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
- 1,549
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 1,549 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
- 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.
- APRIL 4, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
COUNCIL OF EUROPE. EUROPE SLAMS RULING FOR MOUSSAOUI'S EXECUTION
COUNCIL OF EUROPE. EUROPE SLAMS RULING FOR MOUSSAOUI'S EXECUTION April 4 2006: the Council of Europe slammed the decision to make would-be Al-Qaeda suicide pilot Zacarias Moussaoui eligible for execution in the United States, calling it "as sad as it was
- APRIL 3, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. MOUSSAOUI MAY BE EXECUTED FOR 9/11 CRIMES
a US jury found Zacarias Moussaoui eligible for the death penalty, and the convicted Sept. 11 conspirator shouted as he was led out of the court: "You'll never get my blood. God curse you all."
- MARCH 27, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
many adults in the United States are in favour of capital punishment for specific crimes...
many adults in the United States are in favour of capital punishment for specific crimes, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 65 % of respondents support the death penalty f
- MARCH 15, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. US MULLS ENDING QUEST FOR MOUSSAOUI DEATH PENALTY
prosecutors pondered on whether to abandon their quest for the death penalty in the US government's only case connected to the September 11 hijackings, after a federal judge banned crucial testimony. Shortly after US District Judge Leonie Brinkema deliver
MARCH 9, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA. PATRIOT ACT LIKELY TO CURTAIL DEATH PENALTY APPEALS
President George W. Bush signed into law a Patriot Act renewal that will allow the government to keep using terror-fighting tools passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
- MARCH 7, 2006Governo Federale degli Stati UnitiDEATH PENALTY
USA. THREE MEN FACING FEDERAL EXECUTION RECEIVE STAYS
Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a stay of execution for three co-defendants on federal death row who were scheduled to be executed in May, the Tribune Star reported.
- MARCH 6, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. DEATH PENALTY CALL FOR MAN WHO 'COULD HAVE STOPPED 9/11'
lawyers for the US government demanded the death penalty in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui who they said could have chosen to prevent the September 11 attacks.
- MARCH 3, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
FRANCE. FRANCE OBTAINS U.S. GUARANTEES ON MOUSSAOUI TRIAL - MINISTER
the French justice minister reiterated the US had guaranteed France none of the information it provided for the US case against al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui would be used to seek the death penalty.
FEBRUARY 28, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTYUNITED STATES. DEATH SENTENCES IN 2005 REACHED RECORD LOW
the latest edition of “Death Row Usa”, a quarterly report by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a civil rights organization for ethnic minorities in the united States, shows an 8% decline in the country's death row pop
- FEBRUARY 22, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. SUPREME COURT REJECTS NEW ALIBI EVIDENCE AT SENTENCING
convicted murderers facing the death penalty do not have a constitutional right at sentencing to offer new evidence seeking to cast doubt on their guilt, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously.
FEBRUARY 9, 2006United States Armed ForcesDEATH PENALTYUNITED STATES. BUSH’S OK SOUGHT FOR EXECUTIONS
President Bush has been asked to authorize the executions of two men who have been on the military’s death row at Fort Leavenworth for a combined 35 years.
- FEBRUARY 5, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. JURY SELECTION BEGINS FOR MOUSSAOUI TRIAL
Zacarias Moussaoui returns this week to the courtroom where a jury will determine whether he should be executed for his crimes.
- FEBRUARY 2, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. INMATES FIGHT BACK AGAINST LETHAL INJECTION EXECUTION, AFP
the United States is taking a new look at the use of lethal injections to execute condemned prisoners after the challenges of three inmates who were barely saved from lethal injection by the Supreme Court.
- FEBRUARY 1, 2006MissouriDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. US SUPREME COURT HALTS EXECUTION OF MISSOURI INMATE
the US Supreme Court stayed the execution of Michael Taylor, an inmate in the midwestern state of Missouri who has argued that lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
- JANUARY 31, 2006FloridaDEATH PENALTY
FLORIDA, USA. SUPREME COURT HALTS SECOND FLORIDA EXECUTION
the US Supreme Court halted the execution of Arthur Dennis Rutherford
JANUARY 25, 2006FloridaDEATH PENALTYUNITED STATES. SUPREME COURT BLOCKS FLORIDA EXECUTION OF CLARENCE HILL
the US Supreme Court has blocked the execution of Clarence Hill to consider his appeal over the method used to carry out the punishment.
- JANUARY 12, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
in his 4th day of confirmation hearings...
in his 4th day of confirmation hearings, Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has been taking some questions on matters of life and death.
- JANUARY 11, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. SUPREME COURT TAKES UP FIRST DEATH ROW DNA CASE
the US Supreme Court for the first time heard an appeal by a death row inmate using new DNA evidence to proclaim his innocence and demand a retrial. The court's verdict, expected by mid 2006, will do more than seal the fate of convicted murderer Paul Hous