In 1953, there were 131 inmates on death row; 62 (47.3%) of them were executed. In 2017, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 32 states held 2,703 prisoners under sentence of death, and executed 23 (0.85%) of them.
The average time spent on death row increased from 3 years and 6 months in 1979 to 20 years and 3 months in 2017. A total of 1,465 prisoners were executed in the United States from 1977 to 2017. The highest number of death row inmates (3,601) occurred in 2000.
Death Row Inmate Executions, 1953-2017
| Year | Total Death Row Inmates | Number of Death Row Inmates Executed | Percentage of Death Row Inmates Executed | Average Time from Sentence to Execution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | 131 | 62 | 47.3% | n/a |
| 1954 | 147 | 81 | 55.1% | n/a |
| 1955 | 125 | 76 | 60.8% | n/a |
| 1956 | 146 | 65 | 44.5% | n/a |
| 1957 | 151 | 65 | 43.0% | n/a |
| 1958 | 147 | 49 | 33.3% | n/a |
| 1959 | 164 | 49 | 29.9% | n/a |
| 1960 | 212 | 56 | 26.4% | n/a |
| 1961 | 257 | 42 | 16.3% | n/a |
| 1962 | 267 | 47 | 17.6% | n/a |
| 1963 | 297 | 21 | 7.1% | n/a |
| 1964 | 315 | 15 | 4.8% | n/a |
| 1965 | 331 | 7 | 2.1% | n/a |
| 1966 | 406 | 1 | 0.2% | n/a |
| 1967 | 435 | 2 | 0.5% | n/a |
| 1968 | 517 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1969 | 575 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1970 | 631 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1971 | 642 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1972 | 334 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1973 | 134 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1974 | 244 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1975 | 488 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1976 | 420 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1977 | 423 | 1 | 0.2% | 3 months |
| 1978 | 482 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1979 | 593 | 2 | 0.3% | 3 years 6 months |
| 1980 | 692 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| 1981 | 860 | 1 | 0.1% | 1 year 0 months |
| 1982 | 1,066 | 2 | 0.2% | 4 years 4 months |
| 1983 | 1,209 | 5 | 0.4% | 5 years 10 months |
| 1984 | 1,420 | 21 | 1.5% | 6 years 2 months |
| 1985 | 1,575 | 18 | 1.1% | 5 years 11 months |
| 1986 | 1,800 | 18 | 1.0% | 7 years 3 months |
| 1987 | 1,967 | 25 | 1.3% | 7 years 2 months |
| 1988 | 2,117 | 11 | 0.5% | 6 years 8 months |
| 1989 | 2,243 | 16 | 0.7% | 7 years 11 months |
| 1990 | 2,346 | 23 | 1.0% | 7 years 11 months |
| 1991 | 2,465 | 14 | 0.6% | 9 years 8 months |
| 1992 | 2,580 | 31 | 1.2% | 9 years 6 months |
| 1993 | 2,727 | 38 | 1.4% | 9 years 5 months |
| 1994 | 2,905 | 31 | 1.1% | 10 years 2 months |
| 1995 | 3,064 | 56 | 1.8% | 11 years 1 months |
| 1996 | 3,242 | 45 | 1.4% | 10 years 4 months |
| 1997 | 3,328 | 74 | 2.2% | 11 years 1 month |
| 1998 | 3,465 | 68 | 2.0% | 10 years 10 months |
| 1999 | 3,527 | 98 | 2.8% | 11 years 11 months |
| 2000 | 3,601 | 85 | 2.4% | 11 years 5 months |
| 2001 | 3,577 | 66 | 1.8% | 11 years 10 months |
| 2002 | 3,562 | 71 | 2.0% | 10 years 7 months |
| 2003 | 3,377 | 65 | 1.9% | 10 years 11 months |
| 2004 | 3,320 | 59 | 1.8% | 11 years 0 months |
| 2005 | 3,245 | 60 | 1.8% | 12 years 3 months |
| 2006 | 3,228 | 53 | 1.6% | 12 years 1 months |
| 2007 | 3,215 | 42 | 1.3% | 12 years 9 months |
| 2008 | 3,210 | 37 | 1.2% | 11 years 7 months |
| 2009 | 3,173 | 52 | 1.6% | 14 years 1 month |
| 2010 | 3,139 | 46 | 1.5% | 14 years 10 months |
| 2011 | 3,065 | 43 | 1.4% | 16 years 10 months |
| 2012 | 3,011 | 43 | 1.4% | 15 years 10 months |
| 2013 | 2,983 | 39 | 1.3% | 15 years 6 monts |
| 2014 | 2,942 | 35 | 1.2% | 18 years 2 months |
| 2015 | 2,872 | 28 | 1.0% | 16 years 3 months |
| 2016 | 2,814 | 20 | 0.7% | 17 years 0 months |
| 2017 | 2,703 | 23 | 0.9% | 20 years 3 months |
Sources
US Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Capital Punishment, 2013 – Statistical Tables,” bjs.gov, Dec. 2014
US Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Capital Punishment, 2016 – Statistical Brief NCJ 251430,” bjs.gov, Apr. 30, 2018
US Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Capital Punishment, 2017: Select Findings NCJ 253060,” bjs.gov, July 23, 2019
US Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Number Under Sentence of Death,” bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov (accessed Sep. 19, 2011)
