Capital punishment in the United States facts for kids

Without the death penalty:      Capital punishment repealed, never instituted, or struck down as unconstitutional (23 states, 5 territories) With the death penalty:      Capital punishment in statute, but executions formally suspended (8 states)      Capital punishment in statute, but no executions within the last 10 years (8 states, 1 territory)      Capital punishment in statute, but executions informally suspended (1 state)      Capital punishment in statute and executions carried out within the last 10 years (10 states)

Map displaying the status of capital punishment since 1970 by jurisdiction:
     Capital punishment abolished or struck down     Capital punishment is a legal penalty.

In the United States, capital punishment (killing a person as punishment for allegedly committing a crime) is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 19 of them have authority to execute death sentences, with the other 8, as well as the federal government and military, subject to moratoriums.

As of 2023, of the 38 OECD member countries, only two (the United States and Japan) allow capital punishment.

States that have abolished the death penalty

A total of 23 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Below is a table of the states and the date that the state abolished the death penalty. Michigan became the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish capital punishment in 1847. Although treason remained a crime punishable by the death penalty in Michigan despite the 1847 abolition, no one was ever executed under that law, and Michigan's 1962 Constitutional Convention codified that the death penalty was fully abolished.

Map displaying the status of capital punishment since 1970 by state:
     States with the death penalty     States without the death penalty