A Look at the Death Penalty in 2015 (Dec. 28, 2015)

The Death Penalty Information Center released its year-end report a few weeks ago. Some interesting statistics illustrate the decreasing support for the death penalty in the US: 49 death sentences were returned by juries nationwide in 2015—the lowest number since 1991. (The highest was 315 death sentences in 1996.) There were only 28 executions nationwide in 2015. Four states carried out 93% of them: Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Texas. (There were 98 executions in 1999.) The majority of Americans still support the death penalty (56-61%, depending on the poll) but the support is on a steady decline. Most are satisfied with the alternative sentence of life without parole. There were 6 exonerations from death rows in 6 states in 2015: Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, and Florida. (Since 1973, 156 men and women have been exonerated from death row.) 18…