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State And Federal Info

Oregon

History of the Death Penalty

The death penalty was first adopted in Oregon in 1864. Hangings were carried out publicly until 1903, when the Oregon Legislature amended the law and moved executions to the Oregon State Penitentiary.

Milestones in Abolition/Reinstatement

Oregon abolished the death penalty in 1914 via popular vote. It was reinstated again in 1920, also by popular vote. In 1964, Oregon voters once again voted to repeal the death penalty. On Nov. 5, 1964, two days after Oregon voters abolished the death penalty for the second time, then-Gov. Mark O. Hatfield commuted the death sentences of the three inmates on death row, including the only woman ever to be sentenced to death in Oregon.

The death penalty was reinstated by popular vote in 1978.

In 1981, the Oregon Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional, but Oregon voters reinstated capital punishment in 1984.

On November 22, 2011, Governor John Kitzhaber declared a moratorium on executions, saying “I refuse to be a part of this compromised and inequitable system any longer; and I will not allow further executions while I am Governor.” Both of Oregon’s post-Furman executions happened during Kitzhaber’s first administration as governor. Both inmates dropped their appeals and “volunteered” for execution. Of those two executions, Kitzhaber said, “I was torn between my personal convictions about the morality of capital punishment and my oath to uphold the Oregon constitution. They were the most agonizing and difficult decisions I have made as Governor and I have revisited and questioned them over and over again during the past 14 years.”

Saying “[t]here needs to be a broader discussion about fixing the system,” Governor Kate Brown announced on February 18, 2015, that she would continue the state’s moratorium on executions. Brown said “[u]ntil that discussion, I will be upholding the moratorium imposed by Gov. Kitzhaber.”

Other Interesting Facts

Oregon executed two brothers (George and Charles Humphery) on the same day in 1913.

Crater Lake. Photo via NSBP.
Crater Lake. Photo via NSBP.

Resources

  • Department of Corrections
  • Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
  • Oregon History of the Death Penalty
  • Oregon District Attorneys Association
  • Oregon Capital Resource Center
  • Office of Public Defense Services
  • Crime Victim and Survivors Services

Oregon Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Representation

Aug 04, 2020

Angela McAnulty, Only Woman on Oregon’s Death Row, Resentenced to Life in Prison

The only woman on Oregon’s death row has been resen­tenced to life in prison. On August 3, 2020, the Lane County Circuit Court accept­ed a set­tle­ment agree­ment in which Lane County pros­e­cu­tors agreed to drop their appeal of a 2019 r…

Angela McAnulty, Only Woman on Oregon’s Death Row, Resentenced to Life in Prison

Conditions on Death Row

May 19, 2020

Oregon Closes Death Row, Joins National Trend Away from Automatic Solitary Confinement

The Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) has announced that it will close the state’s death row and inte­grate most of its cap­i­tal­ly sen­tenced pris­on­ers into the gen­er­al prison pop­u­la­tion. The move reflects the con­tin­u­ing decline…

Oregon Closes Death Row, Joins National Trend Away from Automatic Solitary Confinement

Crimes Punishable by Death

Dec 23, 2019

DPIC Analysis: Death Penalty Erosion Spreads Across the Western United States in 2019

In a year of declin­ing death-penal­ty usage across the United States, nowhere was the ero­sion of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment as sus­tained and pro­nounced in 2019 as it was in the west­ern United States. Continuing a wave of momen­tum from 

DPIC Analysis: Death Penalty Erosion Spreads Across the Western United States in 2019

Recent Legislative Activity

Aug 26, 2019

Oregon’s New Law Narrowing Use of Death Penalty: How Retroactive is “Not Retroactive”?

When Oregon’s leg­is­la­tors passed a new law lim­it­ing the scope of the state’s death penalty

Oregon’s New Law Narrowing Use of Death Penalty: How Retroactive is “Not Retroactive”?

Recent Legislative Activity

Aug 02, 2019

Oregon Governor Signs Bill Narrowing Use of the Death Penalty

Calling the state’s death penal­ty ​“dys­func­tion­al,” ​“cost­ly,” and ​“immoral,” Oregon Governor Kate Brown (pic­tured, left, at sign­ing cer­e­mo­ny) on August 1, 2019 signed a bill sig­nif­i­cant­ly lim­it­ing the crimes for wh…

Oregon Governor Signs Bill Narrowing Use of the Death Penalty

Representation

Jul 08, 2019

Death-Penalty News and Developments for the Week of July 8 – 14, 2019: Conviction and Death Sentence Overturned for Lone Woman on Oregon Death Row

NEWS: JULY 10 — An Oregon tri­al court has over­turned the con­vic­tion and death sen­tence of Angela McAnaulty, the only woman on the state’s death row.…

Death-Penalty News and Developments for the Week of July 8 – 14, 2019: Conviction and Death Sentence Overturned for Lone Woman on Oregon Death Row

Recent Legislative Activity

May 28, 2019

Amended Bill to Limit Oregon’s Death Penalty Easily Passes State Senate

An amend­ed bill to nar­row the cir­cum­stances in which the death penal­ty may be imposed in Oregon has eas­i­ly passed the state sen­ate. On May 21, 2019, by a vote of 18 – 9, the Oregon Senate passed SB 1013, whic…

Amended Bill to Limit Oregon’s Death Penalty Easily Passes State Senate

Arbitrariness

Mar 13, 2019

Statements from Governors Imposing Moratoria on Executions

Statements from Governors of California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Colorado, and Oregon Halting Executions In the past few years, the gov­er­nors of California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Colorado, and Oregon have put a halt to exe­cu­tions i…

Victims' Families

Feb 01, 2019

Victims' Families and Death Penalty Repeal Efforts

Efforts to repeal the death penal­ty have often focused on the needs of mur­der vic­tims’ fam­i­lies. For exam­ple, in Connecticut, 179 mur­der vic­tims’ fam­i­lies signed a let­ter to leg­is­la­tors, which stat­ed, Our direct expe­ri­ences with …

Recent Legislative Activity

Dec 26, 2018

After Mid-Term Elections, Legislators Poised to Renew Efforts at Death-Penalty Abolition in 2019

Empowered by the results of the November 2018 mid-term elec­tions, leg­is­la­tures in at least four states are poised to renew efforts to repeal their states’ death-penal­ty statutes or dras­ti­cal­ly reduce the cir­cum­stances in which cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment i…

After Mid-Term Elections, Legislators Poised to Renew Efforts at Death-Penalty Abolition in 2019
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View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: Yes
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 2
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 122
  • Current Death Row Population: 24
  • Women on Death Row: 0
  • Number of Innocent People Freed From Death Row: 0
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 0
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): December 7, 1978
  • Location of Death Row: Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem
  • Location of Executions: Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem
  • Capital: Salem
  • Region: West
  • Population: 3,831,074
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 2.5
  • 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?: No
  • Method of Execution: Injection
  • How is Sentenced Determined?: Jury
  • Clemency Process: Governor has sole authority to grant clemency
  • Governor: Kate Brown

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