Death Penalty
Practiced for much, if not all, of human history, the death penalty (also called capital punishment) is the “execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense,” according to Roger Hood, professor at the Centre for Criminological Research at the University of Oxford. [1]
Amnesty International listed the United States as just one of 55 countries globally with a legal death penalty for “ordinary” crimes in 2024. Another nine countries reserved the death penalty for “exceptional crimes such as crimes under military law or crimes committed in exceptional circumstances.” Meanwhile, 112 countries have abolished the death penalty legally and 23 have abolished the punishment in practice. [2]
By early 2025, 23 U.S. states had the death penalty; three had the death penalty but had imposed moratoriums, halting executions; one had the death penalty but had imposed an unofficial moratorium until updated execution protocol is available; and 23 states and Washington, D.C., had abolished the death penalty. The punishment, however, remains legal at the federal level. Since 2003, capital punishment of federal prisoners has been used only in 2020 and 2021, during the administration of President Donald Trump, when 13 men were executed. Prior to 2020 the federal government had executed three people since 1963, all under President George W. Bush. That group included Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in 2001. [3][4][5][6]
According to 2022 and 2023 Gallup polls, 55 percent of Americans believed the death penalty should be legal and 60 percent saw the punishment as morally acceptable. By November 14, 2024, support had fallen to 53 percent, with a noticeable lack of support among younger generations, according to Gallup. Concerning which age groups approve of capital punishment, while a majority of the older Silent Generation (62 percent), Baby Boomers (61 percent), and Gen Xers (58 percent) support the death penalty, only a minority of the younger Millennials / Gen Yers (47 percent) and Gen Zers (42 percent) support the penalty. [7][119]
For more detail on the history of the death penalty, and for the latest updates on U.S. policy concerning capital punishment, see ProCon’s historical timeline.
So, should the death penalty be legal? Explore the debate below.
Pros and Cons at a Glance
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Pro 1: The death penalty provides the justice and closure families and victims deserve. Read More. | Con 1: Not only is the death penalty not a deterrent to crime, it is very expensive. Read More. |
| Pro 2: The death penalty prevents additional crime. Read More. | Con 2: The death penalty is steeped in poor legal assistance and racial bias. Read More. |
| Pro 3: The death penalty is the only moral and just punishment for the worst crimes. Read More. | Con 3: The death penalty is immoral and amounts to torture. Read More. |
Pro Arguments
(Go to Con Arguments)Pro 1: The death penalty provides the justice and closure families and victims deserve.
Many relatives of murder victims believe the death penalty is just and necessary for their lives to move forward.
Jason Johnson, whose father was sentenced to death for killing his mother, states, “[I will go to see him executed] not to see him die [but] just to see my family actually have some closure.…He’s an evil human being. He can talk Christianity and all that. That is all my father is. That’s all he’s ever been, is a con man.…If he found redemption, that doesn’t matter, that’s between him and God. His forgiveness is to come from the Lord and his redemption is to come from the Lord, not the government. The Bible also says, ‘An eye for an eye.’ ” [17]
Phyllis Loya, mother of police officer Larry Lasater, who was killed in the line of duty, states, “I will live to see the execution of my son’s murderer. People [need] closure, and I think it means different things to different people. What it would mean for me is that my fight for justice for my son would be complete when his sentence, which was [handed down] by a Contra Costa County jury and by a Contra Costa County judge, would be carried out as it should be.” [18]
While some argue that there is no “closure” to be had in such tragedies and via the death penalty, victims’ families think differently. Often the families of victims have to endure for years detailed accounts in the press and social media of their loved ones’ gory murder while the murderers sit out a life sentence or endlessly appeal their convictions. A just execution puts an end to that cycle.
As Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor explains, “The family of each murder victim suffers unspeakable pain when their loved one is murdered. Those wounds are torn open many times during the following decades, as the investigations, trials, appeals, and pardon and parole board hearings occur. Each stage brings torment and yet a desire for justice for the heinous treatment of their family member. The family feels that the suffering and loss of life of the victim and their own pain are forgotten when the murderer is portrayed in the media as a sympathetic character. The family knows that the execution of the murderer cannot bring their loved one back. They suspect it will not bring them ‘closure’ or ‘finality’ or ‘peace,’ but there is justice and perhaps an end to the ongoing wounding by ‘the murderer and then the system.’ ” [19]
Pro 2: The death penalty prevents additional crime.
If not a deterrent to would-be murderers, at the very least, when carried out, the death penalty prevents convicted murderers from repeating their crimes.
“Perhaps the most straightforward argument for the death penalty is that it saves innocent lives by preventing convicted murderers from killing again. If the abolitionists had not succeeded in obtaining a temporary moratorium on death penalties from 1972 to 1976, [Kenneth Allen] McDuff would have been executed, and Colleen Reed and at least eight other young women would be alive today,” explains Paul Cassell, a former U.S. district court judge for the District of Utah. [15]
Kenneth Allen McDuff was convicted and sentenced to death in 1966 for the murders of three teenagers and the rape of one. However, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty nationwide in 1972 (Furman v. Georgia), leading to a reduced sentence for McDuff and to his being released on parole in 1989. An estimated three days later he began a crime spree—torturing, raping, and murdering at least six women in Texas—before being arrested again on May 4, 1992, and sentenced to death a second time. Had McDuff been executed as justice demanded for the first three murders, at least six murders would have been prevented. [15][16]
Considering recidivism rates, how many more murders and such associated crimes as kidnapping, rape, and torture could have been deterred had the death penalty been imposed on any number of murderers?
Pro 3: The death penalty is the only moral and just punishment for the worst crimes.
Talion law (lex talionis in Latin), or retributive law, is perhaps best known as the biblical notion that “Anyone who inflicts a permanent injury on his or her neighbor shall receive the same in return: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The same injury that one gives another shall be inflicted in return.” [8][9]
The word retribution comes from the Latin re and tribuo, meaning “I pay back.” In order for those who commit the worst crimes to pay their debts to society, the death penalty must be employed as punishment, or the debt has not been paid. [10]
“Retribution is an expression of society’s right to make a moral judgment by imposing a punishment on a wrongdoer befitting the crime he has committed,” says Charles Stimson of the Heritage Foundation. Therefore, “the death penalty should be available for the worst of the worst,” regardless of the race or gender of the victim or perpetrator. [11]
Thus, “retributionists who support the death penalty typically do not wish to expand the list of offenses for which it may be imposed. Their support for the death penalty is only for crimes defined as particularly heinous, because only such criminals deserve to be put to death. Under lex talionis, it is impermissible to execute those whose crimes do not warrant the ultimate sanction,” explains Jon’a F. Meyer, a sociology professor at Rutgers University. “The uniform application of retributive punishment is central to the philosophy.” [12]
As Robert Blecker, a professor emeritus at New York Law School, further clarifies, “Retribution is not simply revenge. Revenge may be limitless and misdirected at the undeserving, as with collective punishment. Retribution, on the other hand, can help restore a moral balance. It demands that punishment must be limited and proportional. Retributivists like myself just as strongly oppose excessive punishment as we urge adequate punishment: as much, but no more than what’s deserved. Thus I endorse capital punishment only for the worst of the worst criminals.” [13]
“Sometimes, justice is dismissing a charge, granting a plea bargain, expunging a past conviction, seeking a prison sentence, or—in a very few cases, for the worst of the worst murderers—sometimes, justice is death.…A drug cartel member who murders a rival cartel member faces life in prison without parole. What if he murders two, three, or 12 people? Or the victim is a child or multiple children? What if the murder was preceded by torture or rape? How about a serial killer? Or a terrorist who kills dozens, hundreds or thousands?” asks George Brauchler, a district attorney of the 18th Judicial District in Colorado. The nature of the crime, and the depth of its depravity, should matter. [14]
Pro Quotes
Pro quote 1: Donald Trump, 45th and 47th U.S. President
Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens. Before, during, and after the founding of the United States, our cities, States, and country have continuously relied upon capital punishment as the ultimate deterrent and only proper punishment for the vilest crimes. Our Founders knew well that only capital punishment can bring justice and restore order in response to such evil. For this and other reasons, capital punishment continues to enjoy broad popular support.
