Capital Punishment, 2018 – Statistical Tables

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

September 2020, NCJ 254786

Tracy L. Snell, BJS Statistician

A

t year-end 2018, a total of 30 states and

the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) held

2,628 prisoners under sentence of death,

which was 75 (3%) fewer than at year-end 2017.

In 2018, the number of prisoners under sentence

of death declined for the 18th consecutive year.

Tirteen states and the BOP received a total

of 38 prisoners in 2018 who were under death

sentences. California (28%), Florida (13%),

and Texas (8%) held about half of the prisoners

under death sentences in the United States at

year-end 2018. Eight states executed a total of

25 prisoners in 2018, with Texas accounting for

more than half (13) of the executions.

Tis report presents statistics on persons who

were under sentence of death or were executed

in 2018, and on state and federal death-penalty

laws. At year-end 2018, a total of 34 states and

the federal government authorized the death

penalty (map 1). Each jurisdiction determines

the ofenses for which the death penalty can be

imposed. Once a person has been convicted of a

capital ofense, a separate sentencing hearing is

held. During the sentencing hearing, a jury will

consider aggravating and mitigating factors as

defned by state or federal law. Before a person

can be sentenced to death, a jury must fnd

that at least one aggravating factor is present

and that mitigating factors do not outweigh the

aggravating factor(s).

MAP 1

States with and without death-penalty statutes, year-end 2018

Had a statute authorizing the death

penalty as of December 31, 2018

and carried out an execution in 2018

Had a statute authorizing the death

penalty as of December 31, 2018

but did not carry out an execution

in 2018

Had a statute authorizing the death

penalty as of December 31, 2018 that

had been invalidated by the state¡¯s

highest court but had not been repealed

by the legislature

Had no statute authorizing the death

penalty as of December 31, 2018

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

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2018.

Bureau of Justice Statistics ¡¤ Statistical Tables

Capital Punishment, 2018 ¨C

Statistical Tables

Highlights

??Nineteen states had a decrease in the number of

prisoners held under sentence of death from year-end

2017 to year-end 2018, while 2 states and the BOP had

an increase.

??From year-end 2017 to year-end 2018, the number of

prisoners held under sentence of death in Arkansas

increased by two, while the BOP and Missouri each

increased their number by one.

??Eighteen states and the BOP removed a total of 88

prisoners from being under sentence of death in 2018

by means other than execution.

??At year-end 2018, 56% of prisoners under death

sentences were white and 42% were black.

??In 2018, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that

the state¡¯s death-penalty law was unconstitutional,

and eight prisoners under sentence of death were

re-sentenced to life without parole.

??During 2018, Delaware removed its remaining

death-row prisoner from a previously imposed

death sentence.

??The largest declines in the number of prisoners under

death sentences in 2018 were in Pennsylvania and Texas

(down 11 prisoners each), followed by Washington

(down 8) and then Alabama, Florida, California, and

Nevada (down 6 each).

FIGURE 1

Number of prisoners under sentence of death,

1953-2018

??Among prisoners under a death sentence at year-end

2018 with a known ethnicity, 15% were Hispanic.

??Ninety-eight percent of prisoners under sentence of

death were male.

??In three of the four (Census) regions in the country

(the West, Midwest, and South), more white prisoners

than black prisoners were under sentence of death at

year-end 2018.

??The average elapsed time from sentencing to execution

almost tripled from 1988 (6.7 years) to 2018 (19.8 years).

FIGURE 2

Admissions to and removals from a sentence of death,

1973-2018

Number

350

Number

4,000

300

3,500

250

3,000

200

2,500

150

2,000

100

1,500

Removals

50

1,000

0

1973

500

0

1953 1960

Admissions

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010 2018

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), 1953-2018.

1980

1990

2000

2010

2018

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), 1973-2018.

Capital Punishment, 2018 ¨C Statistical Tables | September 2020

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FIGURE 3

Number of prisoners executed under civil authority in

the United States, 1930-2018

FIGURE 4

Number of prisoners under sentence of death, by race,

1968-2018

Executions

200

Number

2,000

150

1,500

Whitea

Blacka

100

1,000

50

500

Other racesb

0

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018

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), 1930-2018.

