United States
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 16
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 47
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The pace of USA executions is on the rise, pushed by...
- News items in the archive
- 1,047
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
United States is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 16 executions in the country, against 47 the year before. The archive holds 1,047 news items on United States, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- JUNE 18, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal. Federal judge William Lawrence vacated the federal death sentence of Bruce Carneil Webster
USA - Federal. Federal judge William Lawrence vacated the federal death sentence of Bruce Carneil Webster
- MAY 28, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Military. Christian L. Reismeier has been named to oversee the military tribunals at Guantánamo Bay
USA - Military. Christian L. Reismeier has been named to oversee the military tribunals at Guantánamo Bay
- APRIL 24, 2019United StatesWHEN PREVENTION IS WORSE THAN PUNISHMENT
USA - The U.S. Prison Population is Shrinking.
USA - The U.S. Prison Population is Shrinking.
- APRIL 23, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Wrongful Use or Threat of Capital Prosecutions Implicated in Five Exonerations in 2018.
USA - Wrongful Use or Threat of Capital Prosecutions Implicated in Five Exonerations in 2018.
- APRIL 20, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Death Row USA Winter 2019 Shows Ongoing Decline in Death Row Populations.
USA - Death Row USA Winter 2019 Shows Ongoing Decline in Death Row Populations.
- APRIL 16, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Military. Federal Appeals Court Strikes Two Years of Guantánamo Tribunal Decisions in USS Cole Case.
USA - Military. Federal Appeals Court Strikes Two Years of Guantánamo Tribunal Decisions in USS Cole Case.
- APRIL 12, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Alabama. Divided Supreme Court says execution of Christopher Lee Price can proceed
USA - Alabama. Divided Supreme Court says execution of Christopher Lee Price can proceed
- MARCH 22, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge ruled against Joseph E. Duncan
USA - Federal. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge ruled against Joseph E. Duncan
- MARCH 20, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Death Row USA Fall 2018
USA - Death Row USA Fall 2018
- FEBRUARY 13, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Supreme Court’s Intervention to Allow Execution of Domineque Ray Provokes Widespread Condemnation.
USA - Supreme Court’s Intervention to Allow Execution of Domineque Ray Provokes Widespread Condemnation.
- FEBRUARY 13, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - FBI releases serial killer Samuel Little's drawings of victims in the hope that they can be identified.
USA - FBI releases serial killer Samuel Little's drawings of victims in the hope that they can be identified.
- FEBRUARY 12, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - More than 48,000 people are being held in immigration detention.
USA - More than 48,000 people are being held in immigration detention.
- FEBRUARY 2, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Death-Penalty Film, ‘Clemency,’ Wins Sundance Festival Best Drama Award.
USA - Death-Penalty Film, ‘Clemency,’ Wins Sundance Festival Best Drama Award.
- JANUARY 23, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Jay-Z And Meek Mill Officially Launch Their REFORM Alliance With A $50 Million Pledge.
USA - Jay-Z And Meek Mill Officially Launch Their REFORM Alliance With A $50 Million Pledge.
- JANUARY 11, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Chaos Continues in Guantánamo Death-Penalty Trial
USA - Chaos Continues in Guantánamo Death-Penalty Trial
- JANUARY 6, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - According to Fatal Encounters, in 2018 the police killed 1810 people.
USA - According to Fatal Encounters, in 2018 the police killed 1810 people.
- JANUARY 5, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Netflix’s The Innocent Man: The American injustice system.
USA - Netflix’s The Innocent Man: The American injustice system.
- JANUARY 1, 2019United StatesDEATH PENALTY
To date, the death penalty no longer exists in 18 of the 50 U.S. States
To date, the death penalty no longer exists in 18 of the 50 U.S. States
- DECEMBER 28, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - More from the DPIC 2018 Year End Report
USA - More from the DPIC 2018 Year End Report
- DECEMBER 20, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Connecticut. (Federal) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has overturned the federal death sentence imposed on Azibo Aquart
USA - Connecticut. (Federal) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has overturned the federal death sentence imposed on Azibo Aquart
- DECEMBER 14, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - DPIC 2018 Year End Report: Death Penalty Usage Stays Near Generational Lows.
USA - DPIC 2018 Year End Report: Death Penalty Usage Stays Near Generational Lows.
- DECEMBER 7, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Virginia. Father of Murdered Charlottesville Protester Opposes Death Penalty.
USA - Virginia. Father of Murdered Charlottesville Protester Opposes Death Penalty.
- NOVEMBER 28, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Investigation Reveals Texas Obtained Possibly Tainted Execution Drugs from Pharmacy With Tainted Safety Record.
USA - Texas. Investigation Reveals Texas Obtained Possibly Tainted Execution Drugs from Pharmacy With Tainted Safety Record.
- NOVEMBER 20, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - DPIC New Report, “Behind the Curtain: Secrecy and the Death Penalty in the United States”.
USA - DPIC New Report, “Behind the Curtain: Secrecy and the Death Penalty in the United States”.
- NOVEMBER 13, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Seven Florida Cases
USA - Florida. U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Seven Florida Cases
- NOVEMBER 11, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Exonerations and Wrongful Convictions Harm Murder Victims’ Families, Too.
USA - Exonerations and Wrongful Convictions Harm Murder Victims’ Families, Too.
- NOVEMBER 2, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Rabbis oppose death penalty for Robert Bowers
USA - Rabbis oppose death penalty for Robert Bowers
- OCTOBER 30, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal. Federal prosecutor will pursue capital punishment for Robert Bowers, the “synagogue shooter”
USA - Federal. Federal prosecutor will pursue capital punishment for Robert Bowers, the “synagogue shooter”
- OCTOBER 30, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Private prisons in the United States incarcerated 128,063 people in 2016
USA - Private prisons in the United States incarcerated 128,063 people in 2016
- OCTOBER 25, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Study: Racial Disparities in Death Penalty Begin with Investigations and Arrests.
USA - Study: Racial Disparities in Death Penalty Begin with Investigations and Arrests.