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 14, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The US Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to...
The US Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to bring the United States into compliance with two international counterterrorism treaties, easing extradition of bombing suspects and conforming laws against financing of terrorist activities
- JUNE 13, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Prime Minister Tony Blair has been asked to step in...
Prime Minister Tony Blair has been asked to step in to save death row Scot Kenny Richey from execution
- MAY 21, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A US judge smoked marijuana and now the appeals of...
A US judge smoked marijuana and now the appeals of two men he sentenced to death have spread alarm through the courts that the case will open up a disturbing new target for defence lawyers - the private lives of judges and prosecutors
- MAY 14, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Former U
Former U
- APRIL 6, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Pakistani President Gen
Pakistani President Gen
- APRIL 3, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The American Bar Association recently announced the...
The American Bar Association recently announced the creation of the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project
- MARCH 29, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The British-born militant Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was...
The British-born militant Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was charged in Pakistan with the kidnapping and murder of the US journalist Daniel Pearl, told the judge at the closed hearing in court in Karachi that he did not recognise the court, adding: "I request my
- MARCH 24, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Halle Berry became the first African American woman...
Halle Berry became the first African American woman to win an Oscar for a lead role for her portrayal of a death row wife/widow in the movie "Monsters Ball
- MARCH 22, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British Islamist who confessed...
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British Islamist who confessed to masterminding the kidnapping of American reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan was charged with his murder and faces execution if convicted
- MARCH 21, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The American terror trials of al-Qaeda and Taleban...
The American terror trials of al-Qaeda and Taleban suspects will give defendants more rights than had previously been expected, but will still allow prosecutors greater leeway than in normal courts, the Bush Administration said
- MARCH 20, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Despite the events of September 11, Americans' support...
Despite the events of September 11, Americans' support for the death penalty is "virtually unchanged" from a year ago, and down considerably from five years ago
- MARCH 4, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Al-Qaeda suspects at Camp X-Ray in Cuba, who have been...
Al-Qaeda suspects at Camp X-Ray in Cuba, who have been held by US forces for two months, have been warned that they face the death penalty although no evidence has been given against them
- FEBRUARY 25, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
David Hicks, the Australian prisoner in Cuba, was given...
David Hicks, the Australian prisoner in Cuba, was given a new ray of hope of being tried in Australia when the US said it would agree to repatriate British prisoners from Guantanamo Bay
- FEBRUARY 13, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Two of the world's biggest alleged drug barons, languishing...
Two of the world's biggest alleged drug barons, languishing in a high-security jail near Sydney, gave up their fight against extradition to the US after American authorities agreed not to execute them
- JANUARY 22, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International demanded access to the al Qaeda...
Amnesty International demanded access to the al Qaeda and Taliban suspects held by the United States at Camp X-ray on Cuba
- JANUARY 18, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
There has been speculation - it is nothing more - that...
There has been speculation - it is nothing more - that David Hicks, the Australian captured in battle against the Taliban and al-Qa'ida, could be condemned to death by US military tribunal
- JANUARY 17, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International released a new report, "Arbitrary,...
Amnesty International released a new report, "Arbitrary, Discriminatory, and Cruel: An aide-mémoire to 25 Years of Judicial Killing," a report marking the 25th anniversary of the resumption of executions in the U
- JANUARY 9, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A U.S. congressman said that China's indictment of...
A U.S. congressman said that China's indictment of a Hong Kong Bibletrader was another reminder human rights abuses remained an obstacle in Sino-U
- JANUARY 9, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A divided US Supreme Court underscored its view that...
A divided US Supreme Court underscored its view that jurors choosing between a death sentence and a life term in prison should be told if the convicted killer has no chance of parole
- JANUARY 1, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In the USA there are 38 retentionist states (of which...
In the USA there are 38 retentionist states (of which at least 35 have very active death penalty dockets), 11 circuits with many federal district courts in each circuit all handling death penalty cases, all making law, some in conflict with others
- JANUARY 1, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Executions in the U
Executions in the U
- JANUARY 1, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Following the events of 11 September, ''anti-terrorist''...
Following the events of 11 September, ''anti-terrorist'' proposals which would include expansion of the death penalty were made by legislators in several US states, including Alabama, Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio and North Carolina
- JANUARY 1, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Five states in the USA passed legislation banning the...
Five states in the USA passed legislation banning the execution of those suffering from mental retardation during the year: Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri and North Carolina
- DECEMBER 28, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Donald H
Donald H
- DECEMBER 21, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Kenton Keith, a spokesman for the US-led coalition...
Kenton Keith, a spokesman for the US-led coalition in Aghanistan said Washington would seek bin Laden's extradition if he was found in Afghanistan, Pakistan or elsewhere
- DECEMBER 19, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The House approved legislation to implement 2 international...
The House approved legislation to implement 2 international anti- terrorism treaties over the objections of some Democrats who warned that the creation of new death penalties could cause problems with American allies
- DECEMBER 18, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The White House said that the U
The White House said that the U
- DECEMBER 14, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Executions in the U
Executions in the U
- DECEMBER 9, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The wife of a convicted killer who wants to be artificially...
The wife of a convicted killer who wants to be artificially inseminated before her husband's execution is forcing the justice system to clarify what it means to "strip a prisoner of his political and individual rights"
- DECEMBER 1, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
U.S officials have indicated that, in order to gain...
U.S officials have indicated that, in order to gain custody of suspected terrorists in Europe, they maybe willing to make concessions on both the death penalty and the use of military tribunals. Currently, England, Italy, and Spain hold suspected terroris