Death Penalty on Hold in Most of the Country

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.

THE DEATH PENALTY ON HOLD

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

(Posted by DPIC, July 24, 2014; revised July 30, 2014). See Lethal Injection, Death Penalty in Flux, and States with and with­out the death penal­ty.