NEW FROM DPIC
NEW DPIC SUMMARY
DPIC’s Summary of the Chicago Tribune Series on Forensic Science
DEATH ROW U.S.A.
The July 1, 2004 Edition of Death Row USA (from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund) is available on DPIC’s site.
DETERRENCE and the FBI UNIFORM CRIME REPORT 2003
The South (the region with the most executions) again had the highest murder rate in the country in 2003.
The two states with the most executions in 2003, Texas (24) and Oklahoma (14) saw increases in their murder rates from 2002 to 2003. Both states had murder rates above the national average in 2003: Texas — 6.4, and Oklahoma — 5.9. The top 13 states in terms of murder rates were all death penalty states.
The gap between the cumulative murder rates of death penalty and non-death penalty states actually widened in 2003, from 36% in 2002 to 44% in 2003. The murder rate of the death penalty states increased from 2002, while the rate in non-death penalty states decreased.
Year
DP States
Non DP States
% Difference
2002
5.82
4.27
36%
2003
5.91
4.10
44%
Previous calculation of 69% for 2003 did not include the District of Columbia.
NEW DPIC SUMMARY
DPIC’s Summary of the Chicago Tribune Series on Forensic Science
DEATH ROW U.S.A.
The July 1, 2004 Edition of Death Row USA (from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund) is available on DPIC’s site.
DETERRENCE and the FBI UNIFORM CRIME REPORT 2003
The South (the region with the most executions) again had the highest murder rate in the country in 2003.
The two states with the most executions in 2003, Texas (24) and Oklahoma (14) saw increases in their murder rates from 2002 to 2003. Both states had murder rates above the national average in 2003: Texas — 6.4, and Oklahoma — 5.9. The top 13 states in terms of murder rates were all death penalty states.
The gap between the cumulative murder rates of death penalty and non-death penalty states actually widened in 2003, from 36% in 2002 to 44% in 2003. The murder rate of the death penalty states increased from 2002, while the rate in non-death penalty states decreased.
Year
DP States
Non DP States
% Difference
2002
5.82
4.27
36%
2003
5.91
4.10
44%
Previous calculation of 69% for 2003 did not include the District of Columbia.
- For murder rates by state and by year, click here.
- For a comparison between death penalty and non-death penalty states, click here.
Citation Guide
- Death Penalty Information Center (2025, March 14). New From DPIC. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-from-dpic
- Death Penalty Information Center. “New From DPIC.” Last modified March 14, 2025. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-from-dpic.
- Death Penalty Information Center. “New From DPIC.” Death Penalty Information Center, 14 Mar. 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-from-dpic. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.