0

1968 1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2018

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

appendix table 5 for counts.

aIncludes persons of Hispanic origin.

bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, Other Pacifc Islanders, American

Indians, Alaska Natives, and persons for whom only ethnicity

was identifed.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program

(NPS-8), 1968-2018.

Terms and defnitions

Aggravating factors¡ªSpecifc elements of a crime

defned by statute. When present, these factors may

allow a jury to impose a death sentence for a person

convicted of a capital ofense. These can also be called

aggravating circumstances.

Capital conviction¡ªA formal declaration that a

defendant is guilty of a capital ofense, made by the

verdict of a jury, the decision of a judge, or a guilty plea

by the defendant in a court of law.

Capital ofense¡ªA criminal ofense that may be

punishable by death. Ofenses that are eligible for

a death sentence are defned by statute in each

jurisdiction that authorizes capital punishment. The

most common is frst-degree murder accompanied by at

least one aggravating factor.

Capital punishment¡ªThe process of sentencing

convicted ofenders to death for the most serious crimes

and carrying out that sentence. The specifc ofenses

and circumstances that determine if a crime is eligible

for a death sentence are defned by statute and are

prescribed by Congress or a state legislature.

Capital statute¡ªA state or federal law dictating

specifc crimes that are eligible for a death sentence and

specifc procedures to be followed in carrying out such

a sentence.

Civil authorities¡ªFor the purposes of this report, the

state or federal entities responsible for implementation

and enforcement of capital-punishment laws, excluding

military authorities.

Commutation¡ªReduction of a death sentence by

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

advisors empaneled to review sentences (state). Criteria

for granting a commutation vary by state. The new

sentence can be for life or to a term of years.

Death row¡ªA slang term referring to the area of a

prison in which prisoners under sentence of death

are housed. Usage of the term ¡°death row¡± continues

despite the fact that many states do not maintain a

separate unit or facility for prisoners under sentence

of death.

Received under sentence of death¡ªThe admission of

a person to prison after they are sentenced to death by

a court.

Removal from being under sentence of death¡ªThe

removal of a prisoner who was previously sentenced

to death from the count of persons under sentence of

death. A prisoner can be relieved of a death sentence

by several methods: execution, death by causes other

than execution, commutation, or an overturned capital

conviction or sentence.

Sentence of death¡ªA sentence imposed by a court for

a capital ofense that authorizes the state to execute a

convicted ofender.

Year-end¡ªAs of December 31 of the calendar year.

Capital Punishment, 2018 ¨C Statistical Tables | September 2020

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List of tables

TABLE 1. Status of the death penalty, December 31, 2018

TABLE 2. Capital ofenses, by state, 2018

TABLE 3. Federal capital ofenses, 2018

TABLE 4. Authorized methods of execution, by state, 2018

TABLE 5. Movement of prisoners under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and race,

2017 and 2018

TABLE 6. Demographic characteristics of prisoners under sentence of death, 2018

TABLE 7. Female prisoners under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and race, 2017 and 2018

TABLE 8. Hispanic prisoners under sentence of death, by region and jurisdiction, 2017 and 2018

TABLE 9. Criminal history of prisoners under sentence of death, by race or ethnicity, 2018

TABLE 10. Prisoners removed from being under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and

method of removal, 2018

TABLE 11. Average elapsed time between sentencing and execution, 1977-2018

TABLE 12. Number of prisoners executed, by race or ethnicity, 1977-2018

TABLE 13. Number of executions, by method and jurisdiction, 1977-2018

TABLE 14. Cumulative number of executions at year-end 2018, by jurisdiction, since 1930 and

since 1977

List of figures

MAP 1. States with and without death-penalty statutes, year-end 2018

FIGURE 1. Number of prisoners under sentence of death, 1953-2018

FIGURE 2. Admissions to and removals from a sentence of death, 1973-2018

FIGURE 3. Number of prisoners executed under civil authority in the United States, 1930-2018

