The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund recently released its Fall 2009 edition of Death Row USA, a report detailing death row populations across the United States. According to the report, California, Florida and Texas continue to lead the nation in the number of death row inmates, with California (694) having a death row population almost twice as large as either Florida (395) or Texas (339). In addition, while Florida’s and Texas’ death row populations have declined in the last decade, California’s population has grown steadily, from 551 inmates in 1999 to 694 in 2009. California has not had an execution since 2006. Overall, the country’s death row population decreased since Death Row USA’s report of July 1, 2009—from 3,279 to 3,263 as of Oct. 1. View the full report here.
The report also contains information on executions, relevant Supreme Court cases, and the racial breakdown of executions and death rows for all states and the federal system. Currently, about 44% of those on death row are white, 42% are black, and 12% are Latino. Among jurisdictions with more than 10 inmates on death row, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas have the highest percentage (69%) of minorities on death row.
(NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, “Death Row U.S.A. Fall 2009” (pub. April 2010)). See also Death Row and Race.
