President Biden and North Carolina Governor Consider Commutations of Death Rows to Remedy Systemic Problems.
USA | The Death Penalty in 2024: Summary
Four States Responsible for 76% of Executions
(Washington, D.C.) This year marked the tenth consecutive year where fewer than 30 people were executed (25) and fewer than 50 people were sentenced to death (26). High-profile cases of death-sentenced individuals garnered significant attention and new, unexpected supporters.
At this writing, widespread coalitions from diverse perspectives are publicly urging President Biden and North Carolina Governor Cooper to consider commuting the death sentences of prisoners. These efforts aim to address longstanding concerns about systemic problems with the death penalty's application.
“In 2024, we saw people with credible evidence of innocence set for execution, followed by extraordinary levels of public frustration and outrage. Several high-profile cases fueled new concerns about whether the death penalty can be used fairly and accurately,” said Robin M. Maher, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPI).
A new poll predicts a steady decline in public support, showing for the first time that a majority of adults aged 18 to 43 now oppose the death penalty.
State-by-State Analysis
Ten states sentenced individuals to death in 2024: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.
Four states – Alabama, California, Florida, and Texas – accounted for the majority (20) of the new death sentences this year. Florida imposed the highest number of new death sentences, with seven, followed by Texas with six, Alabama with four, and California with three.
The other six states – Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, and Tennessee – each issued one new death sentence.
Non-Unanimous Juries and Increased Death Sentences
About one-third of the 26 new death sentences in 2024 were imposed by non-unanimous juries: six in Florida and three in Alabama. In 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation reducing the number of jury votes required to recommend a death sentence from unanimous to just 8 out of 12 jurors. This change was predicted to result in an increase in Florida death sentences, which has proven accurate.
In Alabama, at least ten jury votes are required to recommend a death sentence, while all other states mandate unanimous decisions. Non-unanimous juries have faced criticism for silencing minority voices, increasing the likelihood of wrongful convictions, and undermining public confidence in the justice system.
Executions in 2024
Nine states carried out executions this year: Alabama (6), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Indiana (1), Missouri (4), Oklahoma (4), South Carolina (2), Texas (5), and Utah (1). Four states – Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas – were responsible for 76% of all executions.
Executions resumed for the first time in decades in Indiana, South Carolina, and Utah, following announcements from elected officials that they had secured execution drugs or approved new methods. In Idaho, an attempted execution of Thomas Creech was called off after a failed attempt to establish an IV line during a botched procedure that lasted over an hour.
Public Opinion and Exonerations
Public support for the death penalty in 2024 remains at a five-decade low (53%). Generational differences are evident, with rising disapproval among individuals aged 43 and younger. A growing number of conservative lawmakers and elected prosecutors have also voiced support for prisoners with compelling evidence of innocence, such as Richard Glossip in Oklahoma, Marcellus Williams in Missouri, and Robert Roberson in Texas.
Three death row prisoners were exonerated in 2024. DPI’s ongoing research uncovered two additional exonerations from prior years, bringing the total number of U.S. death row exonerations since 1972 to 200. In a landmark ruling, Melissa Lucio of Texas, who came within two days of execution in 2022, was declared “actually innocent” by a trial court in October.
The Role of the U.S. Supreme Court
In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected 98% of petitions (145 out of 148) from death-sentenced prisoners, including those presenting strong evidence of innocence. This trend reflects the Court's retreat from its historically critical role in regulating and limiting the use of the death penalty.
The Court’s December 6 decision to grant certiorari in Rivers v. Lumpkin, a non-capital case, poses additional concerns. Legal experts warn that the case could further restrict pathways to appellate relief for death-sentenced prisoners.
Trends in Death Sentences and Executions
The number of new death sentences (26) and executions (25) in 2024 marked an increase from 2023, which saw 21 new death sentences and 24 executions. However, these figures represent a dramatic decline from twenty years ago, when there were 130 new death sentences and 59 executions.
This decline is partly attributed to changes in sentencing laws. In Florida and Alabama, the only two states permitting non-unanimous death sentencing, non-unanimous sentences accounted for nine new death sentences in 2024 (six in Florida, three in Alabama), up from three in 2023.
Evolving Views and Vulnerabilities
Executions in 2024 reflect jurors' views from decades ago, as most individuals executed this year were sentenced 20 to 30 years prior. If their cases were tried today, many would likely not face death sentences due to evolving legislative and societal perspectives.
Jurors now have a deeper understanding of how severe mental illness, developmental disabilities, youth, and profound trauma affect behavior. This has resulted in a growing preference for life sentences over death sentences. In 2024, all but one individual executed exhibited at least one of these vulnerabilities. Six of the 25 people executed were 21 or younger at the time of their crimes.
Disparities and Representation
Longstanding disparities persist in the application of the death penalty. Prisoners of color and those convicted of killing white victims remain overrepresented among those executed. Of the 25 prisoners executed in 2024, 12 were people of color, and 80% of cases involved at least one white victim. Among the 14 individuals sentenced to death this year, 54% were people of color.
Legislation and Abolition Efforts
In 2024, six states—California, Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah—enacted legislation related to the death penalty. These laws aimed to limit its use, modify execution methods, revise procedures, or increase secrecy.
Efforts to abolish the death penalty continued in more than a dozen states, while attempts to reintroduce it in eight states failed. Only one effort to expand the death penalty to non-homicide crimes succeeded, in Tennessee.
— Read “The Death Penalty in 2024: Year End Report” here:
(https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/research/analysis/reports/year-end-reports/the-deathpenalty-in-2024)
— For a separate report focusing on Texas, visit the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (unaffiliated with DPI) at: https://tcadp.org/reports/](https://tcadp.org/reports/
Source: deathpenaltyinfo.org, Staff, December 19, 2024. The Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing data and analysis on capital punishment and its impacts. DPI serves the media, policymakers, and the general public and critically examines issues in the application of the death penalty without taking a position on its existence.
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
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