USA - The Death Penalty in 2024

USA - The Death Penalty in 2024

January 29, 2025:

January 29, 2025 - USA. The Death Penalty in 2024
New Monthly Podcast from the DPIC
The Death Penalty in Context
Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with DPI Communications Associate Hayley Bedard, about The Death Penalty in 2024, which highlights trends and events related to the death penalty. 2024 marked the tenth consecutive year during which fewer than 30 people were executed (25) and fewer than 50 people were sentenced to death (26), while high profile cases of death-sentenced people attracted significant media attention and new, unexpected supporters. Per the report’s findings, just four states (Alabama, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) were responsible for more than three-quarters (76%) of executions in 2024.
Executions reflect the views of jurors at the time of sentencing — increasingly, views that are 20 or 30 years out of date. “The average time from sentencing to execution was about 22 years, and so the people who were executed this year really are reflecting the laws and norms that were in place 22 years ago, and there have been significant changes in representation and the quality of attorneys that are offered to people facing death sentences,” said Ms. Holsinger. Legislative and legal changes, increased scrutiny of prosecutorial practices, and shifts in societal attitudes over recent decades have also significantly affected whether defendants receive death sentences.
The 26 new death sentences in 2024 were scattered among ten states, but two states – both of which are the only states to still permit non-unanimous sentencing — were responsible for 42% of new death sentences: Florida (7) and Alabama (4). Nine of these eleven death sentences were non-unanimous. Public support for the death penalty remains at a five-decade low according to a late 2024 Gallup poll, with just 53% of Americans saying that they support the death penalty. Millennials and members of Generation Z (so people between 18 and 43) are much less likely to support the death penalty than members of Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation.
2024 saw local politicians wielding decisive influence over death penalty outcomes across multiple states. The case of Marcellus Williams in Missouri sparked disagreement between local and state leaders, even as more than 1.5 million citizens voiced their opposition to his execution. A shift emerged in Texas and Oklahoma, where elected officials traditionally in support of the death penalty raised concern over its impact on innocent people. They drew attention to cases like those of Robert Roberson and Richard Glossip, where state laws and procedures failed to protect prisoners who presented substantial evidence of their innocence.
In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court’s hands-off approach continued. The Court declined to review nearly every death penalty position it received, rejecting 145 out of 148 cases. “It has been much more difficult for [prisoners] to obtain relief in innocence cases and non-innocence cases, this affects people with due process claims and other constitutional challenges…,” said Ms. Bedard. This reflects the Court’s retreat from the critical role it has historically played in regulating and limiting the use of the death penalty.
Over the last several months, the Death Penalty Information Center has refreshed our website and logo, and we’re also shifting from using the shortened name DPIC to the acronym DPI. Our new podcast name, 12:01:, shares an inspiration with our new logo. Both refer to the traditional time when executions were held — just after midnight in complete secrecy.

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/1201-the-death-penalty-in-context-the-death-penalty-in-2024