America's crime record
Death penalty
Received under sentence of death
15
people received under sentence of death, 2023 · Down 12% from 2022
Timeline
People admitted to prison under a new sentence of death in the year, in the states and the federal system.
Source and method
No rate. Only states with a death penalty can sentence anyone to death, so a rate over every U.S. resident would measure state law as much as crime.
BJS Capital Punishment statistical tables · Calendar year · 1973 to 2023
Breakdown
People received under sentence of death by race and Hispanic origin, 2023
| White+MENAMiddle Eastern or North African | 73%11 | 11 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 13%2 | 2 | |
| Hispanic | 13%2 | 2 |
Every year, 1991 to 2023
- White+MENA
- Black
- Hispanic
- White+MENA, Hispanic
- Asian, NHPI, or AIAN
- Asian, NHPI, AIAN, or race unknown
- Lighter: years CrimeDB split. Hispanic is what it placed; each other group is what is left once they are taken out
1991 to 1996: each race holds its Hispanic people, as BJS printed it. 1997 to 2016: Hispanic people split out of each race by CrimeDB, scaled to BJS's own count of Hispanic people, drawn lighter. 2017: each race holds its Hispanic people, as BJS printed it (BJS printed no count of Hispanic people that year). 2018 to 2021: Hispanic people split out of each race by CrimeDB, scaled to BJS's own count of Hispanic people, drawn lighter. BJS prints some years' race counts only in that year's edition, before later revisions, so a year's groups can add to less than its count.
All 15 people received under sentence of death in 2023. Each race leaves out Hispanic people. Where BJS prints only White, Black, and Hispanic, Asian, NHPI, or AIAN is the total less those three, CrimeDB's difference. Prisons report the people they hold from their own records.
BJS Capital Punishment statistical tables
Every figure as a table
Received under sentence of death, people received under sentence of death, by year
| Year | Count | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 15 | |
| 2022 | 17 | |
| 2021 | 16 | |
| 2020 | 16 | |
| 2019 | 36 | |
| 2018 | 41 | |
| 2017 | 38 | |
| 2016 | 35 | |
| 2015 | 54 | |
| 2014 | 70 | |
| 2013 | 85 | |
| 2012 | 85 | |
| 2011 | 84 | |
| 2010 | 116 | |
| 2009 | 118 | |
| 2008 | 122 | |
| 2007 | 129 | |
| 2006 | 126 | |
| 2005 | 143 | |
| 2004 | 141 | |
| 2003 | 157 | |
| 2002 | 173 | |
| 2001 | 164 | |
| 2000 | 235 | |
| 1999 | 287 | |
| 1998 | 311 | |
| 1997 | 282 | |
| 1996 | 323 | |
| 1995 | 326 | |
| 1994 | 330 | |
| 1993 | 300 | |
| 1992 | 300 | |
| 1991 | 284 | |
| 1990 | 270 | |
| 1989 | 274 | |
| 1988 | 317 | |
| 1987 | 311 | |
| 1986 | 319 | |
| 1985 | 292 | |
| 1984 | 306 | |
| 1983 | 266 | |
| 1982 | 287 | |
| 1981 | 249 | |
| 1980 | 202 | |
| 1979 | 172 | |
| 1978 | 211 | |
| 1977 | 159 | |
| 1976 | 249 | |
| 1975 | 318 | |
| 1974 | 161 | |
| 1973 | 44 |
No rate. Only states with a death penalty can sentence anyone to death, so a rate over every U.S. resident would measure state law as much as crime.
BJS Capital Punishment statistical tables · Calendar year
People received under sentence of death by race and Hispanic origin, 2023
| Race and Hispanic origin | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White+MENA | 11 | 73% |
| Black | 2 | 13% |
| Hispanic | 2 | 13% |
Hispanic is of any race; the other groups are not Hispanic. White+MENA includes Middle Eastern and North African people.
All 15 people received under sentence of death in 2023. Each race leaves out Hispanic people. Where BJS prints only White, Black, and Hispanic, Asian, NHPI, or AIAN is the total less those three, CrimeDB's difference. Prisons report the people they hold from their own records.
