What states allow the death penalty?
Asked by: Mrs. Kavon Koelpin DVM | Last update: January 26, 2026Score: 4.6/5 (60 votes)
STATES WITH THE DEATH PENALTY (27)
- Alabama.
- Arizona.
- Arkansas.
- California.
- Florida.
- Georgia.
- Idaho.
- Indiana.
How many states in the US allow the death penalty?
Currently, 27 states, the federal government, and the U.S. Military still have the death penalty. There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime. Since 1973, at least 200 people wrongly convicted and sentenced to death have been exonerated.
What state has the highest death penalty rate?
Death penalty
Since 2015, Texas has been the state most likely to perform the most executions in the United States. However, the U.S. government and military also enforce death penalties. Since 1976, 1,392 executions in the country have been conducted through lethal injection.
What crimes are still punishable by death in the US?
Federal capital punishment can be imposed for crimes like murder, genocide, treason, and espionage. Additionally, crimes that may qualify if they cause death include terrorism, hostage-taking, aircraft hijacking, and murder by a federal prisoner serving a life sentence.
Do all 50 states impose death as a sentence?
It is constitutionally permitted only for murder, with permissibility for use for crimes against the state not having been legally decided. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, only 21 of them have authority to execute death sentences, with the other 6 subject to moratoriums.
⚖️ Which U.S. States Have the Death Penalty & Which Don’t? (Full List & Map)
Which state has no death penalty?
Since 2009, seven states — Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Virginia — have legislatively abolished the death penalty, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Why did Texas stop last meals?
Texas abolished special last meals for death row inmates in 2011 after inmate Lawrence Russell Brewer ordered a large, extravagant meal and then refused to eat any of it, which angered officials and the public, leading to the decision to serve only the standard prison meal instead. This change was pushed by Senator John Whitmire, who felt it was inappropriate to grant such privileges to convicted murderers, especially after Brewer's disrespectful act.
What was Obama's death penalty?
On 17 January 2017, three days before leaving office after eight years in the White House, President Barack Obama commuted one military death sentence and one federal death sentence. The prisoner in each case will now serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Who cannot receive the death penalty?
The United States Supreme Court has prohibited a sentence of death for someone who had intellectual disabilities at the time of the offense. Similarly, the Court has declared imposing a sentence of death on juveniles unconstitutional.
What is the average cost of a US execution?
Nationally, the death penalty costs taxpayers an average of $1 million than a life without parole sentence, making it the most expensive part of our criminal justice system on a per offender basis.
How long are people on death row?
The average time spent on death row in the U.S. has been increasing, hovering around 19 to 20 years for prisoners executed in recent years (2020-2021), while those currently on death row have spent an average of over 20 years, with some approaching or exceeding 22 years, largely due to lengthy appeals and a growing aging population of inmates.
Why is Texas #1 in executions?
More generally, Steiker points out that Texas, unlike many other states, has worked out the statutory and procedural “kinks” in death penalty cases and appeals. In particular, Texas' 1995 law expediting state appeals has successfully cut down the time between conviction and execution.
What is Alabama's death penalty?
The power of clemency belongs to the Governor of Alabama. The method of execution is lethal injection, unless the condemned requests electrocution or nitrogen hypoxia.
What state has killed the most on death row?
Which States Have Carried Out the Most Executions? Texas has been responsible for the most executions over recent years by far, with 593 since 1977 as of mid-February 2025. The states with the next-highest totals are Oklahoma (127), Virginia (113), Florida (107) and Missouri (101). Then-Democratic Gov.
Does Canada have the death penalty?
The death penalty in Canada was fully abolished on December 10, 1998. On that date, all remaining references to the death penalty were removed from the National Defence Act.
What is life like on death row?
Most death row prisoners in the United States are locked alone in small cells for 22 to 24 hours a day with little human contact or interaction; reduced or no natural light; and severe constraints on visitation, including the inability to ever touch friends or loved ones.
How many black people are on death row?
Black and Hispanic people represent 31% of the U.S. population, but 53% of death row inmates—41.9% and 11.3% respectively (American Progress, 2019). The death row population is over 41% Black, even though Black people make up about 13% of the U.S. population (Prison Policy Initiative, 2016).
Which country has no death penalty?
DENMARK abolished the death penalty for all crimes. LUXEMBOURG, NICARAGUA, and NORWAY abolished the death penalty for all crimes. BRAZIL, FIJI, and PERU abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
What are the 5 rules of punishment?
There are five main underlying justifications of criminal punishment considered briefly here: retribution; incapacitation; deterrence; rehabilitation and reparation.
Did JFK believe in the death penalty?
JFK was an interesting man. Obviously, it seems as though he would have been completely against the concept of the death penalty. Through his signing of laws to his controversial speeches, he wanted it where no one would ever use this on another human.
What was Obama's GPA?
Barack Obama reportedly had a 3.7 GPA when he graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Political Science in 1983, though official records aren't public; his biographer cited this figure after Obama mentioned it, highlighting his academic ability.
Who was the boy who touched Obama?
The boy who touched President Obama's hair in the iconic 2009 photo was Jacob Philadelphia, who asked Obama if his hair felt the same as his own afro-textured hair, leading Obama to invite him to touch it. The moment symbolized representation, and Obama later reconnected with Jacob, now a high school graduate, expressing pride in him.
What is the craziest last meal request from death row?
Weirdest death row last meals often involve excessive quantities, bizarre combinations, or symbolic requests, like Lawrence Brewer's huge, uneaten meal that ended the tradition in Texas, Thomas Grasso's complaint about getting spaghetti instead of SpaghettiOs, Peter Miniel's buffet of tacos, burgers, and cakes, John Wayne Gacy's KFC bucket and shrimp, or Victor Fuger's single olive with the pit to sprout a tree. Inmates use these requests for one last indulgence, protest, or to make a statement.
What was Princess Diana's last meal?
Princess Diana's last meal, eaten at the Ritz Paris on August 31, 1997, consisted of Dover sole, vegetable tempura, and a mushroom and asparagus omelet, ordered from the L'Espadon restaurant and delivered to her suite for privacy. This simple, vegetable-focused meal, reflecting her known preferences for lighter fare, was consumed shortly before she departed for her fatal car crash with Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul.
Can you get alcohol for your last meal on death row?
In the United States, most states give the meal a day or two before the actual execution and now use the euphemism "special meal". Alcohol and tobacco are usually, but not always, denied. Unorthodox or unavailable requests can be replaced with similar substitutes. Some states place tight restrictions.