Overview
The primary means of execution in the U.S. have been hanging, electrocution, the gas chamber, firing squad, and lethal injection. The Supreme Court has never found a method of execution to be unconstitutional, though some methods have been declared unconstitutional by state courts. The predominance of lethal injection as the preferred means of execution in all states in the modern era may have put off any judgment by the Court regarding older methods.
Because of a resistance by drug manufacturers to provide the drugs typically used in lethal injections, some states now allow the use of alternative methods if lethal injection cannot be performed. Controversies surrounding the method to be used have delayed executions in many states, contributing to an overall decline in the use of the death penalty.
Authorized Methods
NOTE: [Brackets] around a state indicate that the state authorizes the listed method as an alternative method if other methods are found to be unconstitutional or are unavailable/impractical. Click on the state to obtain specific information about the methods authorized.
| Method | # of executions by method since 1976 | # of states authorizing method | Jurisdictions that Authorize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lethal Injection | 1421 | 28 states+ and U.S. Military and U.S. Gov’t In South Carolina, lethal injection may be elected as an alternative method, if available. +includes 1 state that no longer have an active death penalty | Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida^, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire*, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, [South Carolina], South Dakota, Tennessee^, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, U.S. Military, U.S. Government *New Hampshire abolished the death penalty but the repeal may not apply retroactively, leaving a prisoner on death row facing possible execution. To find the drug protocols used by states, see State-by-State Lethal Injection. |
| Electrocution | 163 | 8 states (in South Carolina, electrocution is the default method; the other 7 have lethal injection as default method). | [Alabama], [Arkansas], Florida, Kentucky, [Louisiana], [Mississippi], [Oklahoma], South Carolina, [Tennessee] The supreme courts of Georgia (2001) and Nebraska (2008) have ruled that the use of the electric chair violates their state constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. Virginia had authorized the electric chair as a method of execution in some cases, but it repealed the death penalty in March 2021. |
| Lethal Gas | 13 | 8 states (all have lethal injection as default method) | [Alabama], Arizona, California, [Louisiana], [Mississippi], Missouri, [Oklahoma], [Wyoming] Four states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma) specifically authorize execution by nitrogen hypoxia, though only Alabama has issued a protocol for its use. Alabama is the only state that has performed an execution by nitrogen hypoxia. The other states listed authorize “lethal gas,” but do not specify what type of gas would be used. |
| Firing Squad | 3 | 5 states (in South Carolina, electrocution is the default method; the other states have lethal injection as primary method) | [Mississippi], [Oklahoma], [Utah], [South Carolina], [Idaho] |
^Both Florida and Tennessee explicitly authorize lethal injection and electrocution, but state that, if those methods are found unconstitutional, prisoners may be executed by any constitutional method of execution.
News & Developments
News
Nov 07, 2024
Idaho: Federal Judge Grants Stay of Execution for Thomas Creech; Defense Asks Court to Bar Death Penalty for Bryan Kohberger
After surviving a botched execution attempt in February, Thomas Creech was scheduled for execution a second time on November 13 in Idaho. On Wednesday, November 6, a federal district court issued a stay of execution to allow more time to consider Mr. Creech’s legal claims. The Idaho Department of Corrections announced that “execution preparations have been suspended” and the execution warrant will…
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Oct 31, 2024
Kentucky Supreme Court Denies Attorney General’s Request to Remove Injunction on Executions
On October 24, 2024, the Kentucky Supreme Court denied a request by the Attorney General and the Kentucky Department of Corrections (KDOC) to remove an injunction currently prohibiting executions in Kentucky. In 2010, a Franklin County Circuit judge ordered a temporary injunction of all executions due to concerns regarding numerous aspects of Kentucky’s execution protocol, including concerns about the mental status and intellectual disability status of death row prisoners and the state’s…
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News
Oct 17, 2024
Idaho Amends Lethal Injection Execution Protocol and Sets Second Execution Date for Thomas Creech
On October 15, 2024, the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) amended its execution protocol and facilities to enable staff to place a central intravenous line, if necessary, to deliver lethal injection drugs to a prisoner. IDOC now has a new execution preparation room in which venous access would be established prior to transferring the prisoner to the execution chamber. This change, and accompanying prison renovations this past summer, came after the February 28, 2024 failed execution of…
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News
Sep 10, 2024
Idaho Court Dismisses Longest-Serving Death Row Prisoner’s Post-Conviction Claim Against a Second Execution Attempt
On September 5, 2024, Idaho’s Fourth Judicial District Court dismissed death-sentenced prisoner Thomas Creech’s post-conviction claim, which sought to prevent a second execution attempt on the grounds that it would violate the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause, Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and equivalent state constitutional provisions. The state’s first attempt to execute Mr. Creech on February 28, 2024 was halted because correctional staff…
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News
Sep 03, 2024
Articles of Interest: The New York Times Editorial Board Argues United States “Does Not Need the Death Penalty”
In an August 31, 2024, editorial from The New York Times, the newspaper’s editorial board writes that capital punishment is “immoral, unconstitutional and useless as a deterrent to crime,” and asserts that President Joseph Biden should follow through with his campaign pledge to end the federal death penalty. The Times believes “it would be an appropriate and humane finale to his presidency for Mr. Biden to fulfill that pledge and try to eliminate the death penalty for federal…
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