

State Oense

Alabama Intentional murder (Ala. Stat. Ann. § 13A-5-40(a)(1)-(21)) with 14 aggravating factors (Ala. Stat. Ann. § 13A-5-49).

Arizona First-degree murder, including premeditated murder and felony murder, accompanied by at least 1 of 10 aggravating

factors (A.R.S. § 13-703(F)).

Arkansas Capital murder (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-10-101) with a nding of at least 1 of 10 aggravating circumstances; and treason

(Ark. Code Ann. § 5-51-201).

California First-degree murder with special circumstances; military sabotage; train wreck causing death; treason; perjury resulting in

the execution of an innocent person; and fatal assault by a prisoner serving a life sentence.

Colorado First-degree murder with at least 1 of 17 aggravating factors; rst-degree kidnapping resulting in death; and treason.

Delaware

First-degree murder (11 Del. C. § 636) with at least 1 statutory aggravating circumstance (11 Del. C. § 4209).

Florida First-degree murder with aggravating factors; felony murder; and capital drug-tracking felonies.

Georgia Murder with aggravating circumstances; rape, armed robbery, or kidnapping with bodily injury or ransom when the victim

dies; aircraft hijacking; and treason (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30).

Idaho First-degree murder with aggravating factors; rst-degree kidnapping; and perjury resulting in the execution of an

innocent person.

Indiana Murder with 1 or more of 18 aggravating circumstances (I.C. 35-50-2-9).

Kansas Intentional and premeditated killing of a person in 1 or more of 7 dierent circumstances (K.S.A. 21-5401).

Kentucky Capital murder with the presence of at least 1 statutory aggravating circumstance; and capital kidnapping (K.R.S. 532.025).

Louisiana First-degree murder with aggravating circumstances (La. R.S. 14:30); and treason (La. R.S. 14:113).

Mississippi Capital murder with aggravating circumstances (Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-19(2)); and aircraft piracy (Miss. Code Ann.

§ 97-25-55(1)).

Missouri First-degree murder with at least 1 statutory aggravating circumstance (565.020 R.S.M.O. 2000).

Montana Deliberate homicide, including felony murder, with 1 of 9 aggravating circumstances (Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-303);

aggravated kidnapping resulting in death of victim or rescuer; attempted deliberate homicide; aggravated assault or

kidnapping while in detention; and capital sexual intercourse without consent (Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-503).

Nebraska First-degree murder with a nding of 1 or more statutory aggravating circumstances.

Nevada First-degree murder with at least 1 of 15 aggravating circumstances (N.R.S. 200.030, 200.033, 200.035).

New York

First-degree murder with 1 of 13 aggravating factors (NY Penal Law § 125.27).

North Carolina First-degree murder (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-17) with the nding of at least 1 of 11 statutory aggravating circumstances

(N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-2000).

Ohio Aggravated murder with at least 1 of 10 aggravating circumstances (O.R.C. 2903.01, 2929.02, 2929.04).

Oklahoma First-degree murder (21 O.S. § 701.7) in conjunction with a nding of at least 1 of 8 statutorily dened aggravating

circumstances (21 O.S. § 701.12).

Oregon Aggravated murder (O.R.S. 163.095).

Pennsylvania First-degree murder (18 Pa.C.S.A § 2502(a)) with 18 aggravating circumstances (42 Pa.C.S.A § 9711).

South Carolina Murder with at least 1 of 12 aggravating circumstances (S.C. Code § 16-3-20(C)(a)).

South Dakota First-degree murder (S.D.C.L. 22-16-4) with 1 of 10 aggravating circumstances (S.D.C.L. 23A-27A-1).

Tennessee First-degree murder (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202) with 1 of 18 aggravating circumstances (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-204).

Texas Capital murder, dened as criminal homicide with 1 of 9 statutory aggravators (Tex. Penal Code § 19.03).

Utah Aggravated murder (Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-202).

Virginia Capital murder, dened as premeditated murder accompanied by 1 of 15 aggravating circumstances (VA Code

§ 18.2-31(A)(1-15)).

Washington

Aggravated rst-degree murder.

Wyoming First-degree murder, including premeditated murder and murder during the commission of sexual assault, sexual abuse of

a minor, arson, robbery, burglary, escape, resisting arrest, kidnapping, or abuse of a minor younger than age 16 (W.S.A. §

6-2-101(a)).

Note: New Hampshire repealed its death penalty eective May 30, 2019. One male prisoner remains under a previously imposed sentence of death.

The Delaware Supreme Court held that a portion of Delaware’s death penalty sentencing statute (11 Del. C. § 4209) was unconstitutional (Rauf v.

State, 145 A.3d 430 (Del. 2016)). No legislative action has been taken to amend the statute. As a result, capital cases are no longer pursued in Delaware.

The New York Court of Appeals held that a portion of New York’s death penalty sentencing statute (C.P.L. 400.27) was unconstitutional (People v.

Taylor, 9 N.Y.3d 129 (2007)). No legislative action has been taken to amend the statute. As a result, capital cases are no longer pursued in New York.

