As 2006 draws to a close, most exe­cu­tions in ten states are effec­tive­ly on hold as aspects of their cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment laws are exam­ined. Two states, Illinois and New Jersey, have a for­mal mora­to­ri­um on all exe­cu­tions while the via­bil­i­ty of the death penal­ty is con­sid­ered. In eight oth­er states, almost all exe­cu­tions are being stayed as the states grap­ple with the lethal injec­tion issue. Those states are Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, and South Dakota. In these states, indi­vid­ual exe­cu­tions have been stayed and it is like­ly that only inmates who waive their appeals could be exe­cut­ed until offi­cials approve the lethal injec­tion process. In addi­tion, New York​’s death penal­ty law was declared uncon­sti­tu­tion­al in 2004 and New Hampshire has no one on death row, mak­ing exe­cu­tions unlike­ly in those places, as well.

Seventy-two per­cent of the states in the U.S. had no exe­cu­tions in 2006. Only 14 of the 38 states with the death penal­ty car­ried out any exe­cu­tions, and only 6 states con­duct­ed more than 1 exe­cu­tion this year. The num­ber of exe­cu­tions in 2006 was 12% less than in 2005 and 46% less than in 1999. Preliminary indi­ca­tions are that the num­ber of death sen­tences in 2006 will be the low­est since the death penal­ty was rein­stat­ed 30 years ago.
(DPIC analy­sis, Dec. 29, 2006). See DPIC’s 2006 Year End Report and DPIC’s Lethal Injection page.

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