2021 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County

Eighteen new death sentences were imposed across the United States in 2021, matching 2020’s total as the fewest in any year since the Supreme Court struck down all existing death-penalty statutes in 1972.

Seven states imposed death sentences in 2021. Oklahoma and Alabama each handed down four new sentences; California and Texas each imposed three. Florida imposed two; and Nebraska and Tennessee imposed one death sentence each. Alabama’s disproportionately high number of death sentences was skewed by its outlier sentencing practices. No Alabama jury unanimously voted for death, but Alabama — alone among the states —permits judges to impose the death penalty based upon a non-unanimous jury recommendation. Three death sentences were imposed following non-unanimous jury votes. In the fourth case, the defendant waived his right to a sentencing jury.

Only two U.S. counties — Los Angeles County, California and Oklahoma County, Oklahoma — were responsible for more than a single death sentence. The two sentences imposed in Los Angeles both resulted from jury verdicts handed down before the county elected reform prosecutor George Gascón, who has pledged not to seek the death penalty. The final judicial sentencings in those cases had been delayed by the pandemic. One death sentence in Florida also was the result of pandemic-delayed court proceedings, after a jury recommended a death sentence in 2019.

Notably, there were no death sentences in many formerly heavy-use death-penalty counties, including Harris County, Texas; Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; and Duval County, Florida. The election of reform prosecutors in those and other counties across the country has contributed significantly to the continuing low number of new death sentences.

The majority (61.1%) of people sentenced to death in 2021 were either Black or Latinx. No white defendant was sentenced to death in trial proceedings that did not involve any white victim. Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma collectively accounted for 61.1% of the year’s new death sentences.

Defendants Sentenced to Death in 2021

First Name
Donnie
Last Name	Abernathy
State	AL
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	11/29/21
County	Cherokee
Race of Defendant	White
Number/Race of Victim(s)	3 White Females
Age at Crime	38
Non-Unanimous /Judge Sentencing	Jury waived /1‑judge sentence
Christopher
Last Name	Henderson
State	AL
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	10/13/21
County	Madison
Race of Defendant	White
Number/Race of Victim(s)	2 White Female; 2 White Males
Age at Crime	40
Non-Unanimous /Judge Sentencing	11 – 1 jury /1‑judge sentence
Michael
Middle Name	Anthony
Last Name	Powell
State	AL
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	5/24/21
County	Shelby
Race of Defendant	Black
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Female
Age at Crime	43
Non-Unanimous /Judge Sentencing	11 – 1 jury /1‑judge sentence
Michael
Middle Name	Dale
Last Name	Iervolino
State	AL
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	11/30/21
County	St. Clair County
Race of Defendant	Latinx
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Male
Age at Crime	32
Non-Unanimous /Judge Sentencing	10 – 2 jury /1‑judge sentence
Douglas
Middle Name	Jade
Last Name	Harris
State	CA
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	7/1/21
County	Los Angeles
Race of Defendant	Black
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 Latino Male, 2 Latina Females
Age at Crime	30
Michael
Last Name	Gargiulo
State	CA
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	7/16/21
County	Los Angeles
Race of Defendant	White
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Female, 1 Latina Female
Age at Crime	25
Adrian
Last Name	Ortiz
State	CA
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	2/26/21
County	Tulare
Race of Defendant	Latinx
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 Latino Male
Age at Crime	19
Billy
Last Name	Wells
State	FL
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	5/25/21
County	Bradford
Race of Defendant	White
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Male
Age at Crime	43
Reynald
Last Name	Figueroa Sanabria
State	FL
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	7/2/21
County	Pinellas
Race of Defendant	Latinx
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Female, 1 White Male
Age at Crime	41
Aubrey
Last Name	Trail
State	NE
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	6/9/21
County	Saline
Race of Defendant	White
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Female
Age at Crime	51
Non-Unanimous /Judge Sentencing	3‑judge panel
Joseph
Middle Name	Fidel
Last Name	Alliniece
State	OK
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	7/27/21
County	Cleveland
Race of Defendant	Black
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Female
Age at Crime	29
Daniel
Last Name	Vasquez
State	OK
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	11/5/21
County	McClain
Race of Defendant	Latinx
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 Black female
Age at Crime	33
Derrick
Last Name	Laday
State	OK
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	7/7/21
County	Oklahoma
Race of Defendant	Black
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 Black Male
Age at Crime	22
William
Last Name	Reece
State	OK
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	8/19/21
County	Oklahoma
Race of Defendant	White
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Female
Age at Crime	38
Steven
Last Name	Wiggins
State	TN
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	8/12/21
County	Dickson
Race of Defendant	White
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Male
Age at Crime	31
Otis
Last Name	McKane
State	TX
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	8/6/21
County	Bexar
Race of Defendant	Black
Number/Race of Victim(s)	1 White Male
Age at Crime	31
Tyrone
Middle Name	Jamaal
Last Name	Williams
State	TX
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	11/19/21
County	Hunt
Race of Defendant	Black
Number/Race of Victim(s)	2 White Females
Age at Crime	30
William
Middle Name	George
Last Name	Davis
State	TX
Date Sentence Formally Imposed	10/27/21
County	Smith
Race of Defendant	White
Number/Race of Victim(s)	4 White Males
Age at Crime	34

