U.S. public support for the death penalty fell to 53% in 2023, the lowest level in half a century. At the same time, capital cases remain expensive and slow, with the average death penalty trial costing $1.26 million more than non-death cases. The figures in this Death Penalty Statistics report track how sentencing, cost, and execution outcomes diverge across states.
Key Takeaways
- Average cost of a death penalty trial in the U.S. is $1.26 million more than non-death cases
- Between 1976 and 2023, a total of 1,582 executions were carried out in the United States under the modern death penalty statutes
- 68 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice as of 2023
- Black Americans comprise 41.7% of death row inmates despite being 13.6% of the population as of 2023
- Since 1973, 197 death row inmates exonerated from U.S. death sentences through evidence of innocence
Death penalty cases have declined sharply, driven by shifting public opinion and stronger legal challenges.
Related reading
01 · Category
Cost Analysis25 stats
01
Average cost of a death penalty trial in the U.S. is $1.26 million more than non-death cases
02
California spends $137 million annually on death penalty system, enough for 1,700 new police officers
03
Texas death penalty costs taxpayers $2.3 million per case vs. $750,000 for life without parole
04
Maryland study: death penalty cost $186 million extra over 15 years vs. life sentences
05
Florida death row appeals average 25 years and $3 million per inmate
06
Kansas legislature found death cases cost 70% more than life, totaling $1.5 million extra per case
07
North Carolina: death penalty costs $2.16 million per execution vs. $740,000 for life
08
U.S. federal death penalty costs $90 million more annually than life sentences
09
Pennsylvania spends $149 million yearly on death penalty for 3 executions in 25 years
10
Nevada death penalty costs 1.9 times more than life, $532,000extra per trial
11
Ohio capital cases cost counties $1.7 million more on average than life cases
12
Tennessee death penalty system costs $20.2 million more per year than alternatives
13
Arizona spends $1 million extra per death sentence due to longer trials and appeals
14
New Jersey abolished death penalty after $1.4 billion cost for zero executions
15
Indiana death row costs $428,000more per inmate annually than general population
16
Montana capital trials cost 3 times more, $1-3 million extra per case
17
Kentucky death penalty costs $488,311more per case than life imprisonment
18
South Dakota spends 44% more on death cases, averaging $1.2 million each
19
Wyoming death penalty appeals cost $3.5 million per execution achieved
20
Average U.S. death row housing costs $90,000per inmate yearly vs. $45,000 for life row
21
Colorado spent $4.1 million on one botched execution attempt in 2013
22
Utah capital cases cost 3-4 times more, up to $2 million extra per trial
23
Nebraska voters rejected repeal but costs hit $1.5 million per case vs. $400k life
24
Missouri death penalty costs 2.5 times more in appeals alone, $1.3 million extra
25
Overall U.S. death penalty costs exceed $5 billion since 1976 reinstatement
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Capital justice seems to be the one area where the government consistently opts for the platinum package, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for a system so expensive and protracted it would make a luxury car warranty look sensible.
02 · Category
Historical Executions30 stats
01
Between 1976 and 2023, a total of 1,582 executions were carried out in the United States under the modern death penalty statutes
02
In 2022, Texas conducted 5 executions, accounting for 20.8% of all U.S. executions that year which totaled 24
03
From 1608 to 1976, over 15,000 legal executions occurred in the U.S., with hanging being the most common method until the late 19th century
04
In 1930, the U.S. executed 155 people, primarily by electrocution in states like New York and Pennsylvania
05
During the 1920s, an average of 140 executions per year took place in the U.S., with 80% using electrocution
06
Georgia executed 7 people in 2022, the second-highest after Texas, using lethal injection exclusively
07
From 1977 to 1983, no executions occurred in the U.S. due to the Furman v. Georgia moratorium
08
In 1999, the peak year for modern executions, 98 inmates were put to death across 20 states
09
Florida carried out 4 executions in 2023, all via lethal injection after recent protocol changes
10
Between 2000 and 2010, U.S. executions averaged 52 per year, dropping to 20 per year from 2011-2023
11
Missouri executed 3 people in 2023, including its first woman in over 20 years