The Washington Supreme Court has declared the state’s death penalty statute unconstitutional as applied (State v. Gregory, 192 Wash. 2d 1, 427 P.3d

621 (2018)). No legislative action has been taken to revise or repeal the statute.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 9

TABLE 3

Federal capital oenses, 2019

Federal statute Oense

8 U.S.C. § 1342 Murder related to the smuggling of aliens.

18 U.S.C. §§ 32-34 Destruction of aircraft, motor vehicles, or related facilities resulting in death.

18 U.S.C. § 36 Murder committed during a drug-related drive-by shooting.

18 U.S.C. § 37 Murder committed at an airport serving international civil aviation.

18 U.S.C. § 115(b)(3) [by cross-reference to Retaliatory murder of a member of the immediate family of law enforcement ocials.

18 U.S.C. § 1111]

18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 242, 245, 247 Civil rights oenses resulting in death.

18 U.S.C. § 351 [by cross-reference to 18 U.S.C. § 1111] Murder of a member of Congress, an important executive ocial, or a U.S. Supreme

Courtjustice.

18 U.S.C. § 794 Espionage.

18 U.S.C. §§ 844(d), (f ), (i) Death resulting from oenses involving transportation of explosives, destruction of

government property, or destruction of property related to foreign or interstate commerce.

18 U.S.C. § 924(i) Murder committed by the use of a rearm during a crime of violence or a

drug-trackingcrime.

18 U.S.C. § 930 Murder committed in a federal government facility.

18 U.S.C. § 1091 Genocide.

18 U.S.C. § 1111 First-degree murder.

18 U.S.C. § 1114 Murder of a federal judge or law enforcement ocial.

18 U.S.C. § 1116 Murder of a foreign ocial.

18 U.S.C. § 1118 Murder by a federal prisoner.

18 U.S.C. § 1119 Murder of a U.S. national in a foreign country.

18 U.S.C. § 1120 Murder by an escaped federal prisoner already sentenced to life imprisonment.

18 U.S.C. § 1121 Murder of a state or local law enforcement ocial or other person aiding in a federal

investigation; or murder of a state correctional ocer.

18 U.S.C. § 1201 Murder during a kidnapping.

18 U.S.C. § 1203 Murder during a hostage taking.

18 U.S.C. § 1503 Murder of a court ocer or juror.

18 U.S.C. § 1512 Murder with the intent of preventing testimony by a witness, a victim, or an informant.

18 U.S.C. § 1513 Retaliatory murder of a witness, a victim, or an informant.

18 U.S.C. § 1716 Mailing of injurious articles with intent to kill or resulting in death.

18 U.S.C. § 1751 [by cross-reference to Assassination or kidnapping resulting in the death of the U.S. president or U.S. vice president.

18 U.S.C. §1111]

18 U.S.C. § 1958 Murder for hire.

18 U.S.C. § 1959 Murder involved in a racketeering oense.

18 U.S.C. § 1992 Willful wrecking of a train resulting in death.

18 U.S.C. § 2113 Murder or kidnapping related to bank robbery.

18 U.S.C. § 2119 Murder related to a carjacking.

18 U.S.C. § 2245 Murder related to rape or child molestation.

18 U.S.C. § 2251 Murder related to sexual exploitation of children.

18 U.S.C. § 2280 Murder committed during an oense against maritime navigation.

18 U.S.C. § 2281 Murder committed during an oense against a maritime xed platform.

18 U.S.C. § 2332 Terrorist murder of a U.S. national in another country.

18 U.S.C. § 2332a Murder by the use of a weapon of mass destruction.

18 U.S.C. § 2340 Murder involving torture.

18 U.S.C. § 2381 Treason.

21 U.S.C. § 848(e) Murder related to a continuing criminal enterprise or related murder of a federal, state, or local

law enforcement ocer.

49 U.S.C. §§ 1472-1473 Death resulting from aircraft hijacking.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 10

Authorized methods of execution in 2019

sentencing. Five states authorized alternative methods

Methods of execution are dened by statute and vary

by jurisdiction. In 2019, all 32 states with a death

penalty statute authorized lethal injection as a method

of execution (table 4). Fieen states also authorized

an alternative method of execution: electrocution

(9states), lethal gas (3), hanging (2), ring squad (3),

and nitrogen hypoxia (3).

In states that authorized multiple methods of

execution, the condemned prisoner usually selected

the method. Five states (Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky,

Tennessee, and Utah) stipulated which method must

be used depending on the date of either the oense or

if lethal injection was ruled to be unconstitutional:

Delaware authorized hanging; Mississippi and

Oklahoma authorized electrocution, ring squad, or

nitrogen hypoxia; Utah authorized ring squad; and

Wyoming authorized lethal gas.

Federal prisoners are executed by lethal injection,

pursuant to 28 CFR Part 26. For oenses prosecuted

under the federal Violent Crime Control and Law

Enforcement Act of 1994, the law of the state in which

the conviction took place determines the method used

(18 U.S.C. § 3596).

Advance count of executions in 2020

The Bureau of Justice Statistics gathers information

following each execution to provide the most recent

data on capital punishment in advance of the annual

data collection. The data include the date, jurisdiction,

FIGURE 5

Advance count of executions, January 1, 2020–

December 31, 2020

and method of execution, and the race and Hispanic

Jurisdiction

origin for each person executed.

From January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, ve states

and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) executed

17prisoners, which was 5 fewer than the number

executed in 2019 (gure 5). The BOP executed the

largest number of prisoners (10) during this period,

followed by Texas (3).

Sixteen of the executions in 2020 were by lethal

injection, while 1 (in Tennessee) was by electrocution.

Ten of those executed were white, 5 were black, 1 was

Hispanic, and 1 was American Indian. No females were

executed during this period.

