Rate of Death Sentencing at Its Lowest Point Since Reinstatement

While the number of death sentences in the United States has fallen in recent years, the drop in the rate of death sentencing has been even more dramatic. The death sentencing rate is the number of death sentences divided by the population, and is one measure of a country’s support for the death penalty. The projected rate of sentencing for 2003, 0.048 per 100,000 people, is the lowest rate since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. For more information, read the 2003 DPIC Year End Report (PDF).