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
- 1,537
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 1,537 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
- MAY 26, 2007United StatesDEATH PENALTY
US SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS THREE TEXAS DEATH SENTENCES
the United States Supreme Court overturned the death sentences of three Texas inmates in separate 5-4
- MAY 14, 2007United StatesDEATH PENALTY
the US Supreme Court made it more difficult for death row prisoners to challenge their sentences...
the US Supreme Court made it more difficult for death row prisoners to challenge their sentences...
- APRIL 30, 2007United StatesDEATH PENALTY
the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Medellin v. Texas...
the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Medellin v. Texas...
APRIL 29, 2007MassachusettsDEATH PENALTYUSA. LETHAL INJECTION, REVEALED
the Boston Globe Newspaper published an editorial in which it
- APRIL 23, 2007United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Jerry Miller, a former army cook who spent nearly...
Jerry Miller, a former army cook who spent nearly...
- APRIL 18, 2007United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. A jury sentenced Victor Caraballo to death
USA - Florida. A jury sentenced Victor Caraballo to death
- APRIL 6, 2007IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. US CITIZEN TO FACE DEATH PENALTY
a federal appeals court refused to intervene in the case of a U.S. citizen facing a death
FEBRUARY 3, 2007United StatesDEATH PENALTYU.S. EXECUTIONS UNDER RENEWED SCRUTINY
the death penalty is under what may be an unprecedented review in the United States, mostly involving
- JANUARY 4, 2007ItalyDEATH PENALTY
USA: ‘NEW HOPE FOR THE BARBARITY TO END’ SAYS NEW YORK EX GOVERNOR
“The Italian act is beautiful and noble. It showed courage and was the right thing to do, even if noone else supports it. The request for a UN moratorium on the death penalty gives hope to millions of people around the world who, like me, want the barbari
- JANUARY 1, 2007United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Of the 50 states that make up the United States of America, 38 have the death penalty.
Of the 50 states that make up the United States of America, 38 have the death penalty.
- DECEMBER 29, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
as 2006 draws to a close...
as 2006 draws to a close...
- DECEMBER 9, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA. FEWER INMATES ON DEATH ROW IN 2005, STUDY
fewer prison inmates were moved to death row in 2005, according to a federal study that shows one more person was executed than in the year before.
- NOVEMBER 13, 2006CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty for a California...
the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty for a California man convicted of murdering a 19-year-old woman during a burglary.
- OCTOBER 12, 2006IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. U.S. CITIZEN SENTENCED TO DEATH
a US citizen who allegedly orchestrated the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists near Baghdad in 2005 was sentenced to death in an Iraqi court, prompting his lawyers to ask a federal judge in Washington to block the US military from transferring him t
- SEPTEMBER 29, 2006AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL HICKS WILL NOT BE EXECUTED, BUT NO TIME FRAME ON HIS TRIAL
it was reported that the US government had given assurances to Australia’s Attorney-General Philip Ruddock that David Hicks would not face the death penalty, but the US had still given no timeframe on when his trial was due.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTYUSA. CONGRESS HOLDS FIRST HEARING ON ORGAN HARVESTING
as many as 41,500 healthy people who practice Falun Gong became involuntary victims of organ transplants and murdered between 2002 and 2005, according to a report that was presented before the U.S. Congress.
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
the FBI recently released the latest version of its Uniform Crime Reports:
the FBI recently released the latest version of its Uniform Crime Reports:
JULY 28, 2006United NationsDEATH PENALTYUNITED NATIONS. US SHOULD ADOPT DEATH SENTENCE MORATORIUM, UNHRC
the US should adopt a moratorium on death sentences, the UN Human Rights Committee said, noting that capital punishment appears to be disproportionately imposed on minority groups and poor people.
- JULY 21, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Convicted child molesters would face the death penalty for killing...
Convicted child molesters would face the death penalty for killing their victims and a felony charge for failing to update their whereabouts with authorities under a bill the Senate approved.
- JULY 17, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
AMA: Physician Participation in Lethal Injection...
AMA: Physician Participation in Lethal Injection Violates Medical Ethics Following is a statement of William G. Plested, III, M.D., president, American Medical Association
- JULY 3, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. ANESTHESIOLOGISTS ASKED NOT TO HELP EXECUTE DEATH SENTENCES
the American Society of Anesthesiologists called on its members not to attend executions of death sentences by lethal injection, even if called to do so by a court.
JULY 3, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTYIRAQ. US SOLDIER CHARGED WITH RAPE AND MURDER TO FACE DEATH PENALTY IF CONVICTED
a former US soldier was arrested and charged with killing four Iraqi civilians and raping one of the female victims, US officials said.
JUNE 29, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTYGUANTANAMO. US TOP COURT DECLARES GUANTANAMO TRIBUNALS ILLEGAL
in a sharp rebuke of President George W. Bush's tactics in the war on terrorism, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as unlawful the military tribunal system set up to try Guantanamo prisoners.
JUNE 12, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTYUNITED STATES. COURT ALLOWS INMATE APPEAL ON LETHAL INJECTION
US Supreme Court ruled that a death row inmate can bring a challenge under a federal civil rights law to the method of execution that uses a lethal three-chemical cocktail.
- MAY 15, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether old cases are affected...
the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether old cases are affected by a 2-year-old ruling reiterating that the Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right to confront his accusers.
MAY 3, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTYUNITED STATES. JURY REJECTS DEATH PENALTY FOR MOUSSAOUI
a divided jury spared the life of Zacarias Moussaoui, deciding to send to jail for the rest of his life the only man tried on US soil for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
- MAY 1, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA. ALITO'S FIRST OPINION SETS ASIDE SOUTH CAROLINA DEATH SENTENCE
the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously set aside a South Carolina murder conviction and death sentence, as Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. in his 1st high court opinion said the man wasn't given a fair chance to mount a defense.
- APRIL 18, 2006GermanyDEATH PENALTY
GERMANY. USA AND GERMANY AGREE TO SIMPLIFY EXTRADITION PROCESS
the United States and Germany signed an accord on Tuesday aimed at speeding up extraditions, though Berlin will continue to reject requests for individuals who could be put to death, Germany's Justice Ministry said.
APRIL 14, 2006Council of EuropeDEATH PENALTYCOUNCIL OF EUROPE MAY EXPEL U.S., JAPAN OVER DEATH PENALTY
the United States and Japan may lose their observer status at the Council of Europe if they fail to abolish the death penalty before the end of 2006, said Konstantin Kosachyov, leader of the Russian delegation to the Council's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE
- APRIL 8, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
USA. MOTHER OF SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM OPPOSES DEATH PENALTY FOR MOUSSAOUI
Alice Hoagland's son, Mark Bingham was killed on September 11 as he joined with fellow United Airlines passengers to ground a plane that may have been headed toward the White House.