Complete data for 2020 will appear in Capital

Punishment, 2020. This annual report will consist of data

collected from state and federal correctional agencies.

The report will cover all persons under sentence of

death on December 31, 2020, as well as those removed

from under sentence of death during the year.

Total

Federal

Texas

Alabama

Georgia

Missouri

Tennessee

(17)

0 5 10 15 20

(10)

(3)

(1)

Number of executions

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics

program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 11

TABLE 4

Authorized method of execution, by state, 2019

Jurisdiction Lethal injection

Electrocution Lethal gas Hanging

Firing squad Nitrogen hypoxia

Total 32 9 3 2 3 3

Alabama

Arizona

  

Arkansas



California



Colorado 

Delaware

 

Florida  

Georgia 

Idaho 

Indiana 

Kansas 

Kentucky

 

Louisiana 

Mississippi

Missouri



 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New York 

North Carolina 

Ohio 

Oklahoma

   

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

South Carolina  

South Dakota



Tennessee

 

Texas 

Utah

 

Virginia  

Washington  

Wyoming

 

Note: The method of execution of federal prisoners is lethal injection, pursuant to 28 C.F.R. Part 26. For oenses prosecuted under the Violent Crime

Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the execution method is that of the state in which the conviction took place (18 U.S.C. § 3596).

Counts exclude New Hampshire, which repealed the death penalty eective May 30, 2019. The one male prisoner remaining under sentence of death

is subject to execution by lethal injection or by hanging if lethal injection cannot be given.

Authorizes lethal injection for persons sentenced after November 23, 1992. Prisoners sentenced before that date may select lethal injection or gas.

Authorizes lethal injection for persons whose oense occurred on or after July 4, 1983. Prisoners whose oense occurred before that date may select

lethal injection or electrocution. Electrocution is the authorized method if lethal injection is invalidated by an unappealable court order.

Both lethal injection and lethal gas are authorized by statute (Cal. Pen. Code 3604). However, use of lethal gas was invalided by a federal court (Fierro

v. Terhune, 147 F.3d 1158, 1160 (9th Cir. 1998)).

Authorizes hanging if lethal injection is held to be unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Authorizes lethal injection for persons sentenced on or after March 31, 1998. Prisoners sentenced before that date may select lethal injection

orelectrocution.

Authorizes nitrogen hypoxia if lethal injection is held to be unconstitutional, electrocution if both lethal injection and nitrogen hypoxia are held to

be unconstitutional, and ring squad if all other methods are held to be unconstitutional.

Any person sentenced to death prior to July 1, 2017, may choose to be executed in the manner provided by South Dakota law at the time of the

person’s conviction or sentence.

Authorizes lethal injection for persons whose capital oense occurred after December 31, 1998. Prisoners whose oense occurred before that date

may select electrocution by written waiver. Electrocution is the authorized method if a court or the commissioner of corrections determines that lethal

injection cannot be given. If both methods are ruled unconstitutional, state law allows for the use of any method that is constitutional.

Authorizes ring squad if lethal injection is held unconstitutional. Prisoners who selected execution by ring squad prior to May 3, 2004, may still be

entitled to execution by that method.

Authorizes lethal gas if lethal injection is held to be unconstitutional.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics Program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 12

Methodology

e Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) collects

information about capital punishment each year

through the National Prisoner Statistics program

(NPS-8). BJS collects this data series in two parts:

Data on persons under sentence of death are

obtained from the department of corrections in each

jurisdiction that authorizes capital punishment.

e status of death penalty statutes is obtained

from the Oce of the Attorney General in each of

the 50states, the Oce of the U.S. Attorney in the

District of Columbia, and the Federal Bureau of

Prisons for the federal government.

Data collection forms are available on the BJS website

at www.bjs.ojp.gov.

e NPS-8 covers all persons under sentence of

death at any time during the year who were held in a

state or federal nonmilitary correctional facility. is

includes capital oenders transferred from prison to

a mental institution and those who may have escaped

from custody. It excludes persons sentenced to death

under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and those

whose death sentences have been overturned by a

court or an executive action, regardless of their current

incarceration status.

Statistics in this report may dier from data collected

by other organizations for various reasons:

e NPS-8 adds prisoners to the population under

sentence of death at the time they are admitted to a

state or federal correctional facility, not at the time

they are sentenced.

If prisoners entered prison under a death sentence or

were reported as being relieved of a death sentence

in one year but the admission or removal occurred

in a previous year, counts are adjusted to reect the

actual date of sentence or removal.

NPS-8 counts are for the last day of the calendar year

and will dier from counts for more recent periods.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 13

TABLE 5

Prisoners under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and race, 2018 and 2019

Removed from death

Region and

jurisdiction

Prisoners under sentence

of death, 12/31/18

Total

White

Black

Received under sentence

of death, 2019

Total

White

Black

row (excluding

executions), 2019

Total

White

Black

Executed, 2019

Total

White

Black

Prisoners under sentence

of death, 12/31/19

Total

White

Black

U.S. total 2,626 1,470 1,091 31 20 11 65 32 31 22 15 7 2,570 1,443 1,064

Federal

61 35 25 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 61 35 25

State 2,565 1,435 1,066 30 20 10 64 32 30 22 15 7 2,509 1,408 1,039

Northeast 143 65 75 1 1 0 9 2 6 0 0 0 135 64 69

New Hampshire 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

New York 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pennsylvania 142 65 74 1 1 0 9 2 6 0 0 0 134 64 68

