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
- DECEMBER 14, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
France demanded that the US spare the life of one of...
France demanded that the US spare the life of one of its citizens indicted on charges which could lead to his execution in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks
- DECEMBER 12, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The United States refused to rule out executing terror...
The United States refused to rule out executing terror warlord Osama bin Laden if he is captured alive
- DECEMBER 12, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the US would...
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the US would not let any coalition members' objections to the death penalty get in the way of punishing al-Qaeda or Taliban members
- DECEMBER 10, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Punishment is on the public's agenda when it comes...
Punishment is on the public's agenda when it comes to John Walker, with most Americans favouring criminal charges against the U
- DECEMBER 9, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The wife of a convicted killer who wants to be artificially...
The wife of a convicted killer who wants to be artificially inseminated before her husband's execution is forcing the justice system to clarify what it means to "strip a prisoner of his political and individual rights"
- DECEMBER 9, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Osama bin Laden would be handed to the Americans if...
Osama bin Laden would be handed to the Americans if he was captured alive in Afghanistan, Downing Street revealed
- DECEMBER 3, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The government might use Charlie "Atong" Ang and Yolanda...
The government might use Charlie "Atong" Ang and Yolanda Ricaforte as state witnesses in former President Joseph Estrada's plunder case, Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr
- DECEMBER 1, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
U.S officials have indicated that, in order to gain...
U.S officials have indicated that, in order to gain custody of suspected terrorists in Europe, they maybe willing to make concessions on both the death penalty and the use of military tribunals. Currently, England, Italy, and Spain hold suspected terroris
- DECEMBER 1, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The new report by Amnesty International examines the...
The new report by Amnesty International examines the practice of foreign governments which refuse to extradite suspects to the U
- 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 26, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Conservative Columnist William Safire on military tribunals,...
Conservative Columnist William Safire on military tribunals, especially in capital cases: "The [Uniform Code of Military Justice] demands a public trial, proof beyond reasonable doubt, an accused's voice in the selection of juries and right to choose coun
- NOVEMBER 22, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Spain cannot extradite suspected Islamic extremists...
Spain cannot extradite suspected Islamic extremists to the United States while the death penalty is in force there, judicial sources said
- 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 19, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
President George W Bush will decide which terror suspects...
President George W Bush will decide which terror suspects are put on trial before controversial secret tribunals
- 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 16, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
US President George W
US President George W
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International is deeply troubled by the Military...
Amnesty International is deeply troubled by the Military Order signed by President George W
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
If Osama bin Laden was held in Britain he would not...
If Osama bin Laden was held in Britain he would not be extradited to any country where he could face the death penalty, the government confirmed
- NOVEMBER 15, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Eight Western aid workers, locked in Afghan prisons...
Eight Western aid workers, locked in Afghan prisons and fearing for their lives, were freed by anti-Taliban fighters and spirited to safety aboard U
- 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 14, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Two American escapees recaptured in Geelong will not...
Two American escapees recaptured in Geelong will not face the death penalty if they are extradited from Australia
- NOVEMBER 13, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The U
The U
- 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 22, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In a comment published by the International Herald...
In a comment published by the International Herald Tribune, London-based China analyst Jonathan Mirsky said US President George Bush has made clear to China that its support in the struggle against terrorism was not going to provide it with a blank check
- OCTOBER 22, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
US President George Bush asked European Union leaders...
US President George Bush asked European Union leaders to consider a range of new measures to fight terrorism, including improvements to border controls and transportation safety, officials said
- 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