FIGURE 4. Number of prisoners under sentence of death, by race, 1968-2018

FIGURE 5. Advance count of executions, January 1, 2019-December 31, 2019

List of appendix tables

APPENDIX TABLE 1. Demographic characteristics for prisoners under sentence of death, 2018

APPENDIX TABLE 2. Number of prisoners under sentence of death, 1953-2018

APPENDIX TABLE 3. Admissions to and removals from a sentence of death, 1973-2018

APPENDIX TABLE 4. Number of prisoners executed under civil authority in the United States,

1930-2018

APPENDIX TABLE 5. Number of prisoners under sentence of death, by race, 1968-2018

Capital Punishment, 2018 ¨C Statistical Tables | September 2020

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Status of the death penalty in 2018

At year-end 2018, a total of 34 states and the federal

government authorized the death penalty for certain

ofenses (tables 1, 2, and 3). Although New Mexico

repealed its death penalty in 2009 (2009 N.M. Laws,

ch. 11 ¡ì 5), the repeal was not retroactive, and

ofenders charged with a capital ofense committed

prior to the repeal date may be eligible for a death

sentence. As of December 31, 2018, New Mexico held

two men under death sentences.

Te Washington State Supreme Court declared the

state¡¯s death-penalty statute unconstitutional on

October 11, 2018. Te court found in State v. Gregory

(192 Wash. 2d 1, 427 P.3d 621 (2018)) that the death

penalty was administered in an ¡°arbitrary and racially

biased manner¡± and, therefore, violated the state

constitution. Te ruling resulted in the removal of

eight prisoners from being under sentence of death

in Washington. Te state¡¯s legislature has not acted to

repeal the statute.

During 2018, the Alabama state legislature revised

statutory provisions for the death penalty. Tey added

murder committed in the presence of a child younger

than age 14 when the murder victim was a parent to

that child (Ala. Stat. Ann. ¡ì 13A-5-40(a)(20)) to the list

of ofenses eligible for a death sentence. Te state also

added as aggravating factors the murder committed

either against a victim younger than age 14 or in the

presence of a child younger than age 14 when the

murder victim was a parent to that child (Ala. Stat.

Ann. ¡ì 13A-5-49 (11) and (12)). Tese changes became

efective August 1, 2018.

South Dakota amended its code of criminal procedure

to prohibit persons with severe mental illness from

being sentenced to death (SDCL ¡ì¡ì 23A-27A-26.1 to

23A-27A-26.7). Persons deemed prior to trial to have

severe mental illness whose ofenses occurred afer the

law¡¯s enactment will be sentenced to life imprisonment

if convicted. Te law became efective July 1, 2018.

TABLE 1

Status of the death penalty, December 31, 2018

Executions in 2018

Texas

Tennessee

Alabama

Florida

Georgia

Nebraska

Ohio

South Dakota

13

3

2

2

2

1

1

1

Total

25

Number of prisoners under

sentence of death in states

with a death-penalty statute

California

736

Florida

344

Texas

223

Alabama

176

Pennsylvania

143

North Carolina

140

Ohio

137

Arizona

116

Nevada

75

Louisiana

69

Federal Bureau of Prisons

61

Tennessee

57

Georgia

50

Oklahoma

47

Mississippi

43

17 other states*

211

Total

States with death-penalty statute

invalidated by state¡¯s highest court

but not repealed by legislature

Delaware

New York

Washington

2,628

Jurisdictions with no

statute authorizing the

death penalty (17)

Alaska

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Hawaii

Illinois

Iowa

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

New Jersey

North Dakota

Rhode Island

Vermont

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Note: See table 2 for information on statutes.

*New Mexico repealed its death penalty for capital ofenses committed on or after July 1, 2009. As of December 31, 2018, two males in New Mexico

were under previously imposed death sentences. The other states with prisoners under sentence of death were Ark., Colo., Idaho, Ind., Kan., Ky., Mo.,

Mont., Neb., N.H., Ore., S.C., S.D., Va., and Utah. Wyoming held no prisoners under sentence of death during 2018.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8), 2018.

Capital Punishment, 2018 ¨C Statistical Tables | September 2020

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