Midwest 195 101 93 6 3 3 7 5 2 2 2 0 192 97 94

Indiana 9 7 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 6 2

Kansas 10 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 7 3

Missouri 25 18 7 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 22 15 7

Nebraska 12 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 9 3

Ohio 137 58 78 6 3 3 4 2 2 0 0 0 139 59 79

South Dakota 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0

South 1,248 652 578 21 14 7 28 10 17 20 13 7 1,221 643 561

Alabama 176 88 88 3 2 1 1 0 1 3 2 1 175 88 87

Arkansas 31 16 15 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 30 15 15

Delaware 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Florida 344 215 128 6 5 1 8 5 2 2 2 0 340 213 127

Georgia 50 23 27 1 0 1 2 0 2 3 0 3 46 23 23

Kentucky 30 25 5 0 0 0 3 1 2 0 0 0 27 24 3

Louisiana 69 23 46 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 68 23 45

Mississippi 43 18 24 0 0 0 3 1 2 0 0 0 40 17 22

North Carolina 140 56 77 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 143 58 78

Oklahoma 47 22 21 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 46 22 20

South Carolina 35 16 19 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 36 17 19

Tennessee 58 29 28 0 0 0 3 1 2 3 3 0 52 25 26

Texas 223 121 98 5 4 1 3 1 2 9 6 3 216 118 94

Virginia 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2

West 979 617 320 2 2 0 20 15 5 0 0 0 961 604 315

Arizona 116 89 20 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 116 89 20

California 735 436 268 1 1 0 12 8 4 0 0 0 724 429 264

Colorado 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3

Idaho 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 0

Montana 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0

Nevada 74 46 26 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 0 71 44 25

New Mexico 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Oregon 30 27 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 29 26 2

Utah 8 6 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 5 1

Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Wyoming 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Note: Some counts for year-end 2018 are revised from those reported in Capital Punishment, 2018 – Statistical Tables (NCJ 254786, BJS, September 2020). The

revised counts include 3 prisoners who were either reported late to the National Prisoner Statistics program or were not in the custody of state correctional

authorities on December 31, 2018 (1 each in the Nebraska, Tennessee, and Nevada). The revised counts exclude 5 prisoners who were relieved of a death

sentence before December 31, 2018 (2 in Nevada and 1 each in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and California).

Includes 15 deaths from natural causes (6 in California, 2 in Mississippi, and 1 each in Ohio, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, and Utah), 2deaths

by suicide (1 each in California and Nevada), and 3 deaths resulting from acute drug toxicity (2 in California and 1 in Oklahoma).

Includes American Indians or Alaska Natives and Asians, Native Hawaiians, or Other Pacic Islanders.

Includes persons of Hispanic origin.

Excludes persons held under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Armed Forces with a military death sentence for murder.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 14

TABLE 6

Demographic characteristics of prisoners under sentence of death, 2019

Demographic characteristic Total, 12/31/19 Admissions Removals

Total 2,570 31 87

Sex

Male 98.0% 96.8% 98.9%

Female 2.0 3.2 1.1

Race

White

56.1% 64.5% 54.0%

Black

41.4 35.5 43.7

American Indian/

AlaskaNative

0.8 0.0 0.0

Asian/Native Hawaiian/

Other Pacic Islander

a,b

1.6 0.0 2.3

Ethnicity

Hispanic 15.1% 11.1% 10.3%

Non-Hispanic 84.9 88.9 89.7

Age

18–19 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

20–24 0.1 0.0 0.0

25–29 1.4 19.4 0.0

30–34 4.7 22.6 1.1

35–39 8.4 32.3 8.0

40–44 13.7 9.7 10.3

45–49 16.8 9.7 25.3

50–54 16.5 3.2 12.6

55–59 15.9 3.2 12.6

60–64 11.3 0.0 9.2

65 or older 11.1 0.0 20.7

Average age

Mean 51 yrs. 36 yrs. 54 yrs.

Median 51 36 52

Education

8th grade or less 11.8% 31.3% 17.1%

9th–11th grade 34.8 18.8 27.6

High school graduate/GED 44.3 37.5 43.4

Any college 9.1 12.5 11.8

Median education level 12th grade 12th grade 12th grade

Marital status

Married 21.3% 22.2% 22.5%

Divorced/separated 19.6 27.8 17.5

Widowed 3.6 0.0 3.8

Never married 55.5 50.0 56.3

Note: Percentages are based on prisoners for whom data were reported. Details may not sum to totals due to

rounding. See appendix table 1 for counts.

Includes persons of Hispanic origin.

Includes 36 Asians and 6 Native Hawaiians or Other Pacic Islanders at year-end 2019. Two Asian prisoners were

removed during 2019.

Excludes 232 prisoners from total year-end, 4 admissions, and 9 removals because ethnicity was unknown.

Excludes 547 prisoners from total year-end, 15 admissions, and 11 removals because education level was

unknown.

