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
- NOVEMBER 29, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
America's proposed use of military tribunals to try...
America's proposed use of military tribunals to try accused terrorists goes against the current trend of international law, which has moved exclusively towards civilian courts, according to the Daily Telegraph
- NOVEMBER 19, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Nearly 1/5 of doctors in the United States are willing...
Nearly 1/5 of doctors in the United States are willing to participate in the execution of condemned prisoners by administering a lethal injection despite opposition by leading medical societies, according to a study
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
If captured, Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda terrorist...
If captured, Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda terrorist leaders could be executed by firing squad on an American warship or military base, according to the man who suggested having them tried by special military tribunals
- NOVEMBER 14, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops renewed...
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops renewed their opposition to capital punishment, citing "its sheer inhumanity and its absolute finality, as well as concern about its inequitable use and an imperfect legal system that has condemned innocent
- NOVEMBER 5, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The German foreign ministry said that it was urgently...
The German foreign ministry said that it was urgently trying to contact eight aid workers accused by the Taliban of spreading Christianity among Afghans
- OCTOBER 28, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The latest FBI Uniform Crime Report shows that in 2000,...
The latest FBI Uniform Crime Report shows that in 2000, the national murder rate decreased 3
- OCTOBER 24, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Under an EU Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted in...
Under an EU Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted in 2000, "no one may be removed, expelled or extradited to a state where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or p
- OCTOBER 24, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In a European Parliament debate on the war against...
In a European Parliament debate on the war against terrorism, Green Party MEP Paul Lannoye (Belgium), expressed his concern about any extradition agreement with the United States, where the death penalty could apply
- OCTOBER 23, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Afghanistan's Supreme Court said it cannot hold regular...
Afghanistan's Supreme Court said it cannot hold regular sessions in the trial of eight foreign aid workers accused of promoting Christianity due to chaos amid the U
- OCTOBER 19, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
At the Nebraska State Bar Association's annual meeting, U
At the Nebraska State Bar Association's annual meeting, U
- OCTOBER 18, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Judge Leonard B
Judge Leonard B
- OCTOBER 18, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A majority of the jurors who convicted four men in...
A majority of the jurors who convicted four men in connection with the 1998 bombings of U
- OCTOBER 16, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Federal and state law enforcement officials fear that...
Federal and state law enforcement officials fear that a recent Mexico Supreme Court ruling may hamper prosecution of more than 100 U
- OCTOBER 8, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The United States is happy with the support and actions...
The United States is happy with the support and actions of the EU in fighting terrorism following the September 11 attacks, a senior US government official told journalists
- OCTOBER 6, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Afghanistan's Taliban said they would release eight...
Afghanistan's Taliban said they would release eight foreign aid workers held on charges of promoting Christianity if the United States backed off from attacking the country
- OCTOBER 5, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A Paris-based human rights group said that most of...
A Paris-based human rights group said that most of those on death row in the United States had not received a fair trial and called on US Supreme Court judges to declare the death penalty unconstitutional
- OCTOBER 5, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A Pakistan court asked the military government to explain...
A Pakistan court asked the military government to explain why a Palestinian jailed for the 1986 hijacking of a US plane in which 22 people were killed was extradited to the United States to face further trial after serving his sentence
- OCTOBER 2, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
US embassy diplomats in Uganda had appeared before...
US embassy diplomats in Uganda had appeared before the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee and urged parliament to pass the bill expeditiously that seeks to impose a mandatory death sentence for terrorists and any person who aids, finances or supports
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The Washington Post said that this year marked the...
The Washington Post said that this year marked the first time since the death penalty was restored in 1976 that executions had dropped significantly nationwide for two years in a row
- SEPTEMBER 4, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said called...
American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said called on the United States to follow the example of the African National Congress in South Africa, in getting the death penalty abolished
- AUGUST 17, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A July 2001 Harris Interactive survey found that: · 94%...
A July 2001 Harris Interactive survey found that: · 94% of Americans believe innocent people are sometimes convicted of murder · those surveyed believe that, on average, 12% of those convicted of murder are innocent · only 42% believe the death penalty de
- AUGUST 3, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
American Bar Association Urges Moratorium on Federal...
American Bar Association Urges Moratorium on Federal Death Penalty; Releases Death Penalty Protocols
- JULY 31, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)...
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to investigate whether the death sentence given to Rahmad Shah Afridi, the owner and chief editor of a Pakistan daily on charges of drug trafficking was politic
- JULY 23, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
During his visit in Italy, President Bush was received...
During his visit in Italy, President Bush was received by Pope John Paul II who admonished him for his support of capital punishment, saying the death penalty does not belong in "a free and virtuous society
- JULY 10, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A federal jury in New York sentenced Khalfan Khamis...
A federal jury in New York sentenced Khalfan Khamis Mohamed to life without parole for the August 1998 bombing of the U
- JULY 8, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Federal Judge Michael Ponsor wrote about his experience...
Federal Judge Michael Ponsor wrote about his experience presiding over the case of Kristen Gilbert, a former nurse accused of murdering 4 patients at a veterans' hospital
- JUNE 28, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Wang Guoqi, a Chinese doctor told the House of Representatives...
Wang Guoqi, a Chinese doctor told the House of Representatives subcommittee on human rights that Chinese doctors harvested the organs to profit from foreign transplant patients
- JUNE 27, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The Constitution Project's Death Penalty Initiative,...
The Constitution Project's Death Penalty Initiative, a bipartisan committee of death penalty supporters and opponents, released a report calling for reforms in the death penalty system
- JUNE 27, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The U
The U
- JUNE 25, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Europe's leading human rights institution threatened...
Europe's leading human rights institution threatened to revoke observer status from the United States and Japan unless they stop all executions "without delay" and move to repeal the death penalty