Table of Contents
The Death Penalty in 2024
Executive Summary Introduction Public Opinion Innocence Legislation New Death Sentences Supreme Court International Executions Key Quotes Downloadable Resources Methodology
The Death Penalty in 2024

The Death Penalty in 2024

Death Sentences and Executions Remain Near Historic Lows Amid Growing Concerns about Fairness and Innocence

Embargoed until Thursday, December 19, 2024 at 12:00:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

President Biden and North Carolina Governor Consider Commutations of Death Rows to Remedy Systemic Problems

Four States Responsible for 76% of Executions

Executive Summary

  • Throughout this report, aster­isks (*) indi­cate the expect­ed num­ber of exe­cu­tions in 2024.

  • The num­ber of new death sen­tences in 2024 increased slight­ly from 2023, with 26. The num­ber of peo­ple on death row across the United States has con­tin­ued to decline from a peak pop­u­la­tion in the year 2000.

  • Public sup­port for the death penal­ty remains at a five-decade low (53%) and Gallup’s recent polling reveals that more than half of young U.S. adults ages 18 through 43 now oppose the death penal­ty. Fewer peo­ple found the death penal­ty moral­ly accept­able this year (55%) than last year (60%). 

  • Significant media atten­tion, pub­lic protest, and sup­port from unlike­ly allies in the cas­es of Marcellus ​“Khaliifah” Williams, Robert Roberson, and Richard Glossip ele­vat­ed the issue of inno­cence in 2024, as the United States marked the mile­stone of 200 death row exonerations.

  • No indi­vid­ual death-sen­tenced per­son received clemen­cy in 2024, the first year since 2016 with­out any clemen­cy grants. At least two mass clemen­cy cam­paigns are pending decisions. 

  • Death penal­ty-relat­ed leg­is­la­tion was enact­ed in at least six states to lim­it use of the death penal­ty, alter exe­cu­tion meth­ods or pro­to­cols, mod­i­fy pro­ce­dures, and increase secre­cy. Abolition efforts con­tin­ue in more than a dozen states, and efforts to rein­tro­duce the death penal­ty in eight states failed. Only one effort to expand the death penal­ty to non-homi­cide crimes was successful.

  • The 1600th exe­cu­tion in the mod­ern death penal­ty era occurred in September 2024.

  • The num­ber of peo­ple exe­cut­ed in 2024 remained near­ly the same as 2023, with 25* exe­cu­tions occur­ring in nine states. This was the tenth con­sec­u­tive year with few­er than 30 exe­cu­tions. Utah, South Carolina, and Indiana* con­duct­ed their first exe­cu­tions after more than a decade hia­tus. Alabama became the first state to use nitro­gen gas to execute prisoners.

  • The United States Supreme Court has large­ly aban­doned the crit­i­cal role it has his­tor­i­cal­ly played in reg­u­lat­ing and lim­it­ing use of the death penalty. 

  • The death penal­ty has been abol­ished in prac­tice or in law in a major­i­ty of coun­tries around the world (144), and 2024 saw legal abo­li­tion efforts progress in four more coun­tries. Despite this, glob­al exe­cu­tions increased in 2024 for the third straight year, led by Iran.

Explore the Report

Introduction In 2024, what the death penal­ty means to you increas­ing­ly depends on where you live, how old you are, and who you elect in your community.
Public Opinion Public sup­port for the death penal­ty remains at a five-decade low and recent polling shows that most young U.S. adults now oppose the death penalty.
Innocence Media atten­tion, pub­lic protest, and sup­port from unlike­ly allies ele­vat­ed the issue of inno­cence in 2024, as the U. S. marked 200 death row exonerations.
Legislation New laws enact­ed in 2024 include bills to lim­it and expand use of the death penal­ty, alter exe­cu­tion pro­to­cols, mod­i­fy pro­ce­dures, and increase secrecy.
New Death Sentences The num­ber of new death sen­tences in 2024 increased slight­ly from 2023, and the num­ber of peo­ple on death row con­tin­ued its decades-long decline.
Supreme Court The United States Supreme Court has large­ly aban­doned the crit­i­cal role it has his­tor­i­cal­ly played in reg­u­lat­ing and lim­it­ing use of the death penalty.
International The death penal­ty has been abol­ished in prac­tice or law in 144 coun­tries. Despite this, known glob­al exe­cu­tions increased for the third straight year.
Executions 25* peo­ple were exe­cut­ed in the U.S. in 2024, near­ly the same as in 2023. This was the tenth con­sec­u­tive year with few­er than 30 executions.
Key Quotes Statements by judges, leg­is­la­tors, and oth­er key death penalty stakeholders.
Downloadable Resources Graphs and maps illus­trat­ing 2024 facts and trends
Methodology A brief descrip­tion of the process used to com­pile data for this report.

Credits 

The Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) is a nation­al non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tion whose mis­sion is to serve the media, pol­i­cy­mak­ers, and the gen­er­al pub­lic with data and analy­sis on issues con­cern­ing cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment and the peo­ple it affects. DPI does not take a posi­tion on the death penal­ty itself but is crit­i­cal of prob­lems in its appli­ca­tion. This report was writ­ten by DPI​’s Executive Director Robin M. Maher and Managing Director Anne Holsinger, with the assis­tance of DPI staff (Anumta Ali, Hayley Bedard, Kinari Council, Tiana Herring, Dane Lindberg, Nina Motazedi, Łukasz Niparko, Pamela Quanrud, and Leah Roemer) and interns (Lauren Hill, Karl Mbouombouo, Jenna Toulan, and Quan Yuan). Further sources for facts and quo­ta­tions are avail­able upon request. The Center is fund­ed through the gen­eros­i­ty of indi­vid­ual donors and foun­da­tions, includ­ing the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center; the Fund for Nonviolence; M. Quinn Delaney; and the Tides Foundation. The views expressed in this report are those of DPI and do not nec­es­sar­i­ly reflect the opin­ions of its donors.