State vs. State (cont'd)
 
 

    All felons who were executed in the year 2000 had committed murder.Homicide or first degree murder is the crime most often punished by death. First degree murder is a homicide with intent and conspiracy.


Serious errors occur in nearly 70% of all trials leading to the daeth penalty, according to the study, which was conducted by New York's Columbia University Law School and based on a review of 4,600 cases.
                                                                                                                                                  http://crime.about.com

States without the death penalty better records on homicide rates.  A survey by the New York Times found that states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states with the death penalty. Ten of the twelve states without the death penalty have homicide rates below the national average, while half of the states with the death penalty have homicide rates above the national average. Death Penalty and Crime Rates

States with a moratorium on the death penalty are:
Alabama
Maryland
New Jersey
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Washington State
Michigan
New York
Illinois
Vermont                        http://www.progress.org/death12.htm