The Bureau of Justice Statistics recently issued a new report, “Capital Punishment, 2012,” analyzing the use of the death penalty in that year and revealing overall trends since the death penalty was reinstated. The report noted that 2012 was “the twelfth consecutive year in which the number of inmates under sentence of death decreased.” Among the statistics not reported elsewhere, BJS noted that the time between sentencing and execution in 2012 was 15.8 years. The average time for all executions since 1976 was 11.3 years. The average age of those on death row at the end of 2012 was 46. About 90% of those on death row went no further than high school in their education. About one-third of those on death row had no prior felony convictions.

(Bureau of Justice Statistics, Capital Punishment, 2012 - Statistical Tables , May 2014). For more information on the death penalty in 2012, see DPIC’s Year End Report . See Death Row , Sentencing and Studies .

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