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1988 Cap. Punishment 1 (1988)

handle is hein.death/cpshm1988 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice \ F) Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics tr- p* ui Caital Puihment 1988 Six States executed 11 prisoners during 1988, bringing the total number of execu- tions to 104 since 1976, the year that the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty. Those executed during 1988 had spent an average of 6 years and 8 months awaiting execution. During 1988, 296 prisoners under sen- tence of death were received by State prison systems from the courts. One hun- dred and sixteen persons had their death sentences vacated or commuted during the year, and 12 died while under a death sentence. At yearend, 34 States reported a total of 2,124 prisoners under sentence of death, an 8% increase over the number held at the end of 1987. One prisoner was under a death sentence for other than a murder (an inmate admitted during 1986 for the capital rape of a child in Missis- sippi); the remainder had all been con- victed of murder. The median time since the death sentence was imposed for the 2,124 prisoners was 3 years and 9 months. About 2 in 3 offenders under sentence of death, for whom such information was available, had a prior felony conviction; about 1 In 11 had a prior homicide convic- tion. About 2 in 5 condemned prisoners had a criminal justice status at the time of the capital offense. Half of these were on parole; the rest were in prison, on escape from prison, or on probation, or they had charges pending against them. The majority of those under sentence of death (1,238) were white (58.3%); 853 were black (40.2%); 21 were American In- dian (1.0%); and 12, Asian (.6%). Twenty- three of those under a death sentence were female (1.1%). The median age of all Inmates under a death sentence was nearly 33 years. Fguro I About 59% of those under sentence of death were held by States in the South. Western States held an additional 19%; Midwestern States, 16%; and the North- eastern States of Connecticut, New Jer- sey, and Pennsylvania, just under 6%. Florida had the largest number of con- demned inmates (295), followed by Texas (284), California (229), Illinois (118), and Pennsylvania (98). During 1988, 29 State prison systems re- ceived prisoners under sentence of death from courts. Florida (42 admissions), Texas (34 admissions), and California (32 admissions) accounted for more than 36% of the Inmates entering prison under a death sentence during the year. 49 July 1989 The capital punishment statistical series has now completed 58 years of continuous Federal sponsorship. It Is designed to provide detailed national Information on prisoners under death sentences. This years report con- tains appendixes on the current status of all those sentenced to death from 1973 to 1988 and on Federal death penalty statutes contained In the U.S. Code. BJS gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and participation of officials throughout the States whose generous assistance makes this re- porting program possible. Joseph M. Bessette Acting Director

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