U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics ------------------------------------------------------- This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all reports in the series go to http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=1 This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available on BJS website at:http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4697 -------------------------------------------------------- ******************* Statistical Tables ******************* Capital Punishment, 2011--Statistical Tables Tracy L. Snell, BJS Statistician At yearend 2011, 35 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons held 3,082 inmates under sentence of death, which was 57 fewer than at yearend 2010 (figure 1). This represents the eleventh consecutive year in which the number of inmates under sentence of death decreased. Four states (California, Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania) held more than half of all inmates on death row on December 31, 2011. The Federal Bureau of Prisons held 56 inmates under sentence of death at yearend. Of prisoners under sentence of death at yearend, 55% were white and 42% were black. The 387 Hispanic inmates under sentence of death accounted for 14% of inmates with a known ethnicity. Ninety-eight percent of inmates under sentence of death were male, and 2% were female. The race and sex of inmates under sentence of death has remained relatively unchanged since 2000. Among inmates for whom legal status at the time of the capital offense was available, 40% had an active criminal justice status. Less than half of these inmates were on parole, about a quarter were on probation, and the remaining inmates had charges pending, were incarcerated, had escaped from incarceration, or had some other criminal justice status. Criminal history patterns of death row inmates differed by race and Hispanic origin. More black inmates had a prior felony conviction (72%), compared to Hispanic (64%) or white (62%) inmates. Similar percentages of white (9%), black (8%), and Hispanic (6%) inmates had a prior homicide conviction. A slightly higher percentage of Hispanic (31%) and black (30%) inmates were on probation or parole at the time of their capital offense, compared to 23% of white inmates. In 2011, 18 states reported that 80 inmates were received under sentence of death. Admissions in Florida (14), California (10), Texas (8), and Arizona (8) accounted for half of those sentenced to death in 2011. Twenty-four states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons removed 137 inmates from under sentence of death: 43 were executed, 24 died by means other than execution, and 70 were removed as a result of commutations or courts overturning sentences or convictions. Removals in Texas (16), Illinois (15), and Alabama (14), accounted for nearly a third of all inmates removed from under sentence of death in 2011. Illinois removed all 15 inmates under sentence of death when the governor granted commutations upon signing a law to repeal the death penalty in that state. Thirteen states executed 43 inmates in 2011, compared to 46 inmates in 2010. The inmates executed in 2011 had been under sentence of death an average of 16.5 years, which was 20 months longer than those executed in 2010. Among the 36 jurisdictions with prisoners under sentence of death on December 31, 2011, 7 jurisdictions had more inmates than a year earlier, 15 had fewer inmates, and 15 had the same number. California showed the largest increase (up 5 inmates). The largest decreases in the population of inmates under sentence of death were in Ohio and Texas (down 8 each), followed by Pennsylvania and Oklahoma (down 7 each), and Alabama (down 5). The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 (see Gregg v. Georgia, 427 U.S. 153 (1976) and its companion cases). From 1976 to 2000, the number of inmates under sentence of death in the U.S. steadily increased until it peaked at 3,601 inmates on December 31, 2000 (figure 2). In 2001, the number of inmates removed from under sentence of death was higher than the number admitted for the first time since 1976 (figure 3). The number of annual removals of those under sentence of death has continued to outpace admissions since 2001. The 80 inmates received under sentence of death in 2011 was a 27% decrease from the number received in 2010 (109). The number of inmates received in 2011 represented the smallest number of admissions to death row since 1973 when 44 persons were admitted. Of the 7,958 people under sentence of death between 1977 and 2011, 16% had been executed, 6% died by causes other than execution, and 40% received other dispositions.***Footnote 1 Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1976 approval of revised statutes in some states (Gregg v. Georgia), executions of inmates resumed in 1977.*** The federal government began collecting annual execution statistics in 1930. Between 1930 and 2011, a total of 5,136 inmates were executed under civil authority (figure 4). ***Footnote 2 Military authorities carried out an additional 160 executions between 1930 and 1961 which are not included in this report. After the Supreme Court reinstated death penalty statutes in 1976, 35 states and the federal government executed 1,277 inmates. ************************************************* One state repealed its death penalty statue in 2011, and two states revised capital statutes ************************************************* As of December 31, 2011, 36 states and the federal government authorized the death penalty (table 1). While New Mexico repealed the death penalty in 2009 (Laws 2009, ch. 11 § 5), the repeal was not retroactive, and offenders charged with a capital offense committed prior to the repeal may be eligible for a death sentence. As of December 31, 2011, New Mexico held two men under previously imposed death sentences, and one person was awaiting sentencing with the state seeking the death penalty. The Illinois legislature repealed the death penalty (725 ILCS 5/119-1), effective July 1, 2011. During 2011, two states revised statutory provisions relating to the death penalty. By state, the changes were-- New Hampshire--Added murder during the commission of a burglary of any person authorized to occupy the building (RSA 630:1(g)), to the list of offenses eligible for a death penalty, effective July 1, 2011. Texas--Revised an element