Updated Espy File

TONIGHT, September 4,
on HDNet at 8 p.m.
DAN RATHER REPORTS
 EXAMINES CASES
OF INNOCENCE
  UPDATED EXECUTION DATABASE OFFERS UNIQUE GLIMPSE INTO U.S. DEATH PENALTY HISTORY
An updated version of the "Espy File," a database of executions in the United States and the earlier colonies from 1608 to 2002, is now available on DPIC's Web site. This resource provides detailed information about each of the 15,269 executions recorded during this time period and offers a unique glimpse into the history of the death penalty in the U.S.
Overall Leading Execution States
Overall, from 1608 to the present, the leading executions states in the United States have been Virginia (1,375), Texas (1,152), New York (1,130), Pennsylvania (1,043), and Georgia (990).

1608 - 1972 Leading Execution States
From 1608 - 1972, when the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Furman v. Georgia effectively voided 40 death penalty statutes and suspended the death penalty in the U.S., Virginia (1,277), New York (1,130), Pennsylvania (1,040), Georgia (950), and North Carolina (784) led the nation in number of executions.

1976 - Present Leading Execution States After the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, executions resumed, but the geography of the nation's leading execution states shifted. During the past three decades, New York has not carried out an execution, and Pennsylvania has had just three executions. Texas (399), Virginia (98), Oklahoma (85), Missouri (66), and Florida (64) have led the nation in number of executions since 1976.

In addition to the number of executions carried out in the U.S., the Espy File also provides an interesting look into the methods of execution that have been used in the U.S. Since the first execution in 1608 by shooting, the country has used nearly a dozen different execution methods. Among those methods are the more commonly known methods of hanging (9,324), electrocution (4,484), lethal injection (620), gas (593), and firing squad (142). Others executed during the past 400 years have been killed by bludgeoning (2), broken on a wheel (12), burned (66), and pressed with stones (1).

The Espy File database contains the name, age, and race of each person execution, as well as details such as the date of the execution and what method of execution was used. Users can also search the database to find all of the executions that have taken place in a specific jurisdiction. DPIC has adapted this information for easier use and has sorted the list in separate files by state, year, and name of the defendant.
See DPIC's Web Page on The Espy File.
Post-1976 execution numbers come from DPIC's Execution Database