First Name	Middle Name	Last Name	State	Date Sentence Formally Imposed	County	Race of Defendant	Number/Race of Victim(s)	Age at Crime	Non-Unanimous /Judge Sentencing
Donnie		Abernathy	AL	11/29/21	Cherokee	White	3 White Females	38	Jury waived /1‑judge sentence
Christopher		Henderson	AL	10/13/21	Madison	White	2 White Female; 2 White Males	40	11 – 1 jury /1‑judge sentence
Michael	Anthony	Powell	AL	5/24/21	Shelby	Black	1 White Female	43	11 – 1 jury /1‑judge sentence
Michael	Dale	Iervolino	AL	11/30/21	St. Clair County	Latinx	1 White Male	32	10 – 2 jury /1‑judge sentence
Douglas	Jade	Harris	CA	7/1/21	Los Angeles	Black	1 Latino Male, 2 Latina Females	30
Michael		Gargiulo	CA	7/16/21	Los Angeles	White	1 White Female, 1 Latina Female	25
Adrian		Ortiz	CA	2/26/21	Tulare	Latinx	1 Latino Male	19
Billy		Wells	FL	5/25/21	Bradford	White	1 White Male	43
Reynald		Figueroa Sanabria	FL	7/2/21	Pinellas	Latinx	1 White Female, 1 White Male	41
Aubrey		Trail	NE	6/9/21	Saline	White	1 White Female	51	3‑judge panel
Joseph	Fidel	Alliniece	OK	7/27/21	Cleveland	Black	1 White Female	29
Daniel		Vasquez	OK	11/5/21	McClain	Latinx	1 Black female	33
Derrick		Laday	OK	7/7/21	Oklahoma	Black	1 Black Male	22
William		Reece	OK	8/19/21	Oklahoma	White	1 White Female	38
Steven		Wiggins	TN	8/12/21	Dickson	White	1 White Male	31
Otis		McKane	TX	8/6/21	Bexar	Black	1 White Male	31
Tyrone	Jamaal	Williams	TX	11/19/21	Hunt	Black	2 White Females	30
William	George	Davis	TX	10/27/21	Smith	White	4 White Males	34

Defendants Sentenced to Death in 2021

2021 Death Sentences by Race of Defendant and Victim

2021 Death Sentences by County

2021 Death Sentences by State

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2021 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County

Defendants Sentenced to Death in 2021

2021 Death Sentences by Race of Defendant and Victim

2021 Death Sentences by County

2021 Death Sentences by State

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