Excludes 376 prisoners from total year-end, 13 admissions, and 7 removals because marital status was unknown.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 15

TABLE 7

Female prisoners under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and race, 2018 and 2019

Female prisoners Female prisoners

under sentence of Received under sentence under sentence of

death, 12/31/18

of death, 2019 Removed from death row, 2019 death, 12/31/19

Region and

jurisdiction Total

White

Black

Total

White

Black

Total

White

Black

Total

White

Black

U.S. total 52 39 10 1 0 1 1 1 0 52 38 11

Federal 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

State 51 38 10 1 0 1 1 1 0 51 37 11

Midwest 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Ohio 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

South 22 14 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 23 14 8

Alabama 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 1

Florida 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 2

Georgia 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1

Kentucky 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Louisiana 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

Mississippi 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

North Carolina 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1

Oklahoma 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Tennessee 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Texas 6 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 2

West 28 23 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 27 22 3

Arizona 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0

California 23 18 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 22 17 3

Idaho 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Oregon 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Counts of female prisoners under sentence of death at year-end 2018 have been revised from those reported in Capital Punishment, 2018 – Statistical

Tables (NCJ 254786, BJS, September 2020). The revised counts exclude one female prisoner in Indiana who was relieved of a death sentence before

December 31, 2018.

Includes American Indians or Alaska Natives and Asians, Native Hawaiians, or Other Pacic Islanders.

Includes persons of Hispanic origin.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 16

TABLE 8

Hispanic prisoners under sentence of death, by region and jurisdiction, 2018 and 2019

Hispanic prisoners Received under Removed from death

under sentence sentence row (excluding

Region and jurisdiction of death, 12/31/18 of death, 2019 executions), 2019 Executed, 2019

Hispanic prisoners

under sentence

of death, 12/31/19

U.S. total 359 3 7 1 354

Federal 7 0 0 0 7

State 352 3 7 1 347

Northeast 16 0 2 0 14

Pennsylvania 16 0 2 0 14

Midwest 10 0 0 0 10

Nebraska 6 0 0 0 6

Ohio 4 0 0 0 4

South 96 2 2 1 95

Alabama 1 0 0 0 1

Arkansas 1 0 1 0 0

Florida 22 0 0 0 22

Georgia 2 0 0 0 2

Louisiana 2 0 0 0 2

Mississippi 1 0 0 0 1

North Carolina 3 0 0 0 3

Oklahoma 1 0 0 0 1

South Carolina 1 0 0 0 1

Tennessee 1 0 0 0 1

Texas 61 2 1 1 61

West 230 1 3 0 228

Arizona 24 0 0 0 24

California 193 1 2 0 192

Idaho 1 0 0 0 1

Nevada 7 0 1 0 6

Oregon 3 0 0 0 3

Utah 2 0 0 0 2

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 17

TABLE 9

Criminal history of prisoners under sentence of death, by race or ethnicity, 2019

All prisoners

White

Black

Hispanic

U.S. total 100% 100% 100% 100%

Prior felony convictions

Yes 67.8% 64.0% 73.1% 65.4%

No 32.2 36.0 26.9 34.6

Prior homicide convictions

Yes 9.5% 9.4% 10.1% 9.1%

No 90.5 90.6 89.9 90.9

Legal status at time of capital oense

Charges pending 8.3% 9.9% 7.6% 5.9%

Probation 11.3 10.0 11.4 14.2

Parole 16.0 13.7 17.8 17.6

On escape 1.2 1.6 0.9 0.9

Incarcerated 4.4 5.8 3.5 3.4

Other status 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.3

None 58.8 59.0 58.8 57.6

Note: Percentages are based on prisoners for whom data were reported. Details may not sum to totals due torounding.

Includes American Indians or Alaska Natives and Asians, Native Hawaiians, or Other Pacic Islanders.

Excludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanicblacks).

Excludes 202 prisoners because data were not reported.

Excludes 33 prisoners because data were not reported.

Excludes 296 prisoners because data were not reported.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 18

TABLE 10

Prisoners under sentence of death on December 31, 2019, by year of sentencing

Jurisdiction

1976–

1980

Year of sentence for prisoners under sentence of death, 12/31/2019

1981– 1985– 1989– 1993– 1997– 2001– 2005– 2009– 2013–

1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2017 2018 2019

Under sentence

of death,

12/31/19

Average years

under sentence of

death, 12/31/19

U.S. total 21 85 151 244 397 419 288 342 308 208 36 40 31 2,570 18.7

Florida 8 17 20 45 48 51 22 40 44 29 3 7 6 340 19.5

California 5 39 59 94 115 126 59 71 81 61 9 4 1 724 20.4

Texas 4 1 8 12 20 35 41 28 27 25 4 6 5 216 16.0

Nevada 1 7 8 3 17 10 3 6 6 5 4 1 0 71 21.0

Kentucky 1 4 4 1 3 7 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 27 24.4

Arizona 1 3 4 12 16 6 10 18 32 7 4 2 1 116 16.4

Arkansas 1 0 0 2 7 3 3 5 2 4 1 2 0 30 16.5

Ohio 0 3 14 14 19 19 19 13 13 14 1 4 6 139 18.2

Pennsylvania 0 2 11 15 23 19 15 17 17 11 2 1 1 134 18.9

Tennessee 0 2 5 9 8 9 7 3 6 2 0 1 0 52 21.4

Alabama 0 2 4 10 24 31 19 36 24 17 2 3 3 175 16.2

South Carolina 0 2 0 1 2 6 9 11 2 1 0 0 2 36 16.6

Missouri 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 11 2 3 0 1 0 22 14.4

Mississippi 0 1 0 4 6 5 8 3 7 3 1 2 0 40 16.8

Montana 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 :

Louisiana 0 0 4 4 12 22 8 6 8 3 0 1 0 68 19.2

Georgia 0 0 3 3 7 11 4 10 5 2 0 0 1 46 18.4

Utah 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 :

North Carolina 0 0 1 7 51 39 19 13 7 3 0 0 3 143 20.4

Idaho 0 0 1 2 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 :

Oklahoma 0 0 1 1 3 5 10 14 3 5 2 1 1 46 13.8

Oregon 0 0 0 2 6 7 3 4 7 0 0 0 0 29 17.8

Federal 0 0 0 0 3 5 17 18 7 6 2 2 1 61 13.3

Indiana 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 8 :

Nebraska 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 2 0 1 2 0 12 11.5

Colorado 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 :

Kansas 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 10 11.4

Virginia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 :

New Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 :

South Dakota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 :

Note: For persons sentenced to death more than once, counts are based on the year of the most recent death sentence.