Yet for too long, politicians and judges who oppose capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws of our country. At every turn, they seek to thwart the execution of lawfully imposed capital sentences and choose to enforce their personal beliefs rather than the law....
These efforts to subvert and undermine capital punishment defy the laws of our nation, make a mockery of justice, and insult the victims of these horrible crimes. The Government’s most solemn responsibility is to protect its citizens from abhorrent acts, and my Administration will not tolerate efforts to stymie and eviscerate the laws that authorize capital punishment against those who commit horrible acts of violence against American citizens. [143]
Pro quote 2: Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General
Since our Nation’s founding, the federal government, and nearly every state, has relied upon the death penalty as a just punishment for the most egregious crimes. The American people, through their elected representatives, have repeatedly reaffirmed the effectiveness of capital punishment in deterring crime, achieving justice for victims, and closure for their loved ones. At the federal level, the Department of Justice is charged with determining whether to seek death sentences for certain federal crimes and, when imposed, carrying out those sentences. This is among the Department’s most serious and solemn responsibilities.
Recently, however, the Department’s political leadership disregarded these important responsibilities and supplanted the will of the people with their own personal beliefs.… This shameful era ends today. Going forward, the Department of Justice will once again act as the law demands-including by seeking death sentences in appropriate cases and swiftly implementing those sentences in accordance with the law. [145]
Pro quote 3: Greg Abbot, Texas Governor
I demand legislation imposing the death penalty on anyone convicted of murdering a child like [12-year old] Jocelyn [Nungaray].
Ultimately, our task this session is to be guardians of freedom.
Freedom will persist for as long as we protect it. Freedom stokes self-determination to achieve things once thought impossible. Freedom is the power that turns ashes at the Alamo into victory at San Jacinto. Freedom is the force that propelled Texas to global economic dominance. Freedom is the spirit behind family businesses like Arnold Oil that endure for generations. Freedom is the inspiration that drives students like Raya and Jeremiah to choose the path that’s best for them.
More than anything, it is freedom that will make Texas stronger, safer, and more prosperous than ever in the history of our great state. [146]
Pro quote 4: Brian Stewart, Ohio State Representative
So long as capital punishment remains the law in Ohio, the law should be followed, and duly enacted sentences should be carried out to give victims’ families the justice and finality they deserve....
Providing an additional method for carrying out capital punishments is necessary to ensure Ohio can continue to impose these sentences in response to the most heinous crimes committed in our state. [144]
Con Arguments
(Go to Pro Arguments)Con 1: Not only is the death penalty not a deterrent to crime, it is very expensive.
Advocates for capital punishment long argued that it deters crime, but, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than long terms of imprisonment. States that have death penalty laws do not have lower crime rates or murder rates than states without such laws. And states that have abolished capital punishment show no significant changes in either crime or murder rates.” [24]
A 2024 Death Penalty Project analysis of mass shootings concluded, “the notion that the death penalty is a deterrent to mass shootings as a false and dangerous fantasy.” In fact, 24 of the 30 deadliest mass shootings since 1976 occurred in states with the death penalty. The author of the analysis, Robert Dunham, stated, “It seems absurd to even have to say it out loud, but individuals who are in the throes of emotional crisis are not engaging in the rational assessment of consequences required for a deterrent to deter. It is even more absurd to believe that they are consulting the punishments provided in a state’s criminal code to guide their conduct.”[132]
“People commit murders largely in the heat of passion, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or because they are mentally ill, giving little or no thought to the possible consequences of their acts,” the ACLU continues. “The few murderers who plan their crimes beforehand…intend and expect to avoid punishment altogether by not getting caught. Some self-destructive individuals may even hope they will be caught and executed.” [24]
Furthermore, the death penalty is significantly more expensive than life without parole, the oft-shunned alternative penalty. The death penalty system costs California $137 million per year, while a system with lifelong imprisonment as the maximum penalty would cost $11.5 million, an almost 92 percent decrease in expense. The statistics are lower but comparable across other states, including Kansas, Tennessee, and Maryland. [25]
And this money has to come from somewhere, most often at the expense of taxpayers. In Texas, executions are funded “by raising property tax rates and by reducing public safety expenditure. Property crime rises as a consequence of the latter,” explains Jeffrey Miron of the Cato Institute. [26]
North Carolina, a state in which no one has been executed since 2006, has spent approximately $200 million on death penalty cases between 2006 and the end of 2024, or about $11 million per year to not actually use the death penalty. [129]
Con 2: The death penalty is steeped in poor legal assistance and racial bias.
The Equal Justice Initiative explains that the “death penalty system treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent,” resulting in the punishment being “mostly imposed on poor people who cannot afford to hire an effective lawyer,” while “people of color are more likely to be prosecuted for capital murder, sentenced to death, and executed, especially if the victim in the case is white.” [20]
The American Bar Association sets minimum qualifications for capital case lawyers, and yet most death penalty states do not require lawyers to meet even those requirements, leaving defendants without the means to hire a private lawyer to face the court with inadequate counsel. [20]
Furthermore, erroneous eyewitness identifications, false and coerced confessions, false or misleading forensic evidence, misconduct by police, prosecutors, or other officials, and incentivized witnesses taint death row cases. [21]
For every eight people on death row, one of them has later been found innocent. [20]
The death penalty is inconsistently applied and most often applied to Black men who have killed a white person. While Black people made up only 13 percent of the American population in 2018, 41 percent of people on death row and 34 percent of those executed were Black. [20]
This inequality should not be surprising, considering the roots of the death penalty. Bryan Stevenson, a capital defense attorney and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, refers to the death penalty as the “stepchild of lynching.” [22]
As journalist Josh Marcus explains, “Following the end of the Reconstruction period, which saw federal troops occupy the former Confederate states and enforce new legal and constitutional protections for Black people, lynching surged in the late 1800s, until it became all but a daily occurrence across America. Lynchings sometimes involved government officials like local law enforcement, and government officials began arguing for capital punishment as an alternative. It would still satiate the public’s appetite for violence against Black people, but under the auspices of the law, which at the time allowed for explicit racial segregation in all areas of life.” [22]
A survey of executions found that 80 percent of executions occur in former Confederate states and mirror historical lynching sites. [22][23]
“We should be beyond the point of killing people for killing people. It’s so archaic,” concludes Rachel Sutphin, whose father, Eric, a deputy sheriff in Virginia, was killed by an escaped prisoner who was in turn executed by lethal injection. [23]
Con 3: The death penalty is immoral and amounts to torture.
