According to Amnesty International, 18 countries carried out executions in 2020 and used five methods of execution: beheading, electrocution, hanging, lethal injection, and shooting.
Within the United States, 17 executions were carried out via two methods: electrocution (one person) and lethal injection (16). Below, find the methods of execution used globally in 2021, as well as which methods of execution are legal in each of the US states and how often each was used between 1977 (when executions resumed after the US Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty nationally) and 2019.
2020 International Methods of Execution
Beheading
Saudi Arabia
Electrocution
United States
Hanging
Bangladesh, Botswana, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, South Sudan, Syria
Lethal Injection
China, United States, Vietnam
Shooting
China, Iran, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Taiwan, Yeman
US States Legal Methods of Execution
The US federal government used lethal injection exclusively during the Trump administration, ending a 17-year moratorium on the federal death penalty. The Department of Justice issued a rule in Nov. 2020 allowing federal executions to be carried out “in any manner consistent with [f]ederal law,” including electrocution, lethal gas, and firing squad. Whether the Biden administration will carry out executions remains unclear.
For clarity, we have not included the states that do not have the death penalty.
| Lethal Injection | Electrocution | Firing Squad | Hanging | Lethal Gas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | backup |
| Alaska | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Arizona | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | backup |
| California* | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | backup |
| Florida | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Georgia | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Idaho | primary method | not authorized | backup | not authorized | not authorized |
| Indiana | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Kansas | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Kentucky | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Louisiana | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Missouri | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | backup |
| Mississippi | primary method | backup | backup | not authorized | backup |
| Montana | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| North Carolina | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Nebraska | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| New Hampshire** | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | backup | not authorized |
| Nevada | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Ohio | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Oklahoma | primary method | backup | backup | not authorized | backup |
| Oregon* | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Pennsylvania* | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| South Carolina | primary method | backup | backup | not authorized | not authorized |
| South Dakota | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Tennessee | primary method | backup | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Texas | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized |
| Utah | primary method | not authorized | backup | not authorized | not authorized |
| Wyoming | primary method | not authorized | not authorized | not authorized | backup |
*California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania have governor-imposed statewide moratoriums on the death penalty, though the practice remains legal.
**Whether New Hampshire’s abolition of the death penalty applies retroactively is unclear. One person remains on death row.
Number of Executions by Methods of Execution: 1977-2019
| All Methods | Lethal Injection | Electrocution | Firing Squad | Hanging | Lethal Gas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Total | 1,512 | 1,333 | 162 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| Federal | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alabama | 66 | 42 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arizona | 37 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Arkansas | 31 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| California | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Colorado | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Delaware | 16 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Florida | 99 | 55 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia | 75 | 52 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Idaho | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Illinois | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Indiana | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maryland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 21 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Missouri | 89 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Montana | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nevada | 12 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 43 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ohio | 56 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 112 | 112 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oregon | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 43 | 36 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas | 567 | 567 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Virginia | 113 | 82 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Washington | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sources:
Amnesty International, “Death Sentences and Executions 2020,” amnesty.org, 2021
Congressional Research Service, “The Federal Death Penalty,” fas.org, Dec. 1, 2020
Idaho Legislature, “House Bill 186,” legislature.idaho.gov (accessed Apr. 3, 2023)
Tracy L. Snell, “Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables,” bjs.ojp.gov, June 2021
Laurel Wamsley, “With Lethal Injections Harder to Come by, Some States Are Turning to Firing Squads,” npr.org, May 19, 2021