The num­ber of peo­ple sen­tenced to death each year in California has declined by near­ly 40% since the 1990s. According to the California Department of Corrections, on aver­age, the state sent 35 peo­ple to death row each year dur­ing the 1990s. Since 2000, that num­ber has declined to an aver­age of 21 annu­al­ly. California has the largest death row in the coun­try.

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George attrib­uted some of the decline to more selec­tive charg­ing by dis­trict attor­neys and to the fact that juries may be ​“exer­cis­ing some dis­cre­tion about impos­ing the death penal­ty.” George Williamson, co-chair of the Capital Case Litigation Committee, agreed that a shift in juror atti­tudes has con­tributed to the steep decline in death sen­tences. ​“Jury atti­tudes have helped dri­ve (the sen­tenc­ing) num­ber down. When we (pick juries), it’s very clear that the num­ber of peo­ple who have prob­lems with the death pen­laty has increased pret­ty sig­nif­i­cant­ly than what we saw in the 1980s and 1990s,” Williamson said. (Sacramento Bee, February 18, 2006). 

See New Voices, Sentencing and Life Without Parole. See also, DPIC’s report on cap­i­tal jurors, ​“Blind Justice.”

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