Many religions, from Roman Catholicism to Judaism, not only oppose the death penalty but also call for its worldwide abolition.
“Murder is calculated, unjustified and intentional taking of life. When we, under the supposed color of law, deliberate, decide, and plan the purposeful extinguishing of human life, we commit murder. The death penalty is murder,” explains the rabbi and former assistant Ohio public defender Benjamin Zober. “We are commanded, ‘justice, justice, shall you pursue.’ (Deut. 16:20) We cannot do this by taking lives, acting in anger, or vengeance, or by creating more bloodshed, trauma, and pain….There is a world in every person, every life….‘Anyone who destroys a life is considered by Scripture to have destroyed an entire world; and anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world.’ (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5).” [27]
Robert Schentrup, brother of 16-year-old Carmen, who died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 says, “This is the part where pundits on TV will invoke the name of my sister to support the murder of another human being. This is the part where people try to convince me that vengeance should make me feel better and that it will bring me ‘closure’ so that ‘I can continue to heal. But I do not…care, because my sister is dead, and killing someone else will not bring her back.” [28]
Furthermore, while the death penalty ultimately takes a life, the condemned person is subjected to what is otherwise considered physical and psychological torture before death. As the law professor John Bessler explains, “The death penalty, in fact, always and inevitably inflicts severe pain and suffering rising to the level of torture. That’s because capital charges and death sentences systematically threaten individuals with death (and, when death warrants against individuals are carried out, kill), with torture—prohibited by various domestic laws in addition to the bar in international law—considered to be the aggravated form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.” [29]
Certain methods of execution are especially torturous: consider the 2024 nitrogen hypoxia execution of Kenneth Smith, which inflicted an intense struggle for air before he died 22 minutes after the execution began. In the United States cruel punishment is explicitly banned by the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment. [29][30]
Con Quotes
Con quote 1: John Choi, Ramsey County (Minnesota) Attorney
The United States stands alone among developed nations in terms of the sheer brutality and scale of its capital punishment regime, despite an alarming number of death row survivors who have been proven innocent through forensic evidence in recent decades. This represents a profound moral failing and an affront to the fundamental decency of the American people. [133]
Con quote 2: Noah Berg, co-director of the Post-Panetti Death Penalty Project at Cornell University
North Carolina has not carried out an execution since 2006. In 6 of the last 10 years, North Carolina has not sentenced a single defendant to death. Despite the reluctance of jurors to impose death sentences and the hesitation of prosecutors and politicians to conduct executions, the death penalty has been a significant expense for state taxpayers....
While some death penalty proponents may argue for cutting corners to save money in our death penalty system, this is not a feasible option. North Carolina is bound by well-established Supreme Court precedent that grants capital defendants many expensive rights and processes. Further, the appeals system and experts involved in the death penalty serve an important purpose. Without these safeguards, it would be significantly more likely for an innocent defendant to be sentenced to death.North Carolina has no reason to invest so much time and money into killing, when the state could instead work to protect citizens’ lives today. Our state would be a safer, more compassionate place if we reinvest the millions of dollars we spend on our death penalty system each year into victim’s funds, police training and resources, and mental health services.
The time to abolish the death penalty is now. [129]
Con quote 3: The New York Times Editorial Board
This practice is immoral, unconstitutional and useless as a deterrent to crime.
For more than two decades now, most barometers of how Americans view capital punishment — the number of new death sentences, the number of executions and the level of public support — have tracked a steady decline. There were 85 executions in 2000 but only 24 last year and 13 so far this year, all carried out in only seven states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
This editorial board has long argued that the death penalty should be outlawed, as it is in Western Europe and many other parts of the world. Studies have consistently shown, for decades, that the ultimate penalty is applied arbitrarily, and disproportionately to Black people and people with mental problems. A death sentence condemns prisoners to many years of waiting, often in solitary confinement, before they are killed, and executions have often gone awry, arguably violating the Eighth Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.” [131]
Con quote 4: Doug Magee and Austin Sarat, author and law professor at Amherst College respectively
Politicians, for whom this issue is manna from heaven, have gone so far as to proclaim that it is our moral duty to kill those who kill.
The most egregious effect of making the death penalty an instrument of revenge is the lesson it teaches, especially to the young. That lesson? It is sometimes OK to kill another person.
The next time you read about the twisted mind of a mass shooter, look to see if the reasoning the shooter used is an offshoot of the illogic behind the death penalty.
The death penalty is not going to be abolished in the courts. When the end of capital punishment comes—and sooner or later, it will come—it will be impelled by the conscience of citizens who see not only the injustice of the death penalty but its abhorrent immorality.
Increasingly, Americans are turning away from capital punishment, driven mostly by concerns about problems with its administration. They are coming to see that the death penalty offends against our legal commitment to provide due process and equal treatment.
The next step is to turn from this focus on the death penalty’s irredeemable flaws to a broader critique of its moral offensiveness. Such a move is what once forced nations in Europe to abolish it. [130]
Religious Perspectives on the Death Penalty
| pro | not clearly pro or con | con |
|---|---|---|
| Islam | Assemblies of God | Roman Catholic Church |
| Southern Baptist Association | Buddhism | Conservative Judaism |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon church) | Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | |
| Hinduism | Episcopal Church | |
| Orthodox Judaism | ||
| Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | ||
| Reconstructionist Judaism | ||
| Reform Judaism | ||
| Unitarian Universalist Association | ||
| United Church of Christ | ||
| United Methodist Church | ||
Assemblies of God: Not Clearly Pro or Con
“God’s attitude toward the killing of innocents is clear. No one is guiltless who takes the life of another, with the possible scriptural exceptions of capital punishment administered by a system of justice (Genesis 9:6; Numbers 35:12), unintended killing in self-defense (Exodus 22:2), or deaths occasioned by duly constituted police and war powers (Romans 13:4, 5).…
The Bible does provide precedents for justly administered death sentences for capital crimes as well as for the exercise of self defense and duly constituted police and war powers (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 22:2; Numbers 35:12; Romans 13:4, 5).”
—Assemblies of God, “Sanctity of Human Life: Abortion and Reproductive Issues,” ag.org, August 9–11, 2010
Buddhism: Not Clearly Pro or Con
“There is no common position among Buddhists on capital punishment, but many emphasize nonviolence and appreciation for life. As a result, in countries with large Buddhist populations, such as Thailand, capital punishment is rare.”
—Pew Research Center, “Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Capital Punishment,” pewforum.org, November 4, 2009
Roman Catholic Church: Con
“There are two extreme situations that may come to be seen as solutions in especially dramatic circumstances, without realizing that they are false answers that do not resolve the problems they are meant to solve and ultimately do no more than introduce new elements of destruction in the fabric of national and global society. These are war and the death penalty.…
Saint John Paul II stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice. There can be no stepping back from this position. Today we state clearly that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible’ and the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide.”