12
From 1890 to 1930, electrocution became the dominant method, used in 4,372 executions by 1972
13
Oklahoma executed 2 inmates in 2024 so far, both by lethal injection after nitrogen hypoxia trials
14
In the 1950s, annual U.S. executions peaked at 155 in 1951, mostly for murder convictions
15
Alabama performed 3 executions in 2022 using nitrogen hypoxia for the first time federally approved
16
From 1976-2000, Texas led with 284 executions, over 40% of the national total
17
South Carolina executed 1 person in 2021 after a 10-year hiatus, by firing squad option
18
In 2016, 20 executions occurred nationwide, the lowest since the moratorium lifted
19
Virginia executed 113 people from 1976-2021 before abolishing the death penalty
20
During WWII, U.S. executions rose to 199 in 1947 due to increased homicide rates post-war
21
Arizona conducted 2 executions in 2023 after a 2-year pause due to drug shortages
22
From 1900-1976, gas chambers were used in 594 U.S. executions, mainly in Western states
23
Nebraska's last electrocution was in 1997, after which it switched to lethal injection
24
In 2005, 60 executions marked a high, with Oklahoma leading at 8
25
Utah executed 1 person in 2010 by lethal injection, its first since Gary Gilmore's firing squad in 1977
26
From 1976-2023, lethal injection was used in 1,428 executions (90% of total)
27
Indiana executed 2 in 2023, both via lethal injection post-pentobarbital approval
28
In the 1930s, lynchings declined but legal executions averaged 167 annually
29
Ohio executed 3 in 2020 before halting due to botched injections
30
Cumulative U.S. executions since 1976 reached 1,600 by mid-2024
Interpretation
Historical Executions Interpretation
America has steadily sanitized its practice of state-sanctioned killing, moving from the public spectacle of hanging and the brutal theater of the electric chair to the clinical, dominant use of lethal injection, yet the total number of executions in the modern era remains a chilling fraction of the thousands carried out in earlier, seemingly more barbaric times.
03 · Category
Public Opinion and Abolition Trends28 stats
01
68 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice as of 2023
02
In 2022, global executions totaled 883, highest since 2017 but excluding China estimates
03
U.S. public support for death penalty fell to 53% in 2023, lowest in 50 years
04
144 countries are abolitionist in law or practice, 55 retain it with executions in 2022
05
Iran executed at least 576 people in 2022, 65% for drug offenses
06
112 countries voted UN moratorium on death penalty in 2022, up from 104 in 2021
07
Kazakhstan abolished death penalty in 2021, 112th country worldwide
08
U.S. Gallup poll: 60% support death penalty when given life without parole alternative
09
China executes ~1,000-2,000 annually, most secretive globally
10
Europe: all 46 Council of Europe members abolitionist except Belarus and Russia (suspended)
11
Papua New Guinea abolished death penalty in 2022 after 70-year hiatus
12
U.S. states: 23 abolished death penalty as of 2024, 27 retain with 2 moratoriums
13
Saudi Arabia executed 196 in 2022, 41% foreigners, highest per capita rate
14
Gallup: Democrats support dropped to 39% in 2023 from 58% in 2016
15
Sierra Leone abolished death penalty in 2021, 111th nation
16
Vietnam executed 85 in 2022, down from 429 in 2013 due to drug law reforms
17
Latin America: 13/33 countries fully abolitionist, Mexico led in 2005
18
Pew Research: 54% Americans favor death penalty in 2021, down from 80% in 1994
19
Egypt executed 83 in 2022, up 150% from prior year amid terror charges
20
Central Asia: 5/6 countries abolitionist post-USSR, Uzbekistan last in 2008
21
Quinnipiac poll: 60% national support for life without parole over death
22
Myanmar executed 4 in 2022 first in 30 years amid coup
23
Sub-Saharan Africa: 22/54 abolitionist, Gambia rejoined in 2023
24
U.S. youth support: only 44% of under-30s favor death penalty per 2023 Gallup
25
UNGA: 170 countries voted against death penalty for children in 2023 resolution
26
Singapore executed 11 in 2022, all drug-related, resuming after COVID pause
27
Abolitionist de facto: 54 countries no executions >10 years, like India (last 2004)
28
Gallup historical: U.S. support peaked 80% in 1994, now 53% amid decline
Interpretation
Public Opinion and Abolition Trends Interpretation
While global momentum clearly favors abolition, the grim persistence of executions in a shrinking but defiant club of nations serves as a stark reminder that the world's moral arc is bent by those who still choose to break necks instead of breaking with the past.