:Not calculated. A reliable average cannot be calculated from fewer than 10 cases.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 19

TABLE 11

Prisoners removed from under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and method of removal, 2019

Appeals court or higher court overturned—

Region and Sentence

jurisdiction Total Execution Other death* commuted

Capital Capital Death

statute conviction sentence

U.S. total 87 22 20 2 2 19 22

Federal 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

State 86 22 20 2 2 19 21

Northeast 9 0 0 0 0 1 8

Pennsylvania 9 0 0 0 0 1 8

Midwest 9 2 1 0 0 1 5

Indiana 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Missouri 3 1 0 0 0 0 2

Ohio 4 0 1 0 0 1 2

South Dakota 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

South 48 20 7 2 0 14 5

Alabama 4 3 0 0 0 1 0

Arkansas 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

Florida 10 2 1 0 0 7 0

Georgia 5 3 0 0 0 0 2

Kentucky 3 0 0 2 0 1 0

Louisiana 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Mississippi 3 0 2 0 0 1 0

Oklahoma 2 0 2 0 0 0 0

South Carolina 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

Tennessee 6 3 1 0 0 1 1

Texas 12 9 1 0 0 1 1

West 20 0 12 0 2 3 3

Arizona 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

California 12 0 9 0 0 1 2

Nevada 3 0 1 0 0 1 1

New Mexico 2 0 0 0 2 0 0

Oregon 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

Utah 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

*In 2019, other deaths were due to natural causes, suicide, and acute drug toxicity.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 20

TABLE 12 TABLE 13

Average elapsed time between sentencing and Number of prisoners executed, by race or ethnicity,

execution, 1977–2019 1977–2019

Average elapsed time All

Year

Executions from sentence to execution

Year

executions White

Black

Hispanic Other

b,c

Total 1,512 146 mos. Total 1,512 850 515 133 14

1977 1 : 1977 1 1 0 0 0

1979 2 : 1979 2 2 0 0 0

1981 1 : 1981 1 1 0 0 0

1982 2 : 1982 2 1 1 0 0

1983 5 : 1983 5 4 1 0 0

1984 21 74 1984 21 13 8 0 0

1985 18 71 1985 18 9 7 2 0

1986 18 87 1986 18 9 7 2 0

1987 25 86 1987 25 11 11 3 0

1988 11 80 1988 11 6 5 0 0

1989 16 95 1989 16 6 8 2 0

1990 23 95 1990 23 16 7 0 0

1991 14 116 1991 14 6 7 1 0

1992 31 114 1992 31 17 11 2 1

1993 38 113 1993 38 19 14 4 1

1994 31 122 1994 31 19 11 1 0

1995 56 134 1995 56 31 22 2 1

1996 45 125 1996 45 29 14 2 0

1997 74 133 1997 74 41 26 5 2

1998 68 130 1998 68 40 18 8 2

1999 98 143 1999 98 53 33 9 3

2000 85 137 2000 85 43 35 6 1

2001 66 142 2001 66 45 17 3 1

2002 71 127 2002 71 47 18 6 0

2003 65 131 2003 65 41 20 3 1

2004 59 132 2004 59 36 19 3 1

2005 60 147 2005 60 38 19 3 0

2006 53 145 2006 53 25 20 8 0

2007 42 153 2007 42 22 14 6 0

2008 37 139 2008 37 17 17 3 0

2009 52 169 2009 52 24 21 7 0

2010 46 178 2010 46 28 13 5 0

2011 43 198 2011 43 22 16 5 0

2012 43 190 2012 43 25 11 7 0

2013 39 186 2013 39 23 13 3 0

2014 35 218 2014 35 12 18 5 0

2015 28 195 2015 28 11 10 7 0

2016 20 204 2016 20 16 2 2 0

2017 23 243 2017 23 13 8 2 0

2018 25 238 2018 25 14 6 5 0

2019 22 264 2019 22 14 7 1 0

Note: In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated capital punishment Note: In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated capital punishment

statutes in several states (Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972)), statutes in several states (Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972)),

eecting a moratorium on executions. Executions resumed in 1977 eecting a moratorium on executions. Executions resumed in 1977

when the court found that revisions to statutes in several states had when the court found that revisions to statutes in several states had

eectively addressed the matters previously held unconstitutional eectively addressed the matters previously held unconstitutional

(Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976) and its companion cases). (Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976) and its companion cases).

:Not calculated. A reliable average cannot be calculated from fewer than

No executions were carried out in 1978 or 1980.

10 cases.

Excludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to

No executions were carried out in 1978 or 1980. non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).

Average time was calculated from the most recent sentencing date.

Includes American Indians or Alaska Natives and Asians, Native

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program

Hawaiians, or Other Pacic Islanders.

