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
- 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 25, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The United States faces possible exclusion from the...
The United States faces possible exclusion from the Council of Europe, where it enjoys observer status, over its continued use of the death penalty, Henriette Girard, a council spokeswoman, said
- FEBRUARY 23, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
On Capitol Hill legislation is pending in both chambers...
On Capitol Hill legislation is pending in both chambers that would reduce the risk of executing innocent people
- 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
- FEBRUARY 13, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A British MP has held talks with UK Foreign Secretary...
A British MP has held talks with UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in an attempt to save a British man on Death Row in the US
- JANUARY 30, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Three Australian law students from Victoria are in...
Three Australian law students from Victoria are in the United States helping provide legal representation for inmates on death row
- 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 15, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The Bush administration will charge American Taliban...
The Bush administration will charge American Taliban John Walker Lindh with conspiracy to kill U
- JANUARY 15, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, said the transfer...
Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, said the transfer of British nationals suspected of fighting with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan to Cuba was legal but they had to be treated "with proper respect for international law
- JANUARY 15, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The Bush administration will charge American Taliban...
The Bush administration will charge American Taliban John Walker Lindh with conspiracy to kill U
- JANUARY 15, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
UK Home Secretary Jack Straw warned US authorities...
UK Home Secretary Jack Straw warned US authorities not to execute British citizens suspected of fighting for Osama bin Laden
- JANUARY 14, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Three British al-Qaeda fighters are facing the death penalty
Three British al-Qaeda fighters are facing the death penalty
- JANUARY 13, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Germany has issued international arrest warrants for...
Germany has issued international arrest warrants for three alleged accomplices of the September 11 hijackers
- 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 8, 2002United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Beijing said a Hong Kong trader arrested in July had...
Beijing said a Hong Kong trader arrested in July had been transporting bibles into China as cover for secretly importing banned booklets associated with an "evil cult"
- 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 28, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The military tribunals that may be used to try Al Qaeda...
The military tribunals that may be used to try Al Qaeda members and others accused of terrorism will require a unanimous verdict to impose a death penalty, although a 2/3 vote of the panel of military officers will be enough to find someone guilty
- 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 21, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The videotape of an interview with Walker that has...
The videotape of an interview with Walker that has been shown on CNN appears to have erased whatever sympathy some in government had expressed earlier for Walker as possibly a misguided naif
- DECEMBER 21, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
John Walker, the American Taleban fighter, admitted...
John Walker, the American Taleban fighter, admitted that he joined Arab mercenaries financed by Osama bin Laden and attended a training camp run by the al-Qaeda leader
- 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