—Pope Francis, “Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti of the Holy Father Francis on Fraternity and Social Friendship,” vatican.va, October 3, 2020
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism): Not Clearly Pro or Con
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regards the question of whether and in what circumstances the state should impose capital punishment as a matter to be decided solely by the prescribed processes of civil law. We neither promote nor oppose capital punishment.”
—Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Capital Punishment,” newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org (accessed August 26, 2021)
Conservative Judaism: Con
“In 1960, the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards approved a paper by Rabbi Ben Zion Bokser that advocated abolition of the death penalty.”
—Lewis Warshauer, “The Death Penalty and Conservative Judaism,” myjewishlearning.com (accessed August 26, 2021)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Con
“The Death Penalty stands in the Lutheran tradition recognizing that God entrusts the state with the power to take human life when failure to do so constitutes a clear danger to the common good. Never-the-less, it expresses ELCA opposition to the use of the death penalty, one that grows out of ministry with and to people affected by violent crime.
The statement acknowledges the existence of different points of view within the church and society on this question and the need for continued deliberation, but it objects to the use of the death penalty because it is not used fairly and has failed to make society safer. The practice of using the death penalty in contemporary society undermines any possible alternate moral message since the primary message conveyed by an execution is one of brutality and violence. This social statement was adopted by the 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.”
—Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, “Death Penalty,” elca.org (accessed August 26, 2021)
Episcopal Church: Con
“Resolved, That the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church reaffirms the longstanding principle espoused by The Episcopal Church that the Death Penalty in the United States of America should be repealed; and be it further Resolved, That all persons who have been sentenced to Death in the United States of America have their Death Sentences reduced to a lesser Sentence or, if innocent, granted exoneration.”
—Episcopal Church, “Reaffirm Opposition to the Death Penalty,” edtn.org, 2018
Hinduism: Not Clearly Pro or Con
“There is no official position on capital punishment among Hindus, and Hindu theologians fall on both sides of the issue.”
—Pew Research Center, “Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Capital Punishment,” pewforum.org, November 4, 2009
Islam: Pro
“In the United States, where Islamic law—Shariah—is not legally enforced, there is no official Muslim position on the issue of the death penalty. In Islamic countries, however, capital punishment is sanctioned in only two instances: cases involving intentional murder or physical harm of another; and intentional harm or threat against the state, including the spread of terror.”
—Pew Research Center, “Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Capital Punishment,” pewforum.org, November 4, 2009
Orthodox Judaism: Con
“The Orthodox Union supports efforts to place a moratorium on executions in the United States and the creation of a commission to review the death penalty procedures within the American judicial system.”
—Orthodox Union, “The Orthodox Union’s 108th Anniversary Convention Resolutions,” advocacy.ou.org, November 22–26, 2006
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): Con
“Despite the government’s constantly changing position on the death penalty, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been strong and consistent in its call for a moratorium on capital punishment. We believe that the death penalty challenges the redemptive power of the cross. God’s grace is sufficient for all humans regardless of their sin. As Christians, we must ‘seek the redemption of evildoers and not their death.’
For the past 60 years, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been advocating for an end to the death penalty.”
—Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, “Statement on the Federal Death Penalty,” presbyterianmission.org, August 5, 2019
Reconstructionist Judaism: Con
“Whereas the Jewish scriptural tradition teaches that all human beings are created B’tzelem Elohim (in the image of God) and upholds the sanctity of all life;
Whereas both in concept and in practice, Jewish leaders throughout over the past 2000 plus years have refused, with rare exception, to punish criminals by depriving them of their lives;
And whereas current evidence and technological advances have shown that as many as three hundred people (disproportionately from minority and poor populations) have been wrongly convicted of capital crimes in America in the last century, which underscores the Jewish concern over capital punishment since all human systems of justice are inherently fallible and imperfect—
Therefore, we resolve that the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association go on record opposing the death penalty under all circumstances, opposing the adoption of death penalty laws, and urging their abolition in states that already have adopted them.”
—Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, “Resolution: Death Penalty 2003,” therra.org, 2003
Reform Judaism: Con
“The Bible prescribes the death penalty for at least 36 transgressions, from intentional murder to cursing one’s parents, but the practice essentially ended when the rabbinic sages of the Talmud imposed preconditions and evidence requirements so rigorous as to make capital punishment a rarity. Jewish tradition essentially follows the position of Rabbis Tarfon and Akiba: never to impose capital punishment (Mishna Makkot 1:10).
The Reform Movement has formally opposed the death penalty since 1959, when the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism) resolved ‘that in the light of modern scientific knowledge and concepts of humanity, the resort to or continuation of capital punishment either by a state or by the national government is no longer morally justifiable.’ The resolution goes on to say that the death penalty ‘lies as a stain upon civilization and our religious conscience.’
In 1979, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the professional arm of the Reform rabbinate, resolved that ‘both in concept and in practice, Jewish tradition found capital punishment repugnant’ and there is no persuasive evidence ‘that capital punishment serves as a deterrent to crime.’ ”
—Aron Hirt-Manheimer, “Why Reform Judaism Opposes the Death Penalty,” reformjudaism.org (accessed August 26, 2021)
Southern Baptist Convention: Pro
“WHEREAS, The Bible teaches that every human life has sacred value (Genesis 1:27) and forbids the taking of innocent human life (Exodus 20:13); and
WHEREAS, God has vested in the civil magistrate the responsibility of protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty (Romans 13:1–3); and
WHEREAS, We recognize that fallen human nature has made impossible a perfect judicial system; and
WHEREAS, God authorized capital punishment for murder after the Noahic Flood, validating its legitimacy in human society (Genesis 9:6); and
WHEREAS, God forbids personal revenge (Romans 12:19) and has established capital punishment as a just and appropriate means by which the civil magistrate may punish those guilty of capital crimes (Romans 13:4); and
WHEREAS, God requires proof of guilt before any punishment is administered (Deuteronomy 19:15-19); and
WHEREAS, God’s instructions require a civil magistrate to judge all people equally under the law, regardless of class or status (Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 1:17); and
WHEREAS, All people, including those guilty of capital crimes, are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity (Genesis 1:27).
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 13–14, 2000, support the fair and equitable use of capital punishment by civil magistrates as a legitimate form of punishment for those guilty of murder or treasonous acts that result in death.”
—Southern Baptist Convention, “On Capital Punishment,” sbc.net, June 1, 2000
Unitarian Universalist Association: Con
“WHEREAS, at this time, even though there has been no execution in the United States for the past seven years, twenty-eight states have already passed legislation seeking to re-establish capital punishment; and
WHEREAS, the act of execution of the death penalty by government sets an example of violence;
BE IT RESOLVED: That the 1974 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association continues to oppose the death penalty in the United States and Canada, and urges all Unitarian Universalists and their local churches and fellowships to oppose any attempts to restore or continue it in any form.”
—Unitarian Universalist Association, “Death Penalty 1974 General Resolution,” uua.org, June 1, 1974
United Church of Christ: Con
“The United Church of Christ historically has opposed capital punishment. We first formalized this position in 1969 and we have reaffirmed it many times in the years since. In 2005 our General Synod passed a resolution calling for the common good as a foundational idea in the United States. We simply believe that murder is wrong, whether committed by individuals or the state. Currently our churches are working for abolition of the death penalty.”
