---
title: 'New From DPIC'
description: '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…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-from-dpic'
section: news
date: '2004-11-17T19:50:09-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:54:05-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

!   !  

 **NEW FROM DPIC**   
 **NEW DPIC SUMMARY**  
 [DPIC's Summary](/article.php?scid=17&did=1209) of the Chicago Tribune Series on Forensic Science  
**DEATH ROW U.S.A.**  
 The July 1, 2004 Edition of [Death Row USA](/death-row-usa?scid=9&did=145) (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](/murder-rates-nationally-and-state?scid=12&did=169).
- [For a comparison between death penalty and non-death penalty states, click here](/article.php?scid=12&did=168).

**SOURCE**: 2003 FBI Uniform Crime Report, October 27, 2004