Recent Death Sentences By Name, Race, County, And Year

2017 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County

39 New Death Sentences were imposed in the U.S. in 2017. That is the second fewest number of new death sentences imposed in any year in the modern history of U.S. capital punishment, which dates back to 1972 when the Supreme Court declared the country’s death penalty laws unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia.

Fewer than one-tenth of 1% of counties in the U.S. accounted for more than 30% of all the death sentences imposed in the United States in 2017. Three outlier counties—Riverside, California; Clark County, Nevada, and Maricopa, Arizona—imposed 12 death sentences.


Defendants Sentenced to Death in 2017

FirstLastStateCountyRace

Ryan

Petersen

AL

Houston

W

Jamal

Jackson

AL

Mobile

B

Brad

Hunter Smith

AR

Cleveland

W

Samantha

Allen

AZ

Maricopa

W

John

Allen

AZ

Maricopa

W

Alan

Champagne

AZ

Maricopa

NA

Preston

Strong

AZ

Yuma

B

Darnell

Washington

CA

Contra Costa

B

Heraclio

Meza

CA

Los Angeles

L

Steven

Gordon

CA

Orange

W

Cherie

Rhoades

CA

Placer

NA

Raymond

Barrera

CA

Riverside

L

David

Contreras

CA

Riverside

L

Lorraine Alison

Hunter

CA

Riverside

B

Elias

Lopez

CA

Riverside

L

Johnny

Lopez

CA

Riverside

L

James

Ellis

CA

San Bernardino

B

Christopher

Cheary

CA

Tulare

W

Dylann

Roof

Federal

South Carolina

W

Mesac

Demas

FL

Collier

B

Shawn

Rogers

FL

Santa Rosa

B

Sean

Bush

FL

St. Johns

B

Jonathan

Renfro

ID

Kootenai

W

Marvin

Rice

MO

Dent (tried in St. Charles)

W

Alberto

Garcia

MS

Harrison

L

Nikko

Jenkins

NE

Douglas

B

Norman

Belcher

NV

Clark

B

Thomas

Randolph

NV

Clark

W

Javier

Righetti

NV

Clark

L

Will

Sitton

NV

Clark

W

Terry

Froman

OH

Warren

B

Alton

Nolen

OK

Cleveland

B

Ronnie

Fuston

OK

Oklahoma

B

Leeton

Thomas

PA

Lancaster

B

Eric

Frein

PA

Pike (jury selected from Chester)

W

William

Hudson

TX

Anderson (tried in Brazos)

W

Billy

Tracy

TX

Bowie

W

Joseph

Colone, Jr.

TX

Jefferson

B

John Ray

Falk

TX

Walker (tried in Angelina)

W


Death Sentences by Race of Defendant in 2017

RaceDefendants

Black

15

Latinx

7

Native American

2

White

15


2017 Death Sentences by County

CountyDeath Sentences in 2017

Riverside, CA

5

Clark, NV

4

Maricopa, AZ

3

Anderson, TX

1

Bowie, TX

1

Cleveland, AR

1

Cleveland, OK

1

Collier, FL

1

Contra Costa, CA

1

Douglas, NE

1

Harrison, MS

1

Houston, AL

1

Jefferson, TX

1

Kootenai, ID

1

Lancaster, PA

1

Los Angeles, CA

1

Mobile, AL

1

Oklahoma, OK

1

Orange, CA

1

Pike, PA

1

Placer, CA

1

San Bernardino, CA

1

Santa Rosa, FL

1

St. Charles, MO

1

St. Johns, FL

1

Tulare, CA

1

Walker, TX

1

Warren, OH

1

Yuma, AZ

1

US Govt (South Carolina)

1


2017 Death Sentences by State

StateDeath Sentences in 2017

California

11

Arizona

4

Nevada

4

Texas

4

Florida

3

Alabama

2

Oklahoma

2

Pennsylvania

2

Arkansas

1

Idaho

1

Mississippi

1

Missouri

1

Nebraska

1

Ohio

1

U.S. Govt

1


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