—United Church of Christ, “Capital Punishment,” ucc.org (accessed August 26, 2021)
United Methodist Church: Con
“The United Methodist Church says, ‘The death penalty denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore, and transform all human beings.’ (Social Principles ¶164.G) As Wesleyans, we believe that God’s grace is ever reaching out to restore our relationship with God and with each other. The death penalty denies the possibility of new life and reconciliation.
The United Methodist Church also recognizes the unjust and flawed implementation of the death penalty, pointing out the example of Texas, where executions reveal racism, bias against mentally handicapped persons and the likely execution of at least one innocent person. (Book of Resolutions, 5037)
‘We oppose the death penalty (capital punishment) and urge its elimination from all criminal codes.’ (Social Principles ¶164.G)”
—United Methodist Church, “Death Penalty,” umcjustice.org (accessed August 26, 2021)
International Death Penalty Status
| 55 | countries have a legal death penalty |
| 23 | countries have made the death penalty illegal in practice |
| 9 | countries use the death penalty for exceptional crimes only |
| 112 | countries have made the death penalty illegal |
All data are from Amnesty International’s 2024 report on the global status of the death penalty. Below find Amnesty International’s definitions, and the language ProCon has used to conform to site standards, followed by a list of each country and the status of the death penalty there.
- Legal (Retentionist): “Countries that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes.”
- Illegal in Practice (Abolitionist in Practice): “Countries that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes such as murder but can be considered abolitionist in practice in that they have not executed anyone during the last 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions.”
- Exceptional Crimes Only (Abolitionist for Ordinary Crimes Only): “Countries whose laws provide for the death penalty only for exceptional crimes such as crimes under military law or crimes committed in exceptional circumstances.”
- Illegal for All Crimes (Abolitionist for All Crimes): “Countries whose laws do not provide for the death penalty for any crime.” [142]
| country | status of death penalty |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | legal |
| Albania | illegal |
| Algeria | illegal in practice |
| Andorra | illegal |
| Angola | illegal |
| Antigua and Barbuda | legal |
| Argentina | illegal |
| Armenia | illegal |
| Australia | illegal |
| Austria | illegal |
| Azerbaijan | illegal |
| Bahamas | legal |
| Bahrain | legal |
| Bangladesh | legal |
| Barbados | legal |
| Belarus | legal |
| Belgium | illegal |
| Belize | legal |
| Benin | illegal |
| Bhutan | illegal |
| Bolivia | illegal |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | illegal |
| Botswana | legal |
| Brazil | exceptional crimes only |
| Brunei Darussalam | illegal in practice |
| Bulgaria | illegal |
| Burkina Faso | exceptional crimes only |
| Burundi | illegal |
| Cabo Verde | illegal |
| Cambodia | illegal |
| Cameroon | illegal in practice |
| Canada | illegal |
| Central African Republic | illegal |
| Chad | illegal |
| Chile | exceptional crimes only |
| China | legal |
| Colombia | illegal |
| Comoros | legal |
| Congo | illegal |
| Cook Islands | illegal |
| Costa Rica | illegal |
| Côte d’Ivoire | illegal |
| Croatia | illegal |
| Cuba | legal |
| Cyprus | illegal |
| Czech Republic | illegal |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | legal |
| Denmark | illegal |
| Djibouti | illegal |
| Dominica | legal |
| Dominican Republic | illegal |
| Ecuador | illegal |
| Egypt | legal |
| El Salvador | exceptional crimes only |
| Equatorial Guinea | exceptional crimes only |
| Eritrea | illegal in practice |
| Estonia | illegal |
| Eswatini | illegal in practice |
| Ethiopia | legal |
| Fiji | illegal |
| Finland | illegal |
| France | illegal |
| Gabon | illegal |
| Gambia | legal |
| Georgia | illegal |
| Germany, | illegal |
| Ghana | illegal in practice |
| Greece | illegal |
| Grenada | illegal in practice |
| Guatemala | exceptional crimes only |
| Guinea | illegal |
| Guinea-Bissau | illegal |
| Guyana | legal |
| Haiti | illegal |
| Honduras | illegal |
| Hungary | illegal |
| Iceland | illegal |
| India | legal |
| Indonesia | legal |
| Iran | legal |
| Iraq | legal |
| Ireland | illegal |
| Israel | exceptional crimes only |
| Italy | illegal |
| Jamaica | legal |
| Japan | legal |
| Jordan | legal |
| Kazakhstan | illegal |
| Kenya | illegal in practice |
| Kiribati | illegal |
| Kosovo | illegal |
| Kuwait | legal |
| Kyrgyzstan | illegal |
| Laos | illegal in practice |
| Latvia | illegal |
| Lebanon | legal |
| Lesotho | legal |
| Liberia | illegal in practice |
| Libya | legal |
| Liechtenstein | illegal |
| Lithuania | illegal |
| Luxembourg, | illegal |
| Madagascar | illegal |
| Malawi | illegal in practice |
| Malaysia | legal |
| Maldives | illegal in practice |
| Mali | illegal in practice |
| Malta | illegal |
| Marshall Islands | illegal |
| Mauritania | illegal in practice |
| Mauritius | illegal |
| Mexico | illegal |
| Micronesia | illegal |
| Moldova | illegal |
| Monaco | illegal |
| Mongolia | illegal |
| Montenegro | illegal |
| Morocco/Western Sahara | illegal in practice |
| Mozambique | illegal |
| Myanmar | legal |
| Namibia | illegal |
| Nauru | illegal |
| Nepal | illegal |
| Netherlands | illegal |
| New Zealand | illegal |
| Nicaragua, | illegal |
| Niger | illegal in practice |
| Nigeria | legal |
| Niue | illegal |
| North Korea | legal |
| North Macedonia | illegal |
| Norway | illegal |
| Oman | legal |
| Pakistan | legal |
| Palau | illegal |
| Palestine | legal |
| Panama | illegal |
| Papua New Guinea, | illegal |
| Paraguay | illegal |
| Peru | exceptional crimes only |
| Philippines | illegal |
| Poland | illegal |
| Portugal | illegal |
| Qatar | legal |
| Romania | illegal |
| Russia, | illegal in practice |
| Rwanda | illegal |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | legal |
| Saint Lucia | legal |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | legal |
| Samoa | illegal |
| San Marino | illegal |
| Sao Tome and Principe | illegal |
| Saudi Arabia | legal |
| Senegal | illegal |
| Serbia | illegal |
| Seychelles | illegal |
| Sierra Leone | illegal |
| Singapore | legal |
| Slovakia | illegal |
| Slovenia | illegal |
| Solomon Islands | illegal |
| Somalia | legal |
| South Africa | illegal |
| South Korea | illegal in practice |
| South Sudan | legal |
| Spain | illegal |
| Sri Lanka | illegal in practice |
| Sudan | legal |
| Suriname | illegal |
| Sweden | illegal |
| Switzerland | illegal |
| Syria | legal |
| Taiwan | legal |
| Tajikistan | illegal in practice |
| Tanzania | illegal in practice |
| Thailand | legal |
| Timor-Leste | illegal |
| Togo | illegal |
| Tonga | illegal in practice |
| Trinidad and Tobago | legal |
| Tunisia | illegal in practice |
| Türkiye | illegal |
| Turkmenistan | illegal |
| Tuvalu | illegal |
| Uganda | legal |
| Ukraine | illegal |
| United Arab Emirates | legal |
| United Kingdom | illegal |
| United States of America | legal |
| Uruguay | illegal |
| Uzbekistan | illegal |
| Vanuatu | illegal |
| Vatican City | illegal |
| Venezuela | illegal |
| Viet Nam | legal |
| Yemen | legal |
| Zambia | exceptional crimes only |
| Zimbabwe | legal |
U.S. Federal Capital Offenses
The U.S. federal government lists 41 capital offenses that are punishable by death. See the full list below.
