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).