How many people are sentenced to death in America?
Eighteen executions, all males, occurred in 2022.
In 2022, 2,270 prisoners were sentenced to death and awaiting execution, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. More than half of prisoners with a death sentence were held in the most populous states:
- California: 29%, or 667 people
- Florida: 13%, or 304 people
- Texas: 8%, or 190 people
Adjusting for population, the states with the greatest number of prisoners sentenced to death per 100,000 people in 2022 were Alabama (3.21 per 100,000 people) and Nevada (1.79). California ranked fourth with 1.70 prisoners under sentence of death per 100,000 people in 2022, while Florida ranked sixth (1.35), and Texas ranked 13th (0.63).
Were there any executions in 2022?
Eighteen executions, all males, occurred in 2022: Oklahoma and Texas each executed five prisoners, three executions were carried out in Arizona, two each in Missouri and Alabama, and one in Mississippi.
Which states allow the death penalty?
In 2022, death penalty statutes were in effect in 30 states and in the federal government, while 20 states and Washington, DC, did not enforce any death penalty statutes.
Are there fewer death sentences now compared to prior years?
The number of prisoners sentenced to death peaked in 2000 at 3,601 prisoners and declined for 22 consecutive years.
State legislatures and the Federal Bureau of Prisons can also remove prisoners from death sentences, which they did for 83 people in 2022.
Seventeen removals occurred on December 13, 2022, when Oregon governor, Kate Brown, commuted the sentences of Oregon's death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Keep exploring
- How many states use private prisons? - More than half of states used private prisons in 2023, but they housed less than 10% of all inmates nationwide.
- How many people are in prisons in the US?
- How many people in prisons died of COVID-19? - The death rate for incarcerated people in state and federal prisons from COVID-19 was 20% higher than for the average American.
- Can people with felony convictions vote? - In 23 states, those with felony convictions automatically regain the right to vote when they are released from prison.
Page sources
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Capital Punishment, 2022 – Statistical Tables