The capital offenses include espionage, treason, and death resulting from aircraft hijacking. However, they mostly consist of various forms of murder, such as murder committed during a drug-related drive-by shooting, murder during a kidnapping, murder for hire, and genocide.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, “The federal death penalty applies in all 50 states and U.S. territories but is used relatively rarely. About 50 prisoners are on the federal death row, most of whom are imprisoned in Terre Haute, Indiana. Sixteen federal executions have been carried out in the modern era, all by lethal injection, with 13 occurring in a six-month period between July 2020 and January 2021.…The use of the federal death penalty in jurisdictions that have themselves opted not to have capital punishment—such as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and many states—has raised particular concerns about federal overreach into state matters.” [31][32]
| U.S. Code | type of crime |
|---|---|
| 8 USC § 1324 | Murder related to the smuggling of aliens |
| 18 USC §32 18 USC §33 18 USC §34 | Destruction of aircraft, motor vehicles, or related facilities resulting in death |
| 18 USC § 36 | Murder committed during a drug-related drive-by shooting |
| 18 USC §37 | Murder committed at an airport serving international civil aviation |
| 18 USC § 115 [by cross-reference to 18 USC § 1111] | Retaliatory murder of a member of the immediate family of law enforcement officials |
| 18 USC §241 18 USC § 242 18 USC § 243 18 USC § 244 18 USC § 245 18 USC § 246 18 USC § 247 | Civil rights offenses resulting in death |
| 18 USC § 351 [by cross-reference to 18 USC § 1111] | Murder of a member of Congress, an important executive official, or a Supreme Court justice |
| 18 USC § 794 | Espionage |
| 18 USC § 844 | Death resulting from offenses involving transportation of explosives, destruction of government property, or destruction of property related to foreign or interstate commerce |
| 18 USC § 924 | Murder committed by the use of a firearm during a crime of violence or a drug-trafficking crime |
| 18 USC § 930 [by cross-reference to 18 USC § 1111] | Murder committed in a federal government facility |
| 18 USC § 1091 | Genocide |
| 18 USC § 1111 | First-degree murder |
| 18 USC § 1114 | Murder of a federal judge or law enforcement official |
| 18 USC § 1116 | Murder of a foreign official |
| 18 USC § 1118 | Murder by a federal prisoner |
| 18 USC § 1119 | Murder of a U.S. national in a foreign country |
| 18 USC § 1120 | Murder by an escaped federal prisoner already sentenced to life imprisonment |
| 18 USC § 1121 [by cross-reference to 18 USC § 1111] | Murder of a state or local law enforcement official or other person aiding in a federal investigation; murder of a state correctional officer |
| 18 USC § 1201 | Murder during a kidnapping |
| 18 USC § 1203 [by cross-reference to 18 USC § 1111] | Murder during a hostage taking |
| 18 USC § 1503 | Murder of a court officer or juror |
| 18 USC § 1512 | Murder with the intent of preventing testimony by a witness, victim, or informant |
| 18 USC § 1513 | Retaliatory murder of a witness, victim, or informant |
| 18 USC § 1716 | Mailing of injurious articles with intent to kill or resulting in death |
| 18 USC § 1751 [by cross-reference to 18 USC § 1111] | Assassination or kidnapping resulting in the death of the president or vice president |
| 18 USC § 1958 | Murder for hire involving the use of interstate commerce facilities |
| 18 USC § 1959 | Murder involved in a racketeering offense |
| 18 USC § 1992 | Willful wrecking of a train resulting in death |
| 18 USC § 2113 | Bank-robbery-related murder or kidnapping |
| 18 USC § 2119 | Murder related to a carjacking |
| 18 USC § 2245 | Murder related to rape or child molestation |
| 18 USC § 2251 | Murder related to sexual exploitation of children |
| 18 USC § 2280 | Murder committed during an offense against maritime navigation |
| 18 USC § 2281 | Murder committed during an offense against a maritime fixed platform |
| 18 USC § 2332 [by cross-reference to 18 USC § 1111] | Terrorist murder of a U.S. national in another country |
| 18 USC § 2332a | Murder by the use of a weapon of mass destruction |
| 18 U.S.C. § 2332b | Acts of terrorism in the United States resulting in death, committed by a person engaged in conduct that transcends national boundaries |
| 18 USC § 2340 18 USC § 2340a | Torture resulting in death committed outside the United States by a U.S. national or by a foreign national present in the U.S. |
| 18 USC § 2381 | Treason |
| 21 USC § 848(e) (Anti Drug Abuse Act) | Murder related to a continuing criminal enterprise or related murder of a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer |
| 49 USC § 46502 | Death resulting from aircraft hijacking |
U.S. States with the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Bans, and Death Penalty Moratoriums
| *Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on March 25, 2025, that the death penalty would be an available punishment in Los Angeles County. Given Governor Gavin Newsom’s statewide moratorium, whether executions will resume in Los Angeles. County is unclear. [147] | ||
| 23 | States have the death penalty | |
| Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming | ||
| 3 | States have a moratorium on the death penalty | |
| California*, Oregon, Pennsylvania | ||
| 1 | State has an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty while new execution protocols are developed. | |
| Ohio | ||
| 23 | States and D.C. have abolished the death penalty | |
| Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin | ||
History of Death Penalty Laws by State
The June 29, 1972, Furman v. Georgia U.S. Supreme Court ruling placed a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in the United States. Many states amended their laws to comply with the mandates of the Furman decision and reinstate capital punishment after the 1972 ruling.
