USA - DPIC Releases Year End Report: Executions and Death Sentence Fall to Historic Lows.

DPIC Releases Year End Report: Executions and Death Sentence Fall to Historic Lows. Executions fewest in 20 years, death sentences at 40-year low. Seven exoneration, most in 5 years. On December 18, DPIC released its annual report on the latest developments in capital punishment, "The Death Penalty in 2014: Year End Report." In 2014, 35 people were executed, the fewest in 20 years. Death sentences dropped to their lowest level in the modern era of the death penalty, with 72 people sentenced to death, the smallest number in 40 years. Just seven states carried out executions, and three states (Texas, Missouri, and Florida) accounted for 80% of the executions. The number of states carrying out executions was the lowest in 25 years. Seven people were exonerated from death row this year, including three men in Ohio, who were cleared of all charges 39 years after their convictions, the longest time among all death row exonerees. There have now been 150 people exonerated from death row since 1973. “The relevancy of the death penalty in our criminal justice system is seriously in question when 43 out of our 50 states do not apply the ultimate sanction,” said Richard Dieter, DPIC’s Executive Director and the author of the report. “The U.S. will likely continue with some executions in the years ahead, but the rationale for such sporadic use is far from clear.” The report also discusses the botched executions in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Arizona, and developments in the area of mental disabilities.