STATES

States Of Death

Photos: Courtesy of www..deathpenalty.msu.edu

Conflicting views between the states have split the opinion on whether or not the death penalty can be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Currently 38 states share the opinion that the death penalty is a useful method of punishment.

Thirty-Eight American states use capital punishment. Since 1976, Texas has used the death penalty most with 233 executions. Currently, California has 576 inmates on death row with Texas close behind with 455 inmates on death row. The fact that California and Texas are two of the largest states in the nation and have the hightest populations may help to explain the high number of inmates on death row and the frequent use of capital punishment.

Circumstances that allow for the use of the death penalty include: aggravating factors, such as murder, aggravated kidnapping, certain sex crimes, contract killing, attempted homocide, narcotics conspiracy, aircraft piracy/hijacking, treason, train wrecking, perjury resulting in execution, illegal sale of cocaine, methadone or heroin ending in death of the user and/or the sexual battery of a female aged 11 or under. Of these factors, first degree murder is the one circumstance used by all states in determining the death penalty as a punishment. SOURCE: ABCNEWS.COM

States that have the most circumstances allowing for the use of the death penalty are New York, South Dakota, South Carolina, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Connecticut, Arkansas, Arizona, and Alabama. Alabama has the most with 21 viable factors. The states that have 2 or less circumstances are Washington State, Utah, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Oregon, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Maryland, Kentucky, Idaho, Florida, and Delaware. Ironically, New York, South Dakota and Connecticut, states with higher numbers of circumstances punishable with death have had no executions since 1976.

The Southern region of the United States uses capital punishment most frequently while the northeastern region used the least.

Executions By Region Since 1976:

REGION	# OF EXECUTIONS
South	573
West	54
Midwest	70
Northeast	3
Texas & Virginia Alone	326

The Southeast uses the death penalty the most while the northeast use the death penalty the least on average. This is possibly due to race issues. Currently statistics show that frequent executions taking place in the south involved a black offender with a white victim.

There are no statistics showing that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime. States without the death penalty ironically have lower crime rates then those with the death penalty.

    Nearly seven of every ten capital cases across the country have contained major errors. Between 1973 and 1995, Kentucky, Maryland, and Tennessee had error rates of 100% involving capital cases. In the past twenty years, 96 innocent men have been sentenced to death. SOURCE: DEATHPENALTY.ORG
    A major judicial error is an instance of wrongdoing by authorities such as police, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges that substantially undermines the reliability of a death sentence.
    Since 1973, more than 400 people across the country have been wrongfully convicted. Twenty Three of these individuals have been executed (Source: "A Broken System, Error Rates in Capital Cases," by Prof. James E. Liebman of the Columbia School of Law).

METHODS OF EXECUTION

The most common methods of execution in the United States include the electric chair, lethal injection, and the gas chamber. Hanging is an alternative method used in Washington, while the firing squad is the alternative in Utah.
For more info check Source: Deathpenaltyinfo.msu.edu

Methods By State

Methods	# of Executions	# of States Authorizing Method
Lethal Injection	546	36
Electrocution	149	10
Gas Chamber	11	5
Hanging	3	2
Firing Squad	2	2

Source: Deathpenaltyinfo.msu.edu

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