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The Death Penalty Debate: A Starting Point

© Glenn Arnold

Having a capital punishment debate and having trouble sifting through all the information? Or just curious about some of the facts and figures? Quite a few web sites have exhaustive lists of statistics, but it's often difficult to sort through them to get to the real information. Many sites slant their figures towards either pro-death penalty or anti-death penalty views. It's quite amazing how a hard number can be spun as a positive for by pro-death penalty advocates and anti-death penalty advocates.

Below are a few of the more interesting and relevant facts and figures on the death penalty. By no means is it a complete list, but it's a good starting point.

Deterrence figures have been purposefully left out because of the lack of true information. Most pro- and anti-death penalty advocates agree that it's difficult to measure whether the death penalty deters crime or not. Many believe that definitive statistics have yet to be produced by either camp or by researchers.

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*For the fourth straight year, the number of death sentences handed out by juries has declined.

*Currently, thirty-eight states and the federal government have death penalty statutes.

*In twenty-one states, the death penalty can be applied for those who committed their crime under the age of eighteen.

*Since 1990, only six countries have executed people for crimes they committed as children: Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, and the United States.

*There have been sixty-five executions in the United States in 2003 and 885 since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

*Since 1976, forty-four people with metal retardation have been executed in 13 different states.

*According to various state government data, an execution--from the point of arrest to the actual execution--costs between $1 million and $3 per case, while a case with a life sentence costs around $500,000 per case.

*Currently, there are over 3,500 inmates on death row in the United States.

*In 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court held that it is a "violation on the ban on cruel and unusual punishment" to execute mentally retarded inmates.

*California has the most inmates on death row (632), followed by Texas (451) and Florida (381).

*Since 1976, Texas has executed the most number of inmates (312), followed by Virginia (89) and Oklahoma (69).

*According to the latest Gallup poll in October of 2003, 64% of respondents approve of the death penalty. In Gallup polls dating back to the early 1950's, Americans have always favored the use of the death penalty.

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