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State And Federal Info

Mississippi

History of the Death Penalty

From 1804-1940, all executions in Mississippi were carried out by hanging. The first execution by electrocution took place on October 11, 1940. From then until 1952, the electric chair was moved from county to county for 75 executions. Inmates were executed by lethal gas from 1954-1989. In 1984, the Mississippi legislature amended the state’s death penalty statute to provide for lethal injection for all individuals sentenced to death after the law went into effect. Inmates sentenced prior to the change were still executed by lethal gas. In 1998, lethal gas was removed as an option.

Notable Exonerations

Sabrina Butler was 17 years old when her 9-month old son, who had a heart murmur, stopped breathing. After attempts to resuscitate her son, Butler rushed to the hospital, where the young child was pronounced dead. The following day Butler was arrested for child abuse due to the bruises left by her resuscitation attempts. She was interrogated by the police and then prosecuted. Then, in 1990, she was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Her conviction was overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court in 1992. (Butler v. State, 608 So.2d 314 (Miss. 1992)). The court said that the prosecution had failed to prove that the incident was anything more than an accident. At re-trial, she was acquitted on Dec. 17, 1995 after a very brief jury deliberation. It is now believed that the baby may have died either of cystic kidney disease or from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Milestones in Abolition/Reinstatement

In 2011, a bill was introduced to impose a moratorium on executions. The bill did not pass the state legislature.

Other Interesting Facts

Mississippi was one of two states to use a portable electric chair, and the first state to do so.

Mississippi River. Photo by NSBP.
Mississippi River. Photo by NSBP.

Resources

  • Department of Corrections
  • Prosecutors
  • Mississippi Public Defenders Association
  • Victims’ services

Mississippi Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Lethal Injection

Dec 19, 2022

Mississippi Executes Thomas Loden, As John Hanson, Gerald Pizzuto Death Warrants Expire

The three final exe­cu­tions sched­uled in 2022 high­light­ed broad­er trends in the year’s exe­cu­tions — the exe­cu­tion of vul­ner­a­ble defen­dants, unavail­abil­i­ty of lethal-injec­tion drugs, and the sched­ul­ing of exe­cu­tions with­out regard for the abil­i­ty to…

Mississippi Executes Thomas Loden, As John Hanson, Gerald Pizzuto Death Warrants Expire

Innocence

Dec 13, 2022

Curtis Flowers Prosecutor Defeated in Bid to Become County Judge

District Attorney Doug Evans, who gained noto­ri­ety for his mis­con­duct in the six tri­al of Curtis Flowers, was defeat­ed November 29, 2022 in his attempt to become a Mississippi Circuit Court judge. In a runoff elec­tion, Winona Municipal Court Judge…

Curtis Flowers Prosecutor Defeated in Bid to Become County Judge

Innocence

Jul 15, 2022

Mississippi Supreme Court Denies Additional DNA Testing to Death-Row Prisoner

The Mississippi Supreme Court has denied addi­tion­al DNA test­ing to death-row pris­on­er Willie Manning (pic­tured). Manning, who was sen­tenced to death in Oktibbeha County in 1994 and in 1996 for two sep­a­rate crimes,…

Mississippi Supreme Court Denies Additional DNA Testing to Death-Row Prisoner

Recent Legislative Activity

Jun 28, 2022

Mississippi Gives Department of Corrections Unprecedented Discretion Over Execution Methods

Mississippi cor­rec­tions offi­cials will have unprece­dent­ed dis­cre­tion in select­ing how the state’s death-row pris­on­ers will be exe­cut­ed under a new law that takes effect July 1, 2022. Mississippi autho­rizes exe­cu­tion by le…

Mississippi Gives Department of Corrections Unprecedented Discretion Over Execution Methods

Executions Overview

Nov 16, 2021

Execution ​‘Volunteer’ First to be Put to Death in Mississippi in Nine Years

Mississippi car­ried out its first exe­cu­tion in more than nine years on November 17, 2021, putting to death a man with men­tal health dis­or­ders who had waived his appeals. David Neal Cox became at least the 150…

Execution ‘Volunteer’ First to be Put to Death in Mississippi in Nine Years

Innocence

Sep 30, 2021

Sherwood Brown Exonerated in Mississippi, 186th Death-Row Exoneration Since 1973

Sherwood Brown has been exon­er­at­ed of the charges that sent him to death row in Mississippi in 1995 for a triple mur­der he did not com­mit. On August 24, 2021, DeSoto County Circuit Court Judge Jim…

Sherwood Brown Exonerated in Mississippi, 186th Death-Row Exoneration Since 1973

Innocence

Sep 13, 2021

Death-Row Exoneree Curtis Flowers Sues Mississippi Prosecutor Who Prosecuted Him Six Times

Former Mississippi death-row pris­on­er Curtis Flowers (pic­tured), who was exon­er­at­ed in 2020, is suing the offi­cials whose mis­con­duct led to his arrest and repeat­ed wrong­ful con­vic­tion. Flowers was tried six times…

Death-Row Exoneree Curtis Flowers Sues Mississippi Prosecutor Who Prosecuted Him Six Times

Secrecy

Aug 11, 2021

Alabama, Mississippi Take Preparatory Steps to Resume Executions

Alabama and Mississippi have under­tak­en prepara­to­ry steps towards resum­ing exe­cu­tions in the face of con­tin­u­ing legal chal­lenges to their meth­ods of exe­cu­tion. On August 2, 2021, Alabama’s Department of C…

Alabama, Mississippi Take Preparatory Steps to Resume Executions

Innocence

Jan 12, 2021

Convicted by False Forensic Evidence, Eddie Lee Howard, Jr. Exonerated From Mississippi Death Row After 26 Years

Eddie Lee Howard, Jr., con­vict­ed and sen­tenced to death based on the false foren­sic tes­ti­mo­ny of a since dis­graced pros­e­cu­tion expert wit­ness, has been exon­er­at­ed after near­ly 26 years on Mississippi’s death row. …

Convicted by False Forensic Evidence, Eddie Lee Howard, Jr. Exonerated From Mississippi Death Row After 26 Years

Innocence

Oct 20, 2020

‘Keep Your Head Up and Don’t Give Up’ — Exoneree Curtis Flowers Gives an Illuminating First Interview to the In the Dark Podcast

In his first inter­view since his September 24, 2020 exon­er­a­tion, for­mer Mississippi death-row prison…

‘Keep Your Head Up and Don’t Give Up’ — Exoneree Curtis Flowers Gives an Illuminating First Interview to the In the Dark Podcast
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View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: Yes
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 24
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 351
  • Current Death Row Population: 37
  • Women on Death Row: 1
  • Number of Innocent Persons Freed From Death Row: 7
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 0
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): April 23, 1974
  • First Execution After Reinstatement: 1983
  • Location of Death Row (Men): Mississippi State Penitentiary
  • Location of Death Row (Women): Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
  • Capital: Jackson
  • Region: South
  • Population: 2,961,279*
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 11.16
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option?: Yes
  • Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder?: Yes
  • Method of Execution: Lethal Injection
  • How is the Sentence Determined?: Jury
  • Clemency Process: Governor has sole authority to grant clemency
  • Governor: Tate Reeves

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