---
title: 'Death Penalty on Hold in Most of the Country'
description: 'Thirty-six states have either abolished the death penalty, have executions on hold, or have not carried out an execution in at least 5 years. Recently…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-on-hold-in-most-of-the-country'
section: news
date: '2014-07-25T15:00:32-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:22:52-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

! **Thirty-six states** have either abolished the death penalty, have executions on hold, or have not carried out an execution in at least 5 years. Recently, three states, **Arizona**, **Ohio**, and **Oklahoma**, temporarily halted executions as reviews are conducted of botched executions. In six states, **Arkansas**, **California**, **Kentucky**, **Louisiana, Montana,** and **North Carolina**, a de facto moratorium on executions is in place because of lethal-injection challenges; most of those states have not had an execution since 2008. **Colorado**, **Oregon**, and **Washington** have formal moratoriums on executions imposed by their governors. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty. In 6 additional states, while no formal hold is in place, no execution has been conducted in at least five years. The U.S. military and federal government also authorize the death penalty, but neither has had an execution in over ten years. ***Click image at left to see enlarged chart with further details.***

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 THE DEATH PENALTY ON HOLD
--------------------------

 | ###  **State** | ###  **Reason for Hold** |
|---|---|
| **Alaska** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Arizona** | Temporary hold after **[botched execution of Joseph Wood](/node/5828)** |
| **Arkansas** | **[Lethal injection challenges in court](/death-penalty-flux)** |
| **California** | **[Lethal injection challenges in court](/death-penalty-flux)**; also a [**federal judge**](/node/5821) has declared state's death penalty unconstitutional |
| **Colorado** | **[Governor imposed moratorium](/colorado-governor-indefinitely-stays-execution-over-concerns-about-flawed-system)** |
| **Connecticut** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Hawaii** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Illinois** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Iowa** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Kentucky** | **[Lethal injection challenges in court](/death-penalty-flux)** |
| **Louisiana** | **[Lethal injection challenges in court](/death-penalty-flux)** |
| **Maine** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Maryland** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Massachusetts** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Michigan** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Minnesota** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Montana** | **[Lethal injection challenges in court](/death-penalty-flux)** |
| **New Jersey** | Death penalty abolished |
| **New Mexico** | Death penalty abolished |
| **New York** | Death penalty abolished |
| **North Carolina** | **[Lethal injection challenges in court](/death-penalty-flux)** |
| **North Dakota** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Ohio** | 6-month hold after **[botched execution of Dennis McGuire](/problems-arise-ohio-tries-new-execution-procedure)** |
| **Oklahoma** | 6-month hold after **[botched execution of Clayton Lockett](/node/5760)** |
| **Oregon** | **[Governor imposed moratorium](/oregon-governor-declares-moratorium-all-executions)** |
| **Rhode Island** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Vermont** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Washington** | **[Governor imposed moratorium](/washington-governor-announces-moratorium-executions)** |
| **West Virginia** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Wisconsin** | Death penalty abolished |
| **District of Columbia** | Death penalty abolished |
| **Federal government** | **[Lethal injection challenges in court](/death-penalty-flux)** |

 **Jurisdictions with no formal hold, but no executions in over 5 years**

 | ###  **State** | ###  **Date of last execution** |
|---|---|
| **Kansas** | June 22, 1965 |
| **Nebraska** | December 2, 1997 |
| **Nevada** | April 26, 2006 |
| **New Hampshire** | July 14, 1939 |
| **Pennsylvania** | July 5, 1999 |
| **Wyoming** | January 22, 1992 |
| **U.S. Military** | April 13, 1961 |

(Posted by DPIC, July 24, 2014; revised July 30, 2014). See [**Lethal Injection**](/lethal-injection), [**Death Penalty in Flux**](/death-penalty-flux), and **[States with and without the death penalty](/states-and-without-death-penalty)**.