of capital murder, murder of a child under age 6, to include any child under age 10 (Tex. Penal Code 19.03(a)(8)), effective September 1, 2011. ************************************************* Lethal injection was authorized by all states with capital statutes ************************************************* As of December 31, 2011, all 36 states with death penalty statutes authorized lethal injection as a method of execution (table 2). In addition to lethal injection, 15 states authorized an alternative method of execution: 8 states, electrocution; 3 states, lethal gas; 3 states, hanging; and 2 states, firing squad. For states that authorize multiple methods of execution, the method is generally selected by the condemned prisoner. Five of the 15 states (Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Utah) stipulated which method must be used depending on either the date of the offense or sentencing. One state (New Hampshire) authorized hanging only if lethal injection could not be given. Four states authorized alternative methods if lethal injection is ruled to be unconstitutional: Delaware authorized hanging, Oklahoma authorized electrocution or firing squad, Utah authorized firing squad, and Wyoming authorized lethal gas. The method of execution of federal prisoners is lethal injection, pursuant to 28 CFR, Part 26. For offenses prosecuted under the federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the method is that of the state in which the conviction took place (18 U.S.C. 3596). ************************************************************ -------------------- Executions in 2012 -------------------- In 2012, 9 states executed 43 inmates, which was the same number executed in 2011. Four states accounted for three-quarters of the executions carried out during this period: Texas executed 15 inmates; and Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Arizona each executed 6 inmates. Of the 43 executions carried out in 2012, all were by lethal injection. No women were executed in 2012. ************************************************************ ************ Methodology ************ Capital punishment information is collected annually as part of the National Prisoner Statistics program (NPS-8). This data series is collected in two parts: data on persons under sentence of death are obtained from the department of corrections in each jurisdiction currently authorizing capital punishment, and information on the status of death penalty statutes is obtained from the Office of the Attorney General in each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the federal government. Data collection forms are available on the BJS website at www.bjs.gov. NPS-8 covers all persons under sentence of death at any time during the year who were held in a state or federal nonmilitary correctional facility. This includes capital offenders transferred from prison to mental hospitals and those who may have escaped from custody. It excludes persons whose death sentences have been overturned by the court, regardless of their current incarceration status. The statistics included in this report may differ from data collected by other organizations for a variety of reasons: (1) NPS-8 adds inmates to the population under sentence of death not at sentencing, but at the time they are admitted to a state or federal correctional facility; (2) if inmates entered prison under a death sentence or were reported as being relieved of a death sentence in one year but the court had acted in the previous year, the counts are adjusted to reflect the dates of court decisions (See note on table 4 for the affected jurisdictions); and (3) NPS counts are always for the last day of the calendar year and will differ from counts for more recent periods. All data in this report have been reviewed for accuracy by the data providers in each jurisdiction prior to publication. *********************************************************** Table 1. Capital offenses, by state, 2011 Table 2. Method of execution, by state, 2011 Table 3. Federal capital offenses, 2011 Table 4. Prisoners under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and race, 2010 and 2011 Table 5. Demographic characteristics of prisoners under sentence of death, 2011 Table 6. Women under sentence of death, by region, jurisdiction, and race, 2010 and 2011 Table 7. Hispanics under sentence of death, by region and jurisdiction, 2010 and 2011 Table 8. Criminal history profile of prisoners under sentence of death, by race and Hispanic origin, 2011 Table 9. Inmates removed from under sentence of death, by method of removal, 2011 Table 10. Average time between sentencing and execution, 1977–2011 Table 11. Number of inmates executed, by race, 1977–2011 Table 12. Executions and other dispositions of inmates sentenced to death, by race and Hispanic origin, 1977–2011 Table 13. Executions, by jurisdiction and method, 1977–2011 Table 14. Number of persons executed, by jurisdiction, 1930–2011 Table 15. Prisoners under sentence of death on December 31, 2011, by jurisdiction and year of sentencing Table 16. Prisoners sentenced to death and the outcome of sentence, by year of sentencing, 1973-2011 Table 17. Number sentenced to death and number of removals, by jurisdiction and reason for removal, 1973–2011 Appendix Table 1. Number of inmates under sentence of death, by demographic characteristics, 2011 ************************************************************ ************************************************************ The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. William J. Sabol is the acting director. This report was written by Tracy L. Snell. Todd D. Minton verified the report. Lorelle Dennis and Beth Davis carried out the data collection and processing under the supervision of Heather C. West, Ph.D., and Nicole Adolph, Criminal Justice Statistics Branch, Governments Division, Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. Rekha Kudlur provided statistical and technical assistance. Jill Thomas edited the report, and Barbara Quinn and Morgan Young produced the report under the supervision of Doris J. James. July 2013, NCJ 242185 ************************************************************ **************************************************** Office of Justice Programs Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods www.ojp.usdoj.gov **************************************************** 6/27/13/JER/10:10am