(NPS-8), 1977–2019. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program

(NPS-8), 1977–2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 21

TABLE 14

Number of executions, by method and jurisdiction, 1977–2019

Jurisdiction All methods Lethal injection Electrocution Lethal gas Hanging Firing squad

U.S. total 1,512 1,333 162 11 3 3

Federal 3 3 0 0 0 0

Alabama 66 42 24 0 0 0

Arizona 37 35 0 2 0 0

Arkansas 31 30 1 0 0 0

California 13 11 0 2 0 0

Colorado 1 1 0 0 0 0

Connecticut 1 1 0 0 0 0

Delaware 16 15 0 0 1 0

Florida 99 55 44 0 0 0

Georgia 75 52 23 0 0 0

Idaho 3 3 0 0 0 0

Illinois 12 12 0 0 0 0

Indiana 20 17 3 0 0 0

Kentucky 3 2 1 0 0 0

Louisiana 28 8 20 0 0 0

Maryland 5 5 0 0 0 0

Mississippi 21 17 0 4 0 0

Missouri 89 89 0 0 0 0

Montana 3 3 0 0 0 0

Nebraska 4 1 3 0 0 0

Nevada 12 11 0 1 0 0

New Mexico 1 1 0 0 0 0

North Carolina 43 41 0 2 0 0

Ohio 56 56 0 0 0 0

Oklahoma 112 112 0 0 0 0

Oregon 2 2 0 0 0 0

Pennsylvania 3 3 0 0 0 0

South Carolina 43 36 7 0 0 0

South Dakota 5 5 0 0 0 0

Tennessee 12 7 5 0 0 0

Texas 567 567 0 0 0 0

Utah 7 4 0 0 0 3

Virginia 113 82 31 0 0 0

Washington 5 3 0 0 2 0

Wyoming 1 1 0 0 0 0

Note: In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated capital punishment statutes in several states (Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972)), eecting a

moratorium on executions. Executions resumed in 1977 when the court found that revisions to statutes in several states had eectively addressed the

matters previously held unconstitutional (Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976) and its companion cases).

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 1977–2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 22

TABLE 15

Number of executions, by jurisdiction, 1930–2019 and

1977–2019

Jurisdiction Since 1930 Since 1977

U.S. total 5,371 1,512

Texas 864 567

Georgia 441 75

New York 329 0

North Carolina 306 43

California 305 13

Florida 269 99

Ohio 228 56

Virginia 205 113

South Carolina 205 43

Alabama 201 66

Mississippi 175 21

Oklahoma 172 112

Louisiana 161 28

Pennsylvania 155 3

Missouri 151 89

Arkansas 149 31

Kentucky 106 3

Tennessee 105 12

Illinois 102 12

Arizona 75 37

New Jersey 74 0

Maryland 73 5

Indiana 61 20

Washington 52 5

Colorado 48 1

Nevada 41 12

District of Columbia 40 0

West Virginia 40 0

Federal 36 3

Delaware 28 16

Massachusetts 27 0

Connecticut 22 1

Oregon 21 2

Utah 20 7

Iowa 18 0

Kansas 15 0

Montana 9 3

New Mexico 9 1

Nebraska 8 4

Wyoming 8 1

South Dakota 6 5

Idaho 6 3

Vermont 4 0

New Hampshire 1 0

Note: Excludes 160 executions carried out by military authorities

between 1930 and 1961. The federal government has collected data on

executions under civil authority annually since 1930.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program

(NPS-8), 1930–2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 23

APPENDIX TABLE 1

Demographic characteristics for prisoners under sentence of death, 2019

Demographic characteristic Total, 12/31/19 Admissions Removals

Total

Sex

Male

Female

Race

White

Black

American Indian/

AlaskaNative

Asian/Native Hawaiian/

Other Pacic Islander

Ethnicity

Hispanic

Non-Hispanic

Unknown

Age

18–19

20–24

25–29

30–34

35–39

40–44

45–49

50–54

55–59

60–64

65 or older

Education

8th grade or less

9th–11th grade

High school graduate/GED

Any college

Unknown

Marital status

Married

Divorced/separated

Widowed

Never married

Unknown

2,570

2,518

1,443

1,064

354

1,984

232

122

217

353

433

423

408

290

284

238

703

897

185

547

467

431

1,217

376

31 87

30 86

1 1

20 47

11 38

0 0

0 2

3 8

24 70

4 9

0 0

6 0

7 1

10 7

3 9

3 22

1 11

0 8

0 18

5 13

3 21

6 33

2 9

15 11

4 18

5 14

0 3

9 45

13 7

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 24

APPENDIX TABLE 2

Counts for gure 1: Number of prisoners under sentence of death, 1953–2019

Year Prisoners Year Prisoners Year Prisoners

1953 131 1976 420 1999 3,540

1954 147 1977 423 2000 3,601

1955 125 1978 482 2001 3,577

1956 146 1979 593 2002 3,562

1957 151 1980 692 2003 3,377

1958 147 1981 860 2004 3,320

1959 164 1982 1,066 2005 3,245

1960 212 1983 1,209 2006 3,233

1961 257 1984 1,420 2007 3,215

1962 267 1985 1,575 2008 3,210

1963 297 1986 1,800 2009 3,173

1964 315 1987 1,967 2010 3,139

1965 331 1988 2,117 2011 3,065

1966 406 1989 2,243 2012 3,011

1967 435 1990 2,346 2013 2,983

1968 517 1991 2,465 2014 2,942

1969 575 1992 2,580 2015 2,872

1970 631 1993 2,727 2016 2,797

1971 642 1994 2,905 2017 2,703

1972 334 1995 3,064 2018 2,626

1973 134 1996 3,242 2019 2,570

1974 244 1997 3,328

1975 488 1998 3,465

Note: Data on the number of prisoners under sentence of death at year-end have been collected since 1953.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 1953–2019.