BJS Capital Punishment statistical tables
People received under sentence of death by sex, 2023
| Sex | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 15 | 100% |
| Female | 0 | 0% |
All 15 people received under sentence of death in 2023.
BJS Capital Punishment statistical tables
People received under sentence of death by age, 2023
| Age | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 19 | 0 | 0% |
| 20 to 24 | 0 | 0% |
| 25 to 29 | 0 | 0% |
| 30 to 34 | 1 | 7% |
| 35 to 39 | 2 | 13% |
| 40 to 44 | 5 | 33% |
| 45 to 49 | 1 | 7% |
| 50 to 54 | 2 | 13% |
| 55 to 59 | 1 | 7% |
| 60 to 64 | 3 | 20% |
| 65 or older | 0 | 0% |
All 15 people received under sentence of death in 2023.
BJS Capital Punishment statistical tables
People received under sentence of death by jurisdiction, 2023
| Jurisdiction | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 5 | 33% |
| Arizona | 3 | 20% |
| Texas | 3 | 20% |
| North Carolina | 2 | 13% |
| Federal | 1 | 7% |
| Louisiana | 1 | 7% |
All 15 people received under sentence of death in 2023.
BJS Capital Punishment statistical tables
People received under sentence of death by race and Hispanic origin, every year
| Year | All people received under sentence of death | Counted by race | White+MENA | Black | Hispanic | White+MENA, Hispanic | Asian, NHPI, or AIAN | Asian, NHPI, AIAN, or race unknown | Hispanic, moved by CrimeDB from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | – | 0 | – | – |
| 2022 | 17 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | – | 0 | – | – |
| 2021 | 16 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | – | 0 | – | 1 White |
| 2020 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 |
| 2019 | 36 | 31 | 17 | 11 | 3 | – | 0 | – | 3 White |
| 2018 | 41 | 38 | 19 | 9 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 9 White |
| 2017 | 38 | 34 | – | 11 | – | 22 | – | 1 | – |
| 2016 | 35 | 32 | 6 | 19 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 2 White, 1 Black |
| 2013 | 85 | 83 | 35 | 32 | 15 | – | 1 | – | 14 White, 1 Black |
| 2012 | 85 | 79 | 31 | 40 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 7 White |
| 2011 | 84 | 80 | 30 | 36 | 10 | – | 4 | – | 9 White, 1 Black |
| 2010 | 116 | 104 | 26 | 41 | 22 | – | 15 | – | 19 White, 1 Black, 2 All other races |
| 2009 | 118 | 112 | 48 | 41 | 18 | – | 5 | – | 17 White, 1 Black |
| 2008 | 122 | 111 | 45 | 43 | 21 | – | 2 | – | 20 White, 1 Black |
| 2007 | 129 | 115 | 53 | 46 | 15 | – | 1 | – | 14 White, 1 Black |
| 2006 | 126 | 115 | 61 | 42 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 11 White |
| 2005 | 143 | 128 | 54 | 51 | 17 | – | 6 | – | 16 White, 1 Black |
| 2004 | 141 | 125 | 60 | 49 | 16 | – | 0 | – | 15 White, 1 Black |
| 2003 | 157 | 144 | 69 | 43 | 24 | – | 8 | – | 23 White, 1 Black |
| 2002 | 173 | 159 | 66 | 72 | 18 | – | 3 | – | 17 White, 1 Black |
| 2001 | 164 | 155 | 67 | 60 | 23 | – | 5 | – | 22 White, 1 Black |
| 2000 | 235 | 214 | 98 | 85 | 25 | – | 6 | – | 24 White, 1 Black |
| 1999 | 287 | 272 | 126 | 103 | 33 | – | 10 | – | 31 White, 1 Black, 1 All other races |
| 1998 | 311 | 285 | 110 | 130 | 38 | – | 7 | – | 35 White, 2 Black, 1 All other races |
| 1997 | 282 | 256 | 121 | 105 | 26 | – | 4 | – | 25 White, 1 Black |
| 1996 | 323 | 299 | – | 119 | – | 174 | – | 6 | – |
| 1995 | 326 | 310 | – | 138 | – | 168 | – | 4 | – |
| 1994 | 330 | 304 | – | 136 | – | 160 | – | 8 | – |
| 1993 | 300 | 282 | – | 130 | – | 146 | – | 6 | – |
| 1992 | 300 | 265 | – | 114 | – | 147 | – | 4 | – |
| 1991 | 284 | 266 | – | 101 | – | 163 | – | 2 | – |
Every year, 1991 to 2023. – means the source's codes that year hold no such group.
