According to the FBI’s Preliminary Uniform Crime Report for 2005, all regions of the country experienced a rise in murder rates in 2005. The Midwest had the largest increase (5.8%) and the West had the smallest increase (3.2%). Based on the increases reported by the FBI and the previous year’s murder rates, the South again had the highest murder rate in the country— 6.9 murders per 100,000 people—followed by the West (5.9), Midwest (5.0) and the Northeast (4.4). The rates for forcible rape were down in every area of the country. Final statistics will be available from the FBI in the fall. (FBI Press Release, June 12, 2006).

About 80% of the executions in the country have occurred in the South since the reinstatement of the death penalty. The Northeast, the region with the lowest murder rate, has had less than 1% of the executions. See Deterrence.

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