State Summaries

In addi­tion, the U.S. Government and the U.S. Military retain the death penalty.

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Wyoming

In addi­tion, the District of Columbia has abol­ished the death penal­ty. For more infor­ma­tion about Connecticut, Delaware, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, see the notes below.

• 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)
• Wisconsin (1853)

In addi­tion, the U.S. Government has declared a mora­to­ri­um on executions.

• California (2019)
• Oregon (2011)
• Pennsylvania (2015)

In 1979, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island held that the state’s statute impos­ing a manda­to­ry death sen­tence for an inmate who killed a fel­low pris­on­er was uncon­sti­tu­tion­al. The leg­is­la­ture repealed the law and removed it from the state crim­i­nal code in 1984.

In 2004, the New York Court of Appeals held that a por­tion of the state’s death penal­ty law was uncon­sti­tu­tion­al. In 2007, the court ruled that its pri­or hold­ing applied to the last remain­ing per­son on the state’s death row. The leg­is­la­ture has vot­ed down attempts to restore the statute.

In March 2009, New Mexico vot­ed to abol­ish the death penal­ty. However, the repeal was not retroac­tive, leav­ing two peo­ple on the state’s death row. The New Mexico Supreme Court vacat­ed those sen­tences on June 28, 2019 and ordered the two pris­on­ers be resen­tenced to life in prison.

In April 2012, the Connecticut leg­is­la­ture vot­ed to abol­ish the death penal­ty for future crimes. By its terms, the repeal law did not affect the sta­tus of the 11 pris­on­ers then on the state’s death row. The Connecticut Supreme Court sub­se­quent­ly ruled in August 2015 that the death penal­ty vio­lat­ed the state con­sti­tu­tion. The Court reaf­firmed that hold­ing in May 2016 and reit­er­at­ed that the state’s remain­ing death row pris­on­ers must be resen­tenced to life with­out pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole.

On August 2, 2016, the Delaware Supreme Court held that the state’s cap­i­tal sen­tenc­ing pro­ce­dures were uncon­sti­tu­tion­al and struck down Delaware’s death penal­ty statute. On August 15, 2016, the Delaware Attorney General’s office announced that it would seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the deci­sion. In December 2016, the court ruled that its deci­sion applied to the 13 remain­ing pris­on­ers on the state’s death row.

On October 11, 2018, the Washington Supreme Court declared the state’s death penal­ty statute uncon­sti­tu­tion­al, say­ing that it was applied in an arbi­trary and racial­ly discriminatory manner.

In May 2019, the New Hampshire leg­is­la­ture vot­ed to abol­ish the death penal­ty. However, the repeal was not retroac­tive, leav­ing one per­son on the state’s death row.