Hispanic, moved by CrimeDB from: the year's Hispanic people by the race the source printed them in (race recorded without ethnicity: split by NIBRS's recorded Hispanic share of each race), so each printed race is its group plus the people moved from it; – means the year is as the source printed it.
1991 to 1996: Each race holds its Hispanic people: BJS printed Hispanic origin apart and never crossed it with race before the 2022 edition, and the machine-readable editions that print its count of Hispanic people start in 1997. All other races holds American Indian or Alaska Native and Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander people, Hispanic or not, and people with only Hispanic origin recorded. Prisons report the people they hold from their own records.
1997 to 2016: BJS printed race with Hispanic people inside each race and Hispanic origin apart before the 2022 edition. All other races holds American Indian or Alaska Native and Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander people and people with only Hispanic origin recorded: its Hispanic part joins Hispanic, the rest is Asian, NHPI, or AIAN; for people received it is the total less White and Black, CrimeDB's difference. Prisons report the people they hold from their own records. Each race is split into Hispanic and not by the share NIBRS records Hispanic within that race for arrestees, nationwide (crimedb-race-split; the latest cross window, 2021, for every earlier year): a model, the lighter part of each bar. Nobody's recorded race changes; only Hispanic origin, which BJS printed apart, is placed. BJS prints its own count of Hispanic people each year, so the split is scaled to add to it exactly (each race's odds of being Hispanic move by one factor). A year BJS printed no Hispanic count (people under sentence of death at year-end 2014 and 2015, people received in 2017) keeps each race as printed.
2017 to 2017: Each race holds its Hispanic people, as BJS printed it: BJS printed no count of Hispanic people that year, so nothing is split.
2018 to 2021: BJS printed race with Hispanic people inside each race and Hispanic origin apart before the 2022 edition. All other races holds American Indian or Alaska Native and Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander people and people with only Hispanic origin recorded: its Hispanic part joins Hispanic, the rest is Asian, NHPI, or AIAN; for people received it is the total less White and Black, CrimeDB's difference. Prisons report the people they hold from their own records. Each race is split into Hispanic and not by the share NIBRS records Hispanic within that race for arrestees, nationwide (crimedb-race-split; the latest cross window, 2021, for every earlier year): a model, the lighter part of each bar. Nobody's recorded race changes; only Hispanic origin, which BJS printed apart, is placed. BJS prints its own count of Hispanic people each year, so the split is scaled to add to it exactly (each race's odds of being Hispanic move by one factor). A year BJS printed no Hispanic count (people under sentence of death at year-end 2014 and 2015, people received in 2017) keeps each race as printed.
2022 on: Each race leaves out Hispanic people. Where BJS prints only White, Black, and Hispanic, Asian, NHPI, or AIAN is the total less those three, CrimeDB's difference. Prisons report the people they hold from their own records.
1991 to 1996: each race holds its Hispanic people, as BJS printed it. 1997 to 2016: Hispanic people split out of each race by CrimeDB, scaled to BJS's own count of Hispanic people, drawn lighter. 2017: each race holds its Hispanic people, as BJS printed it (BJS printed no count of Hispanic people that year). 2018 to 2021: Hispanic people split out of each race by CrimeDB, scaled to BJS's own count of Hispanic people, drawn lighter. BJS prints some years' race counts only in that year's edition, before later revisions, so a year's groups can add to less than its count.
BJS Capital Punishment statistical tables