2016 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County

31 New Death Sentences were imposed in the U.S. in 2016. That is the 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. This is a 37% decline from the 49 new death sentences imposed in the U.S. in 2015, which itself had been a 40-year low. Only 13 of the 31 states with the death penalty imposed any death sentences in 2016. (DPIC initially reported 30 new death sentences in 2016, but further research indicated that the death sentence imposed on Vahtiece Kirkman in Florida was, in fact, a new death sentence, rather than a resentence, as previously reported.)

Defendants Sentenced to Death in 2016

Number of Jurisdictions Imposing New Death Sentences, 2012-2016

Death Sentences by Race of Defendant in 2016

2016 Death Sentences by County

2016 Death Sentences by State

Related Links

• DPIC’s 2016 Year End Report
  
• Download 2016 sentencing data as a Microsoft Excel file

We invite any additions or corrections to this list. Contact us.