| state | death penalty status | year of legislation or court ruling | summary of death penalty history |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | legal | 1976 | Alabama reinstated capital punishment in 1976. Alabama is the only U.S. state that allows a death sentence to be imposed on the basis of a non-unanimous jury recommendation. [42][51][67] |
| Alaska | illegal | 1957 | The last execution in Alaska was in 1950 in Juneau. [42][37][51] |
| Arizona | legal | 1973 | The death penalty was abolished in 1916, reinstated in 1918, and reinstated post-Furman in 1973. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs ordered an unofficial moratorium while a review of death penalty protocol was completed. In November 2024, Hobbs dismissed David Duncan (who was appointed to complete the review), ending the moratorium. Executions were schedule to resume in March 2025. [42][47][51][140] |
| Arkansas | legal | 1973 | As his last act as governor, Winthrop Rockefeller granted clemency to all death-row inmates in 1970. Capital punishment was reinstated by legislature and Governor Bumpers in 1973. On June 22, 2012, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled the death penalty law invalid until the state specifies the type and quantity of drug to be used for lethal injections. By 2017, the death penalty had been reinstated. [40][42][43][47][51][63][6] |
| California | legal | 1977 | The California Supreme Court case People v. Anderson temporarily ended capital punishment in 1972, but it was reinstated via voter approval of Proposition 17 in 1972. The Supreme Court of California again found the death penalty statute unconstitutional in 1976, but it was revised and reinstated in 1977. On March 13, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a moratorium on the death penalty, which is effective for the duration of his term(s). The moratorium gave temporary reprieves to all 737 death row inmates, closed the execution chamber at San Quentin prison, and stopped the state’s efforts to create a constitutional lethal injection method. [42][51][65] |
| Colorado | illegal | 2020 | Capital punishment was abolished in 1897 and reinstated in 1901 by the legislature. Colorado was the last state to perform an execution (1967) before Furman. Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1975. Governor John Hickenlooper granted reprieve to one death row inmate, Nathan Dunlop, in 2013 via executive order, and, in December 2018 as he was leaving office, he pardoned 135 people and granted clemency to six. On March 23, 2020, Governor Jared Polis signed a bill that abolished the death penalty as of July 1, 2020, and commuted the sentences of the three men on death row at the time to life without parole. [42][51][62][66][77] |
| Connecticut | illegal | 2012 | Connecticut’s capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1976 and was abolished by the legislature and Governor Malloy on April 25, 2012. The 2012 repeal was not retroactive, and death row inmates could still be executed. On August 12, 2015, Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional and banned any further executions. [38][42][45][51][56] |
| D.C. | illegal | 1981 | The death penalty was repealed by the D.C. Council in 1981. [42][51] |
| Delaware | illegal | 2016 | Capital punishment was abolished in 1958 and subsequently reinstated in 1961. It was reinstated post-Furman in 1974. On August 2, 2016, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in the case Rauf v. State of Delaware that the state’s death penalty statute violated the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution by giving judges too much leeway in sentencing. On December 15, 2016, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that its previous decision in August should apply retroactively to the 12 men who were then on Delaware’s death row. [42][47][51][58][60] |
| Florida | legal | 1973 | Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1972. On January12, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Florida’s method of sentencing people to death, which allowed judges, rather than juries, to impose a death sentence, violated the 6th Amendment. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said that because of the ruling, “the state will need to make changes to its death-sentencing statutes,” and that “existing death sentences will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.” On March 13, 2017, Governor Rick Scott signed a bill requiring a unanimous death penalty recommendation from a jury for a judge to impose the sentence. [42][51][57][67] |
| Georgia | legal | 1973 | The death penalty was reinstated post-Furman in 1973. Georgia’s capital punishment system received international attention with the 2011 execution of Troy Davis; Davis’s supporters cited a lack of physical and DNA evidence. [42][47][51] |
| Hawaii | illegal | 1957 | Hawaii abolished the death penalty before becoming a U.S. state in 1957. [42][47][51] |
| Idaho | legal | 1973 | Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1973. [42][51] |
| Illinois | illegal | 2011 | Illinois reinstated capital punishment post-Furman in 1974. Governor Ryan instituted a moratorium on executions on January 31, 2000, and Governor Quinn signed legislation to abolish the death penalty on March 9, 2011. [42][51] |
| Indiana | legal | 1973 | The death penalty was reinstated post-Furman in 1973. [42][51] |
| Iowa | illegal | 1965 | Governor Carpenter abolished the death penalty in 1872. The legislature and Governor Gear reinstated capital punishment in 1878. Governor Hughes signed a death penalty abolition bill in 1965. [42][44][47][51] |
| Kansas | legal | 1994 | Kansas banned many applications of the death penalty in 1872 and all applications in 1907. It was reinstated in 1935 and again post-Furman in 1994. [42][51] |
| Kentucky | legal | 1975 | Capital punishment was reinstated in 1975 post-Furman. [42][51][68] |
| Louisiana | legal | 1973 | The death penalty was reinstated in 1973 post-Furman. Because of a lawsuit about the state’s lethal injection protocol in 2014, a temporary stay was placed on the death penalty. The state requested and was granted a 12-month extension of the stay on July 16, 2018. Louisiana resumed executions in March 2025. [42][51][69][70][136] |
| Maine | illegal | 1887 | The legislature abolished the death penalty in 1876, reinstated it in 1883, and abolished it again in 1887. [42][51] |
| Maryland | illegal | 2013 | The death penalty was reinstated post-Furman in 1978. In May 2001, Governor Glendening established a moratorium on executions that was lifted by his successor, Governor Ehrlich. Governor O’Malley signed legislation to abolish the death penalty on May 2, 2013. [42][51][53] |
| Massachusetts | illegal | 1984 | Capital punishment was reinstated by voter amendment in 1982 post-Furman. The law establishing capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional in 1984 with state court case Commonwealth v. Colon-Cruz. [42][51] |
| Michigan | illegal | 1846 | Michigan banned the death penalty in 1846 for all crimes but treason; a voter referendum in 1963 banned the death penalty for all crimes, including treason. [42][47][51] |
| Minnesota | illegal | 1911 | Capital punishment was abolished in 1911. Over 20 bills to reintroduce the death penalty have been proposed since 1911, all of which have been unsuccessful. [42][51] |
| Mississippi | legal | 1974 | Capital punishment was reinstated in 1974 post-Furman. [42][51] |
| Missouri | legal | 1975 | Capital punishment was abolished in 1911, reinstated in 1917, and reinstated in 1975 post-Furman. [42][51] |
| Montana | legal | 1974 | Capital punishment was reinstated in 1974 post-Furman. [42][51] |
| Nebraska | legal | 2016 | The Nebraska Legislature abolished the death penalty on May 27, 2015, with a 30–19 vote, overriding the veto of Governor Pete Ricketts. The voters of Nebraska reinstated the death penalty on November 8, 2016. [54][59] |
| Nevada | legal | 1973 | The death penalty was reinstated in 1973 post-Furman. [42][51] |
| New Hampshire | illegal | 2019 | Capital punishment was reinstated in 1991 post-Furman. New Hampshire allows the death penalty only for murder under specific circumstances. Governor Chris Sununu (R) vetoed a death penalty repeal bill on May 3, 2019. Lawmakers voted on May 30, 2019 to override the veto, abolishing the death penalty, effective immediately. [42][51][75] [76] |
| New Jersey | illegal | 2007 | The death penalty was reinstated in 1982 post-Furman and then abolished by Governor Corzine in 2007. [42][51] |
| New Mexico | illegal | 2009 | Capital punishment was reinstated in 1976 post-Furman. Governor Richardson signed abolition of the death penalty into law in 2009. The state still has a law allowing for execution for espionage, but the U.S. Department of Justice considers New Mexico to have no capital punishment. [42][47][51] |
| New York | illegal | 2007 | Capital punishment was reinstated by Governor Pataki in 1995 post-Furman, and New York’s death penalty statute was ruled unconstitutional in 2004 in the state court’s People v. Lavalle decision. The 2007 decision People v. Taylor also found part of the sentencing statute unconstitutional and declared that no defendants may be sentenced to death until the statute is corrected. Taylor’s sentence was converted to life in prison, and New York no longer had anyone on death row. Governor Paterson issued an executive order in 2008 to remove all capital punishment equipment from Green Haven Correctional Facility in 2008. The death penalty has not been abolished by law and may be used if the unconstitutional sentencing statute is revised by legislature. The Death Penalty Information Center, The Washington Post, and FindLaw have declared 2007 as the year New York’s death penalty was abolished. Other sources, including Assisting Lawyers for Justice (ALJ) on Death Row, list the date as 2004. [42][47][51] |
