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
- DECEMBER 16, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Masud al Safarini pleaded...
Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Masud al Safarini pleaded guilty to 95 charges, including murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and agreed to a sentence of three consecutive life terms plus 25 years
- DECEMBER 15, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The United States would not object to Saddam Hussein...
The United States would not object to Saddam Hussein facing the death penalty in an upcoming trial if it is fairly conducted, a senior State Department official said
- NOVEMBER 25, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Australian officials said that the United States promised...
Australian officials said that the United States promised not to seek the death penalty against two Australian citizens being held at a detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with others captured during the war on terrorism
- OCTOBER 2, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Judge Leonie M
Judge Leonie M
- JULY 21, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A German court approved the extradition of Mohammed...
A German court approved the extradition of Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad, a Yemeni cleric, and his assistant, Mohammed Mohsen Yahya Zayed, to face charges in the United States of supplying weapons, militants and millions of dollars in funding to the al-Qa
- JULY 9, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said his government...
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said his government was pressing Washington behind the scenes to ensure the planned trials of terrorism suspects jailed at Guantanamo Bay would not violate international law
- JULY 4, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The European Commission urged the United States on...
The European Commission urged the United States on to avoid applying the death penalty to six foreign captives designated by President George W
- APRIL 5, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
British Home Secretary David Blunkett vowed that Britain...
British Home Secretary David Blunkett vowed that Britain would not send people to the US under a new extradition treaty if there was a possibility they could face the death penalty
- MARCH 1, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The Council of Europe urges nations across the globe...
The Council of Europe urges nations across the globe to abolish the death penalty as the organization celebrates Death Penalty Abolition Day
- FEBRUARY 18, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The American Bar Association proposed new standards...
The American Bar Association proposed new standards for defence lawyers in death penalty cases, after criticism by Supreme Court justices and legal scholars about the poor representation afforded many accused of being killers
- FEBRUARY 5, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
State lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that...
State lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that would restore Idaho's death penalty, which was overturned last year by a US Supreme Court ruling
- JANUARY 30, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In a resolution the European Parliament called for...
In a resolution the European Parliament called for the United States, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Congo and others to introduce a moratorium on executions "with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty
- JANUARY 29, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Iraq denied a leading US defense official's charge...
Iraq denied a leading US defense official's charge that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered the execution of any scientists seen cooperating with UN arms inspectors
- JANUARY 27, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The United States raised concern regarding the execution...
The United States raised concern regarding the execution of Lobsang Dhondup, a Tibetan activist convicted following a string of bomb blasts in southwestern China
- JANUARY 27, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The US Supreme Court refused to get involved in the...
The US Supreme Court refused to get involved in the controversy over death sentences for juveniles
- JANUARY 21, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Saying it had exhausted other alternatives, Mexico...
Saying it had exhausted other alternatives, Mexico appealed to the World Court to stop the execution of 51 of its citizens in the United States
- JANUARY 7, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
According National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty,...
According National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, 224 death sentences have been imposed on juveniles since 1976 but only 21 have been carried out
- NOVEMBER 18, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The US Supreme Court broadened its review of the death...
The US Supreme Court broadened its review of the death penalty, agreeing to consider when death row inmates with bad lawyers deserve a second chance
- NOVEMBER 14, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Pakistani protesters burned the US flag and called...
Pakistani protesters burned the US flag and called for a strike in the home town of a Muslim militant due to be executed later in the day in the United States
- NOVEMBER 11, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Miss United States Rebekah Rebels said: "I decided...
Miss United States Rebekah Rebels said: "I decided that the best thing for us to do was to take a stance, a positive stance and come over to Africa and support her (Amina Lawal), instead of staying at home
- NOVEMBER 7, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In blocking the execution of a Texas killer, the Supreme...
In blocking the execution of a Texas killer, the Supreme Court revealed interest in a new area of capital punishment: the mentally ill
- OCTOBER 21, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court, which recently abolished executions...
The Supreme Court, which recently abolished executions for the mentally retarded, was bitterly divided in refusing to consider also ending the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The United States executes two thirds of all child...
The United States executes two thirds of all child offenders killed by the death penalty around the world, according to a report by Amnesty International
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
European and US teams are trying to reach a deal on...
European and US teams are trying to reach a deal on extraditing terror suspects who may face the death penalty if convicted in a US court
- AUGUST 29, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In an unusual public statement about the death penalty,...
In an unusual public statement about the death penalty, 3 Supreme Court justices said the time is right to consider abolishing capital punishment for killers who committed their crimes as minors
- AUGUST 18, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Nurse Wendy Alsford spent her working life confronting...
Nurse Wendy Alsford spent her working life confronting illness, frailty and death as she cared for society's sick in hospitals across Britain
- AUGUST 10, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A trend that sees women drawn to marry killers waiting...
A trend that sees women drawn to marry killers waiting to die on death row is increasing
- JULY 19, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
America is ready to drop its demand for Pakistan to...
America is ready to drop its demand for Pakistan to extradite Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British-born Muslim extremist sentenced to death for masterminding the kidnap and murder of the American journalist Daniel Pearl
- JULY 18, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The Senate Judiciary Committee took the 1st step toward...
The Senate Judiciary Committee took the 1st step toward reforming the nation's death penalty system Thursday, approving a measure aimed at giving inmates greater access to DNA testing to prove their innocence and ensuring they have competent counsel at tr
- JUNE 20, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The U
The U