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
- 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 PENALTYUNITED 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 PENALTYUNITED 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 PENALTYFLORIDA, 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
JANUARY 10, 2006United StatesDEATH PENALTYUNITED STATES. FBI CHECKING PRINTS IN DEATH ROW CASES
the FBI is reviewing the cases of all state and federal prisoners scheduled for execution to determine whether bureau fingerprint examiners made errors that led to death sentences.
- JANUARY 1, 2006United 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 20, 2005United StatesDEATH PENALTYUNITED STATES. FEDERAL DEATH SENTENCE FOR WOMAN, FIRST IN OVER 50 YEARS
Angela Johnson was sentenced to death by a federal court after being found guilty of involvement in the murder of five people in the state of Iowa in 1993. She says she is innocent.
- DECEMBER 19, 2005United StatesDEATH PENALTY
murder increased by 2.1% across the USA during the first 6 months...
murder increased by 2.1% across the USA during the first 6 months of 2005 and was on track to nearly reverse a 2.4% decline recorded last year, according to preliminary FBI figures released today.
- NOVEMBER 30, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
1,000TH EXECUTION IN THE U.S. AND CITIES AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY, D’ELIA: LETS NOT FORGET THE SLAUGHTER IN CHINA AND THOSE CONDEMNED TO DEATH IN IRAN, VIETNAM AND NORTH KOREA
Hands Off Cain adhered to the demonstration in Rome on November 30 in front of the United States embassy to mark the 1,000th US execution since the Supreme Court reintroduced the death penalty in 1976.
- NOVEMBER 29, 2005United StatesDEATH PENALTY
VIRGINIA. GOVERNOR STOPS MILESTONE U.S. EXECUTION
Gov. Mark Warner spared the life of a convicted killer who would have been the 1,000th person executed in the United States since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976. The governor commuted Robin Lovitt's death sentence to life
- NOVEMBER 15, 2005United StatesDEATH PENALTY
a statement approved during this week's meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops...
a statement approved during this week's meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops...
- NOVEMBER 15, 2005North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. US PANEL RELEASES CHILLING REPORT OF NORTH KOREAN RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS
the United States government released chilling interviews with North Korean refugees who witnessed bloody executions of religious believers, to highlight suppression of religious freedom in the hardline communist state.
- NOVEMBER 13, 2005United StatesDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. US REPORTS DECLINE IN EXECUTIONS
the number of people sentenced to death in the United States and the number executed fell again in 2004, according to the latest government figures.
NOVEMBER 9, 2005Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYUSA. NO DEATH PENALTY IN NEW GUANTANAMO CASES
the Pentagon said the United States would not seek the death penalty against any of the five Guantanamo Bay prisoners it had announced charges against on November 7.
NOVEMBER 8, 2005CanadaDEATH PENALTYUSA. CANADA WANTS ASSURANCES THAT GUANTANAMO TEENAGER WON'T BE EXECUTED
Canadian diplomats sought a promise from the Pentagon that it would not seek to execute a teenager being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
NOVEMBER 3, 2005Puerto RicoDEATH PENALTYPUERTO RICO. COURT BARS EXTRADITION OF MAN FACING DEATH PENALTY TO PENNSYLVANIA
an Appeal Court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico recently held that it would be unconstitutional to extradite Juan Melendez Cruz to Pennsylvania if he faces a possible death sentence, Death Penalty Information Centre reported.