| North Carolina | legal | 1977 | The death penalty was reinstated in 1977 post-Furman. [42][51] |
| North Dakota | illegal | 1973 | Capital punishment was abolished in 1915 for all crimes excluding treason and murder committed by already jailed inmates. In 1973 the legislature voted to make no crimes eligible for the death penalty. [42][51] |
| Ohio | legal | 1973 | Capital punishment was reinstated in 1974 post-Furman As of 2019, Ohio has an unofficial moratorium instituted by Governor Mike DeWine due to trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs. [42][51][137] |
| Oklahoma | legal | 1984 | The death penalty was reinstated in 1973 post-Furman. Due to botched executions in April 2014 and January 2015, an indefinite moratorium was placed on the death penalty in October 2015. Executions resumed in Oklahoma in 2021.[42][51][71][72][73][141] |
| Oregon | legal | 1984 | Capital punishment was abolished in 1914 by a public vote and reinstated in 1920 at the urging of Governor West. In 1964 Oregon voted to abolish the death penalty and in 1978 voted to reinstate capital punishment. A 1981 state Supreme Court case ruled the 1978 measure unconstitutional, and in 1984 voters approved a measure that overturned the 1978 decision, making the death penalty legal again. In 2011 Governor Kitzhaber placed a moratorium on executions. Kitzhaber’s term ended on December 18, 2015. Governor Kate Brown continued the moratorium, commuting the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment and instructing that the death chamber be dismantled. During the gubernatorial election she won, Tina Kotek indicated that she was opposed to the death penalty. [41][42][47][51][52][74][79] |
| Pennsylvania | legal | 1978 | In the 1972 state Supreme Court case Commonwealth v. Bradley, Pennsylvania’s application of capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional. The legislature reinstated the death penalty in 1974 only to have the State Supreme court rule its reinstatement unconstitutional, in 1977. In 1978 the legislature passed an edited death penalty bill to correct the constitutional concerns raised by the state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. On February 13, 2015, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf declared a death penalty moratorium in the state. The moratorium was continued by Governor Josh Shapiro in 2023. [42][51][55][80] |
| Rhode Island | illegal | 1984 | Capital punishment was abolished in 1852 and reinstated by the legislature in 1873. After Furman the state rewrote its death penalty law to mandate capital punishment for certain crimes. That mandate was ruled unconstitutional in 1979. In 1984 the legislature abolished capital punishment entirely. [42][51] |
| South Carolina | legal | 1974 | Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1974. [42][51] |
| South Dakota | legal | 1979 | The death penalty was abolished in 1915, reinstated in 1918, and reinstated post-Furman in 1979. [42][49][51] |
| Tennessee | legal | 1974 | Tennessee abolished capital punishment in 1915, reinstated it in 1939, and reinstated it post-Furman in 1974. Tennessee had an unofficial moratorium to review lethal injection protocols from 2022-2024. In March 2025, the Tennessee Supreme Court scheduled executions to resume in May 2025.[42][51][138][139] |
| Texas | legal | 1974 | Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1974.n[42][50][51] |
| Utah | legal | 1973 | The death penalty was reinstated post-Furman in 1973. [42][50][51] |
| Vermont | illegal | 1987 | The legislature effectively abolished capital punishment in 1965 unless a warden, prison employee, or law enforcement officer was murdered. But Vermont’s jurors never used the death sentence option when available, so legislators removed that exception in 1987. Vermont law still allows for execution for treason but the U.S. Department of Justice considers Vermont to have no capital punishment. [42][46][47][48][51] |
| Virginia | illegal | 2021 | The first recorded execution in an English American colony occurred in Virginia in 1608. Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1975. Virginia became the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty, on March 24, 2021. [42][51][78] |
| Washington | illegal | 2018 | Capital punishment was abolished in 1913, reinstated in 1919, and reinstated post-Furman in 1975. On February 11, 2014, Governor Jay Inslee placed a moratorium on executions. On October 11, 2018, the Washington state Supreme Court struck down Washington’s death penalty, finding that its use was arbitrary and racially discriminatory. On April 20, 2023, Governor Inslee signed Senate Bill 5087, which removed the laws the state Supreme Court had found unconstitutional, officially abolishing the death penalty in Washington. [42][51][61][81] |
| West Virginia | illegal | 1965 | West Virginia was the last state to abolish the death penalty pre-Furman. [42][47][51] |
| Wisconsin | illegal | 1853 | The death penalty was abolished in 1853. [42][51] |
| Wyoming | legal | 1977 | Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1977. [42][51] |
International and U.S. Legal Methods of Execution
According to Amnesty International, 17 countries carried out executions in 2023 and used four methods of execution: beheading, hanging, lethal injection, and shooting. [142]
Additionally, the United States allowed executions to be carried out via nitrogen hypoxia in 2024 and 2025 and by a firing squad in 2025.
| method of execution | countries that used method of execution in 2023 |
|---|---|
| beheading | Saudi Arabia |
| hanging | Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Singapore, Syria |
| lethal injection | China, United States, Vietnam |
| nitrogen hypoxia | United States |
| shooting (Firing Squad) | Afghanistan, China, North Korea, Palestine, Somalia, United States,Yemen |
U.S. State-by-State Legal Methods of Execution
The U.S. federal government used lethal injection exclusively during the Trump administration when the president ended a 17-year moratorium on the federal death penalty. The Department of Justice issued a rule in November 2020 allowing federal executions to be carried out “in any manner consistent with [f]ederal law,” including electrocution, lethal gas, lethal injection, and firing squad.
Nitrogen hypoxia is a relatively new method of execution and is only authorized for use in Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. In this method, prisoners inhale only nitrogen, which deprives them of oxygen and causes death. Alabama carried out the nation’s first execution using nitrogen hypoxia on January 25, 2024.
For clarity, we have not included states without the death penalty. [34][35][36][37][108][126]
| state | lethal injection | electrocution | lethal gas | hanging | firing squad | nitrogen hypoxia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | primary method | backup | backup | not authorized | not authorized | backup |
| Arizona | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Arkansas | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| California* | primary method | not authorized | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Florida | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Georgia | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Idaho | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | primary method | not authorized |
| Indiana | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Kansas | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Kentucky | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Louisiana | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Mississippi | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Missouri | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Montana | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Nebraska | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Nevada | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| New Hampshire** | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| North Carolina | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Ohio | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Oklahoma | primary method | backup | backup | not authorized | backup | backup |
| Oregon* | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Pennsylvania* | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| South Carolina | backup | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | backup | not authorized |
| South Dakota | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Tennessee | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Texas | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Utah | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | backup | not authorized |
| Wyoming | primary method | not authorized | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
*California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania have governor-imposed statewide moratoriums on the death penalty, though the practice remains legal.
**New Hampshire’s abolition of the death penalty was not applied retroactively. One man, Michael Addison, remains on death row and may be executed.