NEW RESOURCES: Most Recent DEATH ROW USA Report Now Available

The lat­est edi­tion of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund​’s ​“Death Row USA” shows that the num­ber of peo­ple on death row in the United States is con­tin­u­ing to slow­ly decline, falling to 3,242 as of October 1, 2010. In 2000, there were 3,682 inmates on death row. Nationally, the racial com­po­si­tion of those on death row is 44% white, 42% black, and 12% Latino/​Latina. California con­tin­ues to have the largest death row pop­u­la­tion (714), fol­lowed by Florida (394) and Texas (322). Pennsylvania (220) and Alabama (204) com­plete the list of the states with the five largest death rows in the coun­try. California and Pennsylvania have not car­ried out an exe­cu­ti­ion in over five years. Death Row USA is pub­lished quar­ter­ly by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The report con­tains the lat­est death row pop­u­la­tion fig­ures, exe­cu­tion sta­tis­tics, and an overview of recent legal devel­op­ments relat­ed to capital punishment.

(NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ​“Death Row USA,” October 1, 2010, post­ed June 30, 2011). See also Death Row and Studies.