In 1953, there were 131 inmates on death row and 62 (47.3%) of them were executed. In 2020, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 28 states held 2,469 prisoners under sentence of death, and executed 17 (0.7%) of them.
Below, find out more about death row inmates, including the number of death row inmates, average time spent on death row before execution, the year each inmate was sentenced to death, demographic information, criminal histories, and removals from death row for reasons other than execution.
| Number of Death Row Inmates (Dec. 31, 2020) |
|
|---|---|
| Federal | 51 |
| Alabama | 170 |
| Alaska | 0 |
| Arizona | 116 |
| Arkansas | 29 |
| California | 703 |
| Colorado | 0 |
| Connecticut | 0 |
| DC | 0 |
| Delaware | 0 |
| Florida | 337 |
| Georgia | 40 |
| Hawaii | 0 |
| Idaho | 8 |
| Illinois | 0 |
| Indiana | 0 |
| Iowa | 0 |
| Kansas | 10 |
| Kentucky | 26 |
| Louisiana | 66 |
| Maine | 0 |
| Maryland | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 |
| Minnesota | 0 |
| Mississippi | 40 |
| Missouri | 20 |
| Montana | 2 |
| Nebraska | 12 |
| Nevada | 67 |
| New Hampshire | 1 |
| New Jersey | 0 |
| New Mexico | 0 |
| New York | 0 |
| North Carolina | 137 |
| North Dakota | 0 |
| Ohio | 137 |
| Oklahoma | 45 |
| Oregon | 24 |
| Pennsylvania | 118 |
| Rhode Island | 0 |
| South Carolina | 36 |
| South Dakota | 1 |
| Tennessee | 50 |
| Texas | 206 |
| Utah | 7 |
| Vermont | 0 |
| Virginia | 2 |
| Washington | 0 |
| West Virginia | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 0 |
| Wyoming | 0 |
Inmate Time on Death Row: 1953-2020
| 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% | -- |
| 1954 | 147 | 81 | 55.1% | -- |
| 1955 | 125 | 76 | 60.8% | -- |
| 1956 | 146 | 65 | 44.5% | -- |
| 1957 | 151 | 65 | 43.0% | -- |
| 1958 | 147 | 49 | 33.3% | -- |
| 1959 | 164 | 49 | 29.9% | -- |
| 1960 | 212 | 56 | 26.4% | -- |
| 1961 | 257 | 42 | 16.3% | -- |
| 1962 | 267 | 47 | 17.6% | -- |
| 1963 | 297 | 21 | 7.1% | -- |
| 1964 | 315 | 15 | 4.8% | -- |
| 1965 | 331 | 7 | 2.1% | -- |
| 1966 | 406 | 1 | 0.2% | -- |
| 1967 | 435 | 2 | 0.5% | -- |
| 1968 | 517 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1969 | 575 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1970 | 631 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1971 | 642 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1972 | 334 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1973 | 134 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1974 | 244 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1975 | 488 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1976 | 420 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1977 | 423 | 1 | 0.2% | 3 months |
| 1978 | 482 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 1979 | 593 | 2 | 0.3% | 3 years 6 months |
| 1980 | 692 | 0 | 0.0% | -- |
| 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 |
| 2018 | 2,628 | 25 | 1.0% | 19 years 10 months |
| 2019 | 2,570 | 22 | 0.9% | 22 years |
| 2020 | 2,469 | 17 | 0.7% | 18 years 11 months |
Below are tables showing when each person on death row was sentenced to death. According to the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, “For persons sentenced to death more than once, counts are based on the year of the most recent death sentence.”
Note that there are two tables to accommodate the most information within the width of our pages.
