Death Sentences in the United States, 2012-2020
"While the use of execution has declined throughout most of the First World, the USA remains an outpost – the only democracy – where belief in the utility of capital punishment as the ultimate deterrent is not only alive, but is also frequently put into practice." 1
The United States has carried out 1,536 executions since 1977.2 Another 2,500 individuals are on death row. California has the largest death row population with 704 condemned inmates, followed by Florida (343) and Texas (205). Texas accounts for over one-third of all executions. In addition to state death penalty laws, the federal government and U.S. military utilize the death penalty and they account for 16 executions and 50 death row inmates.3
Although the death penalty is authorized at the state level, it is applied at the county level. From 2012 to 2020, 432 death sentences were rendered by 182 counties. Over 25% of these death sentences came from just 10 counties. Riverside, California had the most death sentences at 32. With over 3,100 counties and county equivalents, it is apparent that the U.S. death row population is the result of decisions in a small number of counties. As one report noted, “contrary to the assumption that the death penalty is widely practiced across the country, it is actually the domain of a small percentage of U.S. counties in a handful of States.” 4
County-level death penalty data is available from the Death Penalty Information Center for 2012 through 2020. A series of maps and charts have been prepared to share this data along with other demographic information to provide an overview of application of the death penalty at the county level. To place this information in context, the maps start with state-level data.
1. Harries, Keith. 1995. "The Last Walk: A Geography of Execution in the United States, 1786 - 1985." Political Geography 14 (5): 473-495.
2. In 1972, the United States Supreme Court effectively struck down state death penalty laws in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238. In 1976, the High Court upheld death penalty laws that followed certain sentencing guidelines (Greggs v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153).
3. NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. 2021. Death Row U.S.A., Spring 2021. New York: NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Last accessed October 23, 2021. https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/DRUSASpring2021.pdf
4. Dieter, Richard C. 2013. The 2% Death Penalty: How a Minority of Counties Produce Most Death Cases At Enormous Costs to All. Washington, D.C.: Death Penalty Information Center. Last accessed October 23, 2021. https://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/TwoPercentReport.pdf
State Death Penalty
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County Death Penalty
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Death Sentences 2012-2020
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Available Charts: Death Sentences 2012-2020 | Death Row Population | Executions Since 1977
Available Charts: Death Sentences 2012-2020 | Death Row Population | Executions Since 1977
Available Charts: Death Sentences 2012-2020 | Death Row Population | Executions Since 1977
Available Charts: Death Sentences 2012-2020 | Death Row Population | Executions Since 1977
Statistical analysis was undertaken using SPSS (Version 27.0, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Spearman’s correlation coefficient, a nonparametric statistical test, was deployed to avoid potential problems with nonnormal distributions in the data. No relationship between death sentences and homicide rates exists (0.058, p = .05). The analysis was based on the 1,578 counties that have available homicide rates. Of the 182 counties with death sentences, 172 have available homicide rates. Correlation results on just those counties were not statistically signification (0.064, p = .407).
Data Sources