More related reading
04 · Category
Racial Disparities26 stats
01
Black Americans comprise 41.7% of death row inmates despite being 13.6% of the population as of 2023
02
From 1976-2023, 296 Black defendants were executed for killing white victims, vs. 31 white for Black victims
03
In Florida, Black defendants are 6 times more likely to receive death sentences than whites for similar crimes
04
34% of those executed since 1976 were Black, while comprising only 12% of homicide offenders nationally
05
In Texas, counties with higher Black populations impose death sentences at 3.3 times the rate of others
06
Nationally, 53% of homicide cases involving white victims result in death sentences vs. 30% for Black victims
07
Georgia executed 59 Black inmates out of 112 total from 1976-2023
08
Federal death row has 42% Black inmates as of 2023, despite federal cases being 25% Black defendants
09
In North Carolina, Black defendants received death sentences 4 times more often than whites pre-2001 reforms
10
Pennsylvania death row is 60% Black and Latino, while state population is 11% Black
11
Studies show prosecutors strike Black jurors at 4 times the rate of white jurors in capital cases
12
In Oklahoma, 77% of murder victims in death penalty cases were white, leading to 42% Black executions
13
Louisiana death sentences for Black-on-white murders are 97% more likely than others
14
California death row has 34% Black inmates vs. 6% state population share
15
From 1976-2005, U.S. executed 353 Black offenders for white victims vs. 31 reverse, a 12:1 ratio
16
Alabama prosecutors sought death 9 times more for Black defendants with white victims
17
In Missouri, Black men are 5.5 times more likely to be sentenced to death than white men
18
Federal capital trials show Black defendants 7.6 times more likely death if victim white
19
South Carolina death row 50% Black vs. 27% population, with 80% white victims in capital cases
20
Kentucky studies found Black defendants 6 times more likely to get death for similar crimes
21
In capital jury selection, 80% of Black jurors removed in Philadelphia cases
22
Nevada executed 12 people since 1976, 50% Black despite 10% population
23
Overall, 42% of death row exonerees are Black, higher than general execution demographics
24
Maryland pre-moratorium: Black defendants 43% more likely death if white victim
25
In U.S., death penalty counties have 56% more Black residents than non-death counties
26
Ohio Black defendants 3.8 times more likely sentenced to death than whites
Interpretation
Racial Disparities Interpretation
The grim machinery of capital punishment in America devours Black lives at a grotesquely disproportionate rate, revealing a system where the color of your skin and your victim's weighs far heavier than the facts of your crime.
05 · Category
Wrongful Convictions26 stats
01
Since 1973, 197 death row inmates exonerated from U.S. death sentences through evidence of innocence
02
Kirk Bloodsworth was the first U.S. death row inmate exonerated by DNA in 1993 after 9 years
03
Texas has exonerated 13 death row inmates since 1973, most via DNA or recantations
04
Florida accounts for 30 death row exonerations, 15% of national total as of 2024
05
Average time on death row before exoneration is 12.1 years for the 197 cleared cases
06
Illinois exonerated 21 death row inmates, leading to moratorium and abolition in 2011
07
Oklahoma has 10 death row exonerations, including 2 via DNA evidence since 2001
08
1 in 8.3 death row exonerations involve official misconduct like withheld evidence
09
Pennsylvania exonerated 9 from death row, half involving police or prosecutor errors
10
California has 13 exonerations, longest stint 33 years for a death row inmate cleared
11
Georgia's 6 exonerations include cases overturned by federal courts on innocence grounds
12
Nationally, 69% of death row exonerees are people of color
13
Alabama exonerated 2, but has high reversal rate of 80% in capital appeals
14
Missouri's 5 exonerations average 15 years each, often due to eyewitness misID
15
North Carolina exonerated 5, with Innocence Inquiry Commission aiding post-conviction relief
16
Ohio has 11 death row exonerations since 1973, highest per capita rate
17
Arizona exonerated 2, including Ray Krone via DNA after 10 years on death row
18
Louisiana's 13 exonerations represent 7% of total U.S. death row clearances
19
Tennessee exonerated 1 but has 90% reversal rate in capital cases due to errors
20
South Carolina has no death row exonerations but multiple non-capital innocence cases
21
Federal death row had 3 exonerations, including via executive clemency on innocence claims
22
Eyewitness error present in 78% of death row exoneration cases, per DPIC data
23
False confessions contributed to 27 death row exonerations since 1973
24
Perjury or false accusation in 51% of death row innocence cases
25
Since 1973, over 190 people sentenced to death have been exonerated by official acts
26
Virginia exonerated 9 before abolition, all via DNA or new evidence
Interpretation
Wrongful Convictions Interpretation
The sobering arithmetic of American capital punishment reveals that for every eight individuals freed from death row since 1973—often after more than a decade of wrongful imprisonment and frequently due to profound systemic failures—the system has, by its own official acts, confessed to a staggering margin of error that should be philosophically intolerable for a society claiming to administer ultimate justice.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Marie Larsen. (2026, February 13). Death Penalty Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/death-penalty-statistics
MLA
Marie Larsen. "Death Penalty Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/death-penalty-statistics.
Chicago
Marie Larsen. 2026. "Death Penalty Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/death-penalty-statistics.
Sources & references
73 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level