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
- 1,550
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 1,550 news items on United States, from 1999 to today.
In the United States the death penalty is a matter for the individual states as well as the federal government: some have abolished it, some retain it without applying it, and some carry out executions regularly. The prevailing method is lethal injection, and several states have reintroduced alternative methods.
Its death rows are among the most populated in the world and the wait often lasts decades. The debate concerns the availability of the drugs, wrongful convictions and the conditions of isolation. The archive follows executions, stays, commutations and court decisions, state by state.
Latest news
- OCTOBER 18, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Conservatives: The Death Penalty Makes America Less Safe.
USA - Conservatives: The Death Penalty Makes America Less Safe.
OCTOBER 12, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA: WASHINGTON STATE ABOLISHES DEATH PENALTY
Washington has become the 20th US state to ban the death penalty, after its Supreme Court ruled on 11 October 2018 the punishment was applied in an "arbitrary and racially biased manner".
- OCTOBER 8, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - President Trump demands death penalty for cop killers.
USA - President Trump demands death penalty for cop killers.
- OCTOBER 2, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Clearance rates from "Crime in the United States, 2017"
USA - Clearance rates from "Crime in the United States, 2017"
- SEPTEMBER 29, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - More data available from "Crime in the United States, 2017" (CIUS).
USA - More data available from "Crime in the United States, 2017" (CIUS).
- SEPTEMBER 28, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal (Vermont). Judge Approves Plea Deal in Case (Donald Fell) That Challenged the Constitutionality of the Federal Death Penalty.
USA - Federal (Vermont). Judge Approves Plea Deal in Case (Donald Fell) That Challenged the Constitutionality of the Federal Death Penalty.
- SEPTEMBER 26, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - FBI Crime Report Shows Murder Rates Stable in 2017.
USA - FBI Crime Report Shows Murder Rates Stable in 2017.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA: FBI CRIME REPORT SHOWS MURDER RATES STABLE IN 2017
The FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2017, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, reports that murder rates stabilized across the United States in 2017, decreasing marginally compared to adjusted homicide figures from 2016 but remaining above the record
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Death Row USA. Spring 2018: 2,743 on death row
USA - Death Row USA. Spring 2018: 2,743 on death row
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - End of prison strike
USA - End of prison strike
- SEPTEMBER 4, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Malaysia. An American man, Gerald Wayne Mickelson, sentenced to hang for killing ex-wife
USA - Malaysia. An American man, Gerald Wayne Mickelson, sentenced to hang for killing ex-wife
- AUGUST 27, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Army Col. James L. Pohl on Monday announced he will retire on Sept. 30
USA - Army Col. James L. Pohl on Monday announced he will retire on Sept. 30
- AUGUST 17, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Guantánamo judge Colonel James L. Pohl barred prosecutors from using statements five accused 9/11 plotters made to the FBI
USA - Guantánamo judge Colonel James L. Pohl barred prosecutors from using statements five accused 9/11 plotters made to the FBI
- AUGUST 17, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Vatican City. 75 Catholic priests and scholars ask Francis to backtrack on death penalty
USA - Vatican City. 75 Catholic priests and scholars ask Francis to backtrack on death penalty
- AUGUST 3, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - 36 different offenses in the Bible qualified for capital punishment.
USA - 36 different offenses in the Bible qualified for capital punishment.
- JULY 31, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Military. An Air Force court martial jury had imposed a life sentence on senior airman Andrew Witt
USA - Military. An Air Force court martial jury had imposed a life sentence on senior airman Andrew Witt
- JULY 30, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. Michael Graczyk, who witnessed more than 400 executions as a reporter in Texas, has retired
USA - Texas. Michael Graczyk, who witnessed more than 400 executions as a reporter in Texas, has retired
- JULY 12, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - A German medical company is suspected of illegally shipping pentobarbital
USA - A German medical company is suspected of illegally shipping pentobarbital
- JULY 10, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Police kills 50 times more than judges, and private citizens 45 times more.
USA - Police kills 50 times more than judges, and private citizens 45 times more.
JULY 10, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA: POLICE KILL 50 TIMES MORE THAN THE JUDGES, AND PRIVATE CITIZENS 45 TIMES MORE
Police kill 50 times more than the judges, and private citizens 45 times more. According to "Killed By Police" (killedbypolice.net), from the beginning of the year to June 30, the police in the US have already killed 617 people.
- JULY 6, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces sentenced Andrew Witt to life without parole.
USA - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces sentenced Andrew Witt to life without parole.
- JULY 5, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Col. Vance Spath, the military judge presiding over the Guantánamo proceedings, announced his retirement.
USA - Col. Vance Spath, the military judge presiding over the Guantánamo proceedings, announced his retirement.
- JUNE 27, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Author of Key Death-Penalty Decisions, Retires.
USA - Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Author of Key Death-Penalty Decisions, Retires.
- JUNE 13, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. A federal jury sentenced Ricky Fackrell and Christopher Cramer to death
USA - Texas. A federal jury sentenced Ricky Fackrell and Christopher Cramer to death
- JUNE 12, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Television Documentary on Two Death-Row Prisoners, Darlie Lynn Routier and Julius Jones
USA - Television Documentary on Two Death-Row Prisoners, Darlie Lynn Routier and Julius Jones
- JUNE 11, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pew Research Center survey, support for the death penalty has increased
USA - Pew Research Center survey, support for the death penalty has increased
- JUNE 4, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - The European Union has released an online archive of its engagement with death-penalty cases in the USA
USA - The European Union has released an online archive of its engagement with death-penalty cases in the USA
- MAY 23, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Federal. A federal judge has found that Estaben Santiago competent to enter a guilty plea
USA - Florida. Federal. A federal judge has found that Estaben Santiago competent to enter a guilty plea
- MAY 1, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Federal prosecutors have reached a plea agreement with Esteban Santiago
USA - Federal prosecutors have reached a plea agreement with Esteban Santiago
- APRIL 30, 2018United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - BJS Releases “Capital Punishment, 2016”.
USA - BJS Releases “Capital Punishment, 2016”.