Sentencing Data

Death Sentencing Rates

Death Sentencing Rate by State

The Death Sentencing Rate is the ratio of death sentences in a state between 1977 and 1999, and the number of murders in that state during approximately the same period.

State	Death Sentence Rate	Number of Death Sentences, 1977-99	Murders With Known Offenders, 1976-98
Nevada	0.060	124	2,072
Oklahoma	0.051	257	5,020
Delaware	0.048	30	626
Idaho	0.047	36	773
Arizona	0.043	213	5,007
Alabama	0.038	311	8,190
Mississippi	0.035	144	4,122
Florida	0.034	735	21,837
Ohio	0.028	285	10,142
North Carolina	0.026	327	12,463
Pennsylvania	0.024	316	13,095
Missouri	0.024	158	6,679
Nebraska	0.023	19	831
Georgia	0.022	243	10,912
Oregon	0.022	46	2,132
National Average	0.022
Texas	0.020	776	37,879
Tennessee	0.020	156	7,690
Arkansas	0.020	90	4,523
Illinois	0.019	274	14,710
Utah	0.018	19	1,080
South Carolina	0.016	138	8,451
Indiana	0.016	84	5,289
Louisiana	0.016	158	10,146
Kentucky	0.014	68	4,863
California	0.013	652	49,943
Virginia	0.013	119	9,235
New Jersey	0.010	48	4,710
Washington	0.009	34	3,628
New Mexico	0.008	12	1,480
Maryland	0.007	47	6,606
Colorado	0.004	13	3,256

NOTE: Data are for the 31 states with more than 10 death row enrollees from 1977 through 1999. Death row data are based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics capital punishment data. Murder data are based on the FBI’s Supplemental Homicide Reports for 1976–1998, except for a later starting year for three states, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Oregon, in which post-Furman death penalties became effective after 1977. The death sentence rate is the number of death sentences divided by the number of murders with a known offender.

SOURCE: John Blume, Theodore Eisenberg, and Martin T. Wells, “Explaining Death Row’s Population and Racial Composition,” Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Volume 1, Issue 1, 165-207, March 2004

Death Sentences Per Capita by State

State	Population as of 2010	Cumulative Death Sentences 1977 through 2013	Death Sentences per Capita (x 10,000)
1. Alabama	4,779,736	457	0.956
2. Oklahoma	3,751,351	309	0.823
3. Mississippi	2,967,297	174	0.586
4. Nevada	2,700,551	151	0.559
5. Delaware*	897,934	47	0.523
6. Florida	18,801,310	941	0.500
7. Arizona	6,392,017	303	0.474
8. North Carolina	9,687,653	447	0.461
9. South Carolina	4,625,364	194	0.419
10. Arkansas	2,915,918	118	0.404
11. Texas	25,145,561	958	0.380
12. Louisiana	4,533,372	161	0.355
13. Missouri	5,988,927	197	0.328
14. Pennsylvania	12,702,379	375	0.295
15. Ohio	11,536,504	331	0.286
16. Tennessee	6,346,105	174	0.274
17. Idaho	1,567,582	42	0.267
18. California	37,253,956	922	0.247
19. Georgia	9,687,653	234	0.241
20. Illinois*	12,830,632	304	0.236
21. Kentucky	4,339,367	85	0.195
22. Oregon	3,831,074	75	0.195
23. Virginia	8,001,024	151	0.188
24. Nebraska	1,826,341	28	0.153
25. Indiana	6,483,802	98	0.151
26. Wyoming	563,626	7	0.124
27. South Dakota	814,180	9	0.110
28. Montana	989,415	10	0.101
29. Maryland*	5,773,552	53	0.091
30. Utah	2,763,885	19	0.068
31. New Mexico*	2,059,179	14	0.067
32. New Jersey*	8,791,894	57	0.064
33. Washington*	6,724,540	39	0.057
34. Connecticut*	3,574,097	16	0.044
35. Kansas**	2,853,118	12	0.042
36. Colorado	5,029,196	15	0.029
37. New Hampshire	1,316,470	1	0.007
38. New York*†	19,378,102	8	0.004

Population based on US Census Bureau 2010 Population Estimates

Death Sentences from Bureau of Justice Statistics, Capital Punishment Annual Reports

* States that have abolished the Death Penalty

**Kansas reinstated Death Penalty in 1994

† New York reinstated Death Penalty in 1995