Currently, the death penalty, also known as the death penalty or execution, is legal in 27 states of the American Union. In addition, this is also allowed by the federal government and the U.S. military. In 2010, 39 prisoners were executed in the United States[5] and 3108 on death row[6], an execution rate of less than 15%. States like Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Ohio and Arizona frequently execute murderers. Texas carried out the highest number of executions and Oklahoma has the highest per capita execution rate. [7] In 2014, 80% of executions were concentrated in the states of Texas, Missouri and Florida. Read more: Court upholds death penalty for massacre in South Carolina On the other hand, those who are part of the military — and are therefore subject to a separate system of laws and procedures — can sometimes be punished with this punishment, even though it has rarely been used outside of wartime. In the past, the death penalty has been widely used in rape cases, especially from black to white victims, the institution explains.
A May 2006 Gallup poll that examined the opinion of the American people on the death penalty found that only 47 percent of respondents chose the death penalty if they had the opportunity to live without parole and the death penalty. This is the lowest percentage in two decades. 48% were in favour of granting people convicted of murder a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The survey also found that overall support for the death penalty remains below 65%. This is much less than in 1994, when 80% of the population supported the death penalty. In addition to the District of Columbia, these are the states and the respective years in which they abolished the death penalty: Alaska (1957), Colorado (2020), Connecticut (2012), Delaware (2016), Hawaii (1957), Illinois (2011), Iowa (1965), Maine (1887), Maryland (2013), Massachusetts (1984), Michigan (1847), Minnesota (1911), New Hampshire (2019), New Jersey (2007), New Mexico (2009), New York (2007), North Dakota (1973), Rhode Island (1984), Vermont (1972), Virginia (2021), Washington (2018), West Virginia (1965) and Wisconsin (1853). Even federal law stipulates that in the event of the execution of a prisoner convicted by the federal courts, the mode of execution of the state in whose territory the crime was committed applies. But if the death penalty does not exist in that state, the federal judge may choose the method used by each of the other states where the death penalty exists; It is clear that federal law takes precedence over state law over crimes that fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government, since the absence of the death penalty in a state where a punishable federal crime has been committed only compels the judge to choose the method of execution in the case. There have been no public executions in the United States since 1936; Since this year, the states and the federal federation have passed laws prohibiting executions unless there is at least one wall in between that separates execution from the public. However, since this year and to date, in some exceptional cases, up to 400 witnesses have been accredited to witness the execution in closed prisons. There are movements in the United States that oppose the death penalty.
She agreed to the murder of three of her partners and sentenced them to death. At the federal level, there are such laws for crimes of espionage, treason, and trafficking in large amounts of drugs, although, as in the case of the state, no one is on death row for these crimes. In the 27 states that still apply the death penalty, lethal injection is by far the most common method. But many pharmaceutical companies refuse to provide the drugs they need, which has led states to approve deaths that can be much less humane. To date, 108 States have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, seven have abolished it for ordinary crimes and 29 maintain a moratorium on executions, for a total of 144 States. However, the death penalty continues to be applied in 55 states and territories. This was the case in South Carolina, where a law was passed in May requiring death row inmates to choose between execution on an electric chair or by firing squad. You can only choose a lethal injection “if it is available at the time of the election” and is not available at this time. Electric shocks are carried out in eight states and gas chambers are allowed in seven. Three states – Delaware, New Hampshire and Washington – still allow hanging. Four states, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah and South Carolina, allow death by firing squad. Virginia, the first former Confederate state in the United States to abolish the death penalty Nebraska abolished the death penalty in 2015, but was reinstated by a state vote in 2016.