DPIC recent­ly added a new web­page con­cern­ing death sen­tences in 2013. This resource includes the name, race, and coun­ty of sen­tenc­ing for each of the 80 defen­dants sen­tenced to death last year, as well as the names of the lead­ing states and coun­ties. The num­ber of new death sen­tences hand­ed down was equal to the sec­ond low­est num­ber since 1976. By race, 40% of those sen­tenced to death were white, 39% were black, 19% were Latino, and 2.5% were of oth­er races. California led the coun­try with 24 death sen­tences, fol­lowed by Florida, with 15. Fifteen states hand­ed down at least one death sen­tence, and the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment and the U.S. Military each imposed one death sen­tence. Less than 2% of all U.S. coun­ties (53 coun­ties) pro­duced all of the death sen­tences in 2013. Two south­ern California coun­ties, Los Angeles and Riverside, had the most death sen­tences, with 7 and 6, respectively.

The num­ber of death sen­tences in 2013 was 75% less than the num­ber (315) in 1996, the high point for death sen­tences in the modern era.

(Death sen­tences in 2013, post­ed by DPIC, January 30, 2014). See Sentencing and Arbitrariness.

Citation Guide