Executions in US at lowest level since 1991 and death sentences fall

The number of people executed in the United States this year dropped to the lowest level since 1991, as states impose fewer death sentences and defendants in capital cases get access to better legal help. The Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit organisation that opposes capital punishment and tracks the issue, said 28 inmates were executed as of Dec. 15, down from 35 last year and far below the peak of 98 in 1999. Another 49 criminal defendants received death sentences this year, down 33 per cent from 2014 and the lowest number since the early 1970s.

What we’re seeing is the cumulative effect of falling public support for the death penalty.

Robert Dunham

The numbers reflect a steady decline in death sentences over the past 15 years and a broad shift in public attitudes that has made capital punishment increasingly rare, said Robert Dunham, the group’s executive director. About 61 percent of Americans support the death penalty in murder cases, according to a Gallup poll in October, but that share has inched downward while opposition has crept up. While capital punishment remains legal in 31 states, only six states accounted for all the executions this year — Florida, Missouri, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. That’s the fewest since 1988.

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