APPENDIX TABLE 3

Counts for gure 2: Admissions to and removals from under sentence of death, 1973–2019

Year Admissions Removals Year Admissions Removals Year Admissions Removals

1973 44 240 1989 275 149 2005 143 216

1974 161 55 1990 270 152 2006 126 146

1975 318 67 1991 284 159 2007 129 140

1976 249 317 1992 300 173 2008 122 137

1977 159 156 1993 299 162 2009 118 166

1978 211 150 1994 330 153 2010 116 143

1979 172 61 1995 325 171 2011 84 155

1980 202 101 1996 323 155 2012 85 124

1981 249 84 1997 282 187 2013 85 118

1982 287 79 1998 312 175 2014 70 116

1983 266 123 1999 287 220 2015 54 122

1984 306 90 2000 235 173 2016 33 99

1985 292 130 2001 164 194 2017 37 133

1986 319 109 2002 172 191 2018 41 117

1987 311 142 2003 157 348 2019 31 87

1988 317 165 2004 139 197

Note: Removals can be due to any cause, including execution, other death, or appeal.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 1973–2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 25

1930

1935

1940

1945

1950

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

APPENDIX TABLE 4

Counts for gure 3: Number of prisoners executed under civil authority in the United States, 1930–2019

Year Executions Year Executions Year Executions

155

56 23

1931 153

1961 42 1991 14

1932 140

1962 47 1992 31

1933 160

1963 21 1993 38

1934 168

1964 15 1994 31

199

7 56

1936 195

1966 1 1996 45

1937 147

1967 2 1997 74

1938 190

1968 0 1998 68

1939 160

1969 0 1999 98

124

0 85

1941 123

1971 0 2001 66

1942 147

1972 0 2002 71

1943 131

1973 0 2003 65

1944 120

1974 0 2004 59

117

0 60

1946 131

1976 0 2006 53

1947 153

1977 1 2007 42

1948 119

1978 0 2008 37

1949 119

1979 2 2009 52

0 46

1951 105

1981 1 2011 43

1952 83

1982 2 2012 43

1953 62

1983 5 2013 39

1954 81

1984 21 2014 35

18 28

1956 65

1986 18 2016 20

1957 65

1987 25 2017 23

1958 49

1988 11 2018 25

1959 49

1989 16 2019 22

Note: Excludes 160 executions carried out by military authorities from 1930 to 1961.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 1930–2019.

Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables | June 2021 26

APPENDIX TABLE 5

Counts for gure 4: Number of prisoners under sentence of death, by race, 1968–2019

Year White

Black

Other

a,b

Year White

Black

Other

a,b

1968 243 271 3 1994 1,653 1,203 49

1969 263 310 2 1995 1,732 1,284 48

1970 293 335 3 1996 1,833 1,358 51

1971 306 332 4 1997 1,864 1,408 56

1972 167 166 1 1998 1,917 1,489 59

1973 64 68 2 1999 1,960 1,515 65

1974 110 128 6 2000 1,989 1,541 71

1975 218 262 8 2001 1,968 1,538 71

1976 225 195 0 2002 1,939 1,551 72

1977 229 192 2 2003 1,882 1,417 78

1978 281 197 4 2004 1,856 1,390 74

1979 354 236 3 2005 1,802 1,366 77

1980 424 264 4 2006 1,806 1,353 74

1981 499 353 8 2007 1,806 1,338 71

1982 613 441 12 2008 1,795 1,343 72

1983 692 505 12 2009 1,779 1,318 76

1984 806 598 16 2010 1,743 1,309 87

1985 896 664 15 2011 1,721 1,274 70

1986 1,013 762 25 2012 1,684 1,258 69

1987 1,128 813 26 2013 1,670 1,251 62

1988 1,235 848 34 2014 1,647 1,233 62

1989 1,308 898 37 2015 1,606 1,202 64

1990 1,368 940 38 2016 1,553 1,179 65

1991 1,449 979 37 2017 1,508 1,129 66

1992 1,511 1,031 38 2018 1,470 1,091 65

1993 1,575 1,111 41 2019 1,443 1,064 63

Note: Data on Hispanic origin was not collected prior to 1977.

Includes persons of Hispanic origin.

Includes American Indians or Alaska Natives; Asians, Native Hawaiians, or Other Pacic Islanders; and persons for whom only ethnicity was identied.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 1968–2019.

Oce of Justice Programs

Building Solutions • Supporting Communities • Advancing Justice

www.ojp.gov

e Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the

principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal

victimization, criminal oenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime,

and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state,

tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable

statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports

improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and

participates with national and international organizations to develop and

recommend national standards for justice statistics. Doris J. James is the

acting director.

is report was written by Tracy L. Snell. Todd D. Minton, Lauren G.

Beatty, and Stephanie Mueller veried the report.

Eric Hendrixson edited the report. Carrie Epps-Carey produced the report.

June 2021, NCJ 300381