1/26/2024 -
Kenneth Eugene Smith, convicted of the murder-for-hire of a preacher’s wife in 1988, was executed on Jan. 25, 2024, in Alabama. The execution was the first using nitrogen hypoxia in the United States and the first time a new method of execution has been introduced in the country since lethal injection was introduced in 1982.
1/17/2024 -
Kenneth Eugene Smith, convicted of the murder-for-hire of a preacher’s wife in 1988, is scheduled to be executed on Jan. 25, 2024. If carried out, the execution will be the first using nitrogen hypoxia in the United States.
4/24/2023 -
On Apr. 20, 2023, Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5087, which removed the laws the state supreme court found unconstitutionally, officially abolishing the death penalty in Washington. The states’s supreme court ruled the laws unconstitutional in 2018.
4/3/2023 -
On Mar. 24, 2023, Governor Brad Little signed HB 186 to legalize the firing squad as a backup method for the death penalty should lethal injection not be an option.
2/22/2023 -
Governor Josh Shapiro will continue the death penalty moratorium established by his predecessor, Tom Wolf in 2015.
1/9/2023 -
On Jan. 3, 2023, Missouri executed Amber McLaughlin, who was convicted of the 2003 first-degree murder, forcible rape, and armed criminal action against Beverly Guenther. McLaughlin is thought to be the first openly transgender person executed in the United States.
12/14/2022 -
Outgoing Oregon Governor Kate Brown commuted the sentences of all death row inmates and instructed that the death chamber be dismantled.
9/8/2022 -
On Sep. 6, 2022, Circuit Court Judge Jocelyn Newman ruled that South Carolina’s plan to reinstate the firing squad and electric chair was unconstitutional. South Carolina is expected to appeal the decision.
5/24/2022 -
Find the most current information on death row inmates in the US, 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.
3/4/2022 -
In a 6-3 vote, the US Supreme Court upheld Tsarnaev’s death sentence. The sentence was overturned in 2020 by an appeals court, but that ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court by the Trump administration. The Biden administration, despite a federal moratorium on capital punishment, pursued the appeal after Biden took office.
9/22/2021 -
Explore the debate with updated and new questions, resources, and more.
7/23/2021 -
The US Justice Department has quietly withdrawn the death penalty in seven cases over the past several months. In each case, prosecutors were directed by the Trump Justice Department to seek the death penalty.
7/2/2021 -
Merrick Garland, JD, stated, “Serious concerns have been raised about the continued use of the death penalty across the country… Those weighty concerns deserve careful study and evaluation by lawmakers.”
5/20/2021 -
What methods of execution are used globally? Which methods other than lethal injection are authorized by US states? Find out in this new resource.
5/19/2021 -
Where in the world is the death penalty legal? Which countries have abolished the practice? Find out in this new resource.