| 1976-1980 | 1981-1985 | 1986-1990 | 1991-1995 | 1996-2000 | 2001-2005 | 2006-2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Total | 20 | 106 | 208 | 398 | 513 | 360 | 421 |
| Alabama | 0 | 1 | 9 | 22 | 37 | 30 | 36 |
| Arizona | 1 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 34 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| California | 5 | 46 | 88 | 125 | 156 | 76 | 106 |
| Florida | 8 | 18 | 35 | 66 | 58 | 30 | 50 |
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 10 |
| Idaho | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Indiana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Kansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Louisiana | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 25 | 11 | 7 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Missouri | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Montana | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Nevada | 1 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 5 | 8 |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| North Carolina | 0 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 47 | 23 | 13 |
| Ohio | 0 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 26 | 23 | 16 |
| Oklahoma | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 13 |
| Oregon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 7 |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 2 | 15 | 18 | 24 | 16 | 18 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 11 |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 6 |
| Texas | 3 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 42 | 43 | 33 |
| Utah | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2011-2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Average Years on Death Row | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Total | 293 | 30 | 34 | 39 | 33 | 14 | 19.4 |
| Federal | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13.5 |
| Alabama | 24 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17.2 |
| Arizona | 16 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 17.2 |
| Arkansas | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 |
| California | 72 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 21.2 |
| Florida | 47 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 20.2 |
| Georgia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18.2 |
| Idaho | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| Indiana | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| Kansas | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 24.9 |
| Louisiana | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 |
| Mississippi | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 17.4 |
| Missouri | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15.6 |
| Montana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 |
| Nevada | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21.9 |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| North Carolina | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21.3 |
| Ohio | 15 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 19.1 |
| Oklahoma | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14.2 |
| Oregon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 |
| Pennsylvania | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.3 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17.6 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| Tennessee | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 |
| Texas | 35 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 16.6 |
| Utah | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
Death Row Inmate Demographics: 2020
| Total Death Row Inmates | Admissions to Death Row | Removals from Death Row | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2,469 | 14 | 108 | |
Sex | ||||
| Men | 97.9% | 100.0% | 98.1% | |
| Women | 2.1% | 0.0% | 1.9% | |
Race | ||||
| White | 56.5% | 57.1% | 52.8% | |
| Black | 41.1% | 41.9% | 44.4% | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.7% | 0.0% | 2.8% | |
| Asian/ Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander | 1.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
Ethnicity | ||||
| Hispanic | 15.3% | 0.0% | 15.2% | |
| Non-Hispanic | 84.7% | 100.0% | 84.8% | |
Age | ||||
| 18-19 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| 20-24 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.9% | |
| 25-29 | 1.2% | 14.3% | 0.9% | |
| 30-34 | 4.4% | 7.1% | 0.9% | |
| 35-39 | 7.5% | 21.4% | 4.6% | |
| 40-44 | 12.8% | 14.3% | 13.9% | |
| 45-49 | 16.3% | 14.3% | 15.7% | |
| 50-54 | 17.7% | 14.3% | 15.7% | |
| 55-59 | 15.9% | 7.1% | 15.7% | |
| 60-64 | 11.9% | 7.1% | 13.9% | |
| 65 or Older | 12.2% | 0.0% | 24.1% | |
Education | ||||
| 8th Grade or Less | 11.6% | 0.0% | 14.8% | |
| 9th-11th Grade | 34.9% | 66.7% | 35.2% | |
| High-School Graduate or GED | 44.4% | 33.3% | 40.9% | |
| Any College | 9.2% | 0.0% | 9.1% | |
Marital Status | ||||
| Married | 21.1% | 18.2% | 27.2% | |
| Divorced/Separated | 20.0% | 18.2% | 14.1% | |
| Widowed | 3.5% | 9.1% | 6.5% | |
| Never Married | 55.4% | 54.5% | 52.2% |
Death Row Inmate Criminal History: 2020
| All Death Row Inmates | White Death Row Inmates | Black Death Row Inmates | Hispanic Death Row Inmates | American Indian/Alaska Native Death Row Inmates | Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Death Row Inmates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prior Felony Conviction | |||||||
| Yes | 67.6% | 63.8% | 72.8% | 65.4% | 63.8% | 56.8% | |
| No | 32.4% | 36.2% | 27.2% | 34.6% | 31.3% | 43.2% | |
Prior Homicide Conviction | |||||||
| Yes | 9.5% | 9.8% | 9.6% | 9.1% | 5.6% | 5.0% | |
| No | 90.5% | 90.2% | 90.4% | 90.9% | 94.4% | 95.0% | |
Legal Status at Time of Capital Offense | |||||||
| Charge Pending | 7.9% | 9.6% | 7.0% | 5.8% | 6.3% | 5.6% | |
| Probation | 11.4% | 9.9% | 11.5% | 14.8% | 18.8% | 13.9% | |
| Parole | 16.0% | 13.7% | 17.9% | 17.4% | 25.0% | 13.9% | |
| On Escape | 1.2% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| Incarcerated | 4.6% | 5.9% | 3.7% | 3.5% | 12.5% | 0.0% | |
| Other Status | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| None | 58.8% | 59.2% | 58.9% | 57.2% | 37.5% | 66.7% |
| Total Including Execution | Execution | Other Death* | Sentence Commuted | Capital Conviction Overturned by Court | Death Sentence Overturned by Court | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Total | 108 | 17 | 42 | 4 | 11 | 34 |
| Federal | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| State | 98 | 7 | 42 | 4 | 11 | 34 |
| Alabama | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Arizona | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| California | 25 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Florida | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Georgia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Missouri | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nevada | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ohio | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oregon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas | 12 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
*According to the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, “other deaths were due to natural causes, suicide, and unspecified causes” in 2020.
Sources
Tracy L. Snell, “Capital Punishment, 2018 – Statistical Tables,” bjs.gov, Sep. 2020
Tracy L. Snell, “Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables,” bjs.gov, June 2021
Tracy L. Snell, “Capital Punishment, 2020 – Statistical Tables,” bjs.gov, Dec. 2021
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)
