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2004 Cap. Punishment 1 (2004)

handle is hein.death/cpshm2004 and id is 1 raw text is: 
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs


Revised 2/1/06 td


                                                                                     November 2005, NCJ 211349





Capital Punishment, 2004


      By Thomas P. Bonczar and
            Tracy L. Snell
            BJS Statisticians

Twelve States executed 59 prisoners
during 2004. The number executed
was 6 fewer than in 2003. Those
executed during 2004 had been under
sentence of death an average of 11
years, or 1 month longer than the
period for inmates executed in 2003.

At yearend 2004, 3,314 prisoners were
under sentence of death. California
held the largest number on death row
(637), followed by Texas (446), Florida
(364), and Pennsylvania (222). Thirty-
three people were under a Federal
death sentence.

During 2004, 29 States and the
Federal prison system received 125
prisoners under sentence of death.
Texas (23 admissions), California (11),
the Federal prison system (10), Florida
(9), Alabama (7), and Louisiana (6)
accounted for more than half of those
sentenced in 2004 (53%).

In 2004, 59 men were executed,
including 36 whites, 19 blacks, 3
Hispanics (all white), and 1 Asian. Fifty-
eight were carried out by lethal injec-
tion; one by electrocution.

From January 1, 1977, to December
31, 2004, 944 inmates were executed
by 32 States and the Federal Bureau of
Prisons. Two-thirds of the executions
occurred in 5 States: Texas (336),
Virginia (94), Oklahoma (75), Missouri
(61), and Florida (59).


Status of death penalty, December 31, 2004


Executions during 2004*
Texas                23
Ohio                  7
Oklahoma              6
Virginia              5
North Carolina        4
South Carolina        4
Alabama               2
Florida               2
Georgia               2
Nevada                2
Arkansas              1
Maryland              1


Number of prisoners
under sentence of death
California          637
Texas               446
Florida             364
Pennsylvania        222
Ohio                201
Alabama             193
North Carolina      181
Georgia             109
Arizona             105
Tennessee            99
Oklahoma             91
Louisiana            87
Nevada               83
24 other jurisdictions  496


59   Total


• At yearend 2004, 36 States and the
Federal prison system held 3,314
prisoners under sentence of death,
63 fewer than at yearend 2003.

• Of those under sentence of death,
56% were white, 42% were black, and
2% were of other races.
Persons under sentence of death
                1994      2004
White          1,665      1850
Black          1,216      1,390
American Indian  26         28
Asian            17         32
Unknown race     10         14

• The 367 Hispanic inmates under
sentence of death accounted for 13%
of inmates with a known ethnicity.

• Fifty-two women were under
sentence of death in 2004, up
from 43 in 1994.
* For 2005 data on executions, see page 11.


Jurisdictions without
a death penalty
Alaska
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
North Dakota
Rhode Island
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin


3.314


*The 125 inmates received under
sentence of death during 2004 repre-
sent the smallest number of admis-
sions since 1973.

• The number of executions de-
creased to 59 during 2004, the
lowest number since 1996 (45).

• Of the 7,187 people under sentence
of death between 1977 and 2004,
13% were executed, 4% died by
causes other than execution, and
37% received other dispositions.

• The number of States authorizing
lethal injection increased from 27 in
1994 to 37 in 2004. In 2004, 98% of
executions were by lethal injection,
compared to 74% in 1994.

• Since 1977, 776 of the 944 execu-
tions (82%) were by lethal injection.

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