Currently, capital punishment, also known as the death penalty or execution, is authorized in 27 states of the American Union. In addition, it is also allowed by the federal government and the United States military.
The last execution of this 2021 took place in Oklahoma on October 28 after John Marion Grant was executed at age 60 by lethal injection. To date, November 19, there have been 9 executions in the United States during 2021. In 2020, 17 were carried out.
What states still have enforcement in the USA?
The states that still authorize capital punishment are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky; Louisiana, Mississippi, Misouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregón, Pensilvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah y Wyoming.
It should be noted that Nebraska abolished capital punishment in 2015, but it was reinstated by state vote in 2016.
Execution methods
Lethal injection is currently the main method of execution. Texas was the first state to use the method in 1982. On the other hand, in 2021, South Carolina became the first state to stop using lethal injection as the primary method of execution. It is the only state in which electrocution is primary and shooting and lethal injection are secondary methods.
Other secondary methods of execution include electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, nitrogen hypoxia and firing squad.
What states do not have the death penalty in the USA?
In addition to the District of Columbia, these are the states and the respective years in which they have abolished the death penalty: Alaska (1957), Colorado (2020), Connecticut (2012), Delaware (2016), Hawaii (1957), Illinois (2011), Iowa (1965), Maine (1887), Maryland (2013), Massachusetts (1984) , Michigan (1847), Minnesota (1911), New Hampshire (2019), New Jersey (2007), New Mexico (2009), New York (2007), North Dakota (1973), Rhode Island (1984), Vermont ( 1972), Virginia (2021), Washington (2018), West Virginia (1965) and Wisconsin (1853).
It is worth mentioning that although some states have abolished the death penalty, the repeal was not retroactive, so the prisoners continued with that sentence. In the case of other states, the death penalty became life imprisonment.
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