U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Bulletin
            
Capital Punishment 2000
            
            
            
December 2001, NCJ 190598
            

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By Tracy L. Snell
BJS Statistician

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Highlights

Status of death penalty, December 31, 2000

Executions during 2000*
 
Texas                       40
Oklahoma                    11
Virginia                     8
Florida                      6
Missouri                     5
Alabama                      4
Arizona                      3
Arkansas                     2
Delaware                     1
Louisiana                    1
North Carolina               1
South Carolina               1
Tennessee                    1
California                   1
 
Total                       85
  
Number of prisoners
under sentence of death
 
California                 586
Texas                      450
Florida                    371
Pennsylvania               238
North Carolina             215
Ohio                       201
Alabama                    185
Illinois                   163
Oklahoma                   129
Georgia                    120
Arizona                    119
Tennessee                   97
Louisiana                   90
Nevada                      88
Missouri                    79
23 other jurisdictions     462
 
Total                    3,593
 
Jurisdictions without
a death penalty
 
Alaska
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
North Dakota
Rhode Island
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin

*  At yearend 2000, 37 States and the
Federal prison system held 3,593
prisoners under sentence of death, 
1.5% more than at yearend 1999.

Persons under sentence of death

                    1990      2000
 
White              1,379     1,990
Black                947     1,535
American Indian       25        29
Asian                 15        27
Unknown race           1        12

*  The 339 Hispanic inmates under
sentence of death accounted for 11% 
of inmates with a known ethnicity.

*  Fifty-four women were under sentence
of death in 2000, up from 35 in 1990. 

*  At yearend the youngest death-row
inmate was 18; the oldest was 85.

*  Among persons for whom arrest
information was available, the average
age at time of arrest was 28; 2% of
inmates were age 17 or younger.

*  Of the 6,588 people under sentence 
of death between 1977 and 2000, 10%
were executed, 3% died by causes other
than execution, and 32% received other
dispositions.

*  The number of states authorizing lethal
injection increased from 21 in 1990 to 36
in 2000.  In 2000, 9 in 10 executions were
by lethal injection, compared to 5 in 10 in
1990.

*  Since 1977, 518 of the 683 executions
(76%) were by lethal injection.

*For preliminary 2001 data on executions, 
see page 12.
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Fourteen States executed 85 prisoners
during 2000.  The number executed was
13 fewer than in 1999.  Those executed
during 2000 had been under sentence of
death an average of 11 years and 5
months, 6 months less than that for
inmates executed in 1999.

At yearend 2000, 3,593 prisoners were
under sentence of death.  California held
the largest number on death row (586),
followed by Texas (450), Florida, (371),
and Pennsylvania (238).  Eighteen people
were under a Federal death sentence.

During 2000, 27 States and the Federal
prison system received 214 prisoners
under sentence of death.  Texas (34
admissions), California (31), Florida 
(20),North Carolina (18), and 
Pennsylvania (12) accounted for more 
than half of those sentenced in 2000.

During 2000, 83 men and 2 women were
executed: 49 whites, 35 blacks, and 1
American Indian.  The executed inmates
included 6 Hispanics (all white).  
Eighty of the executions were carried 
out by lethal injection and 5 by 
electrocution.

From January 1, 1977, to December 31,
2000, 683 executions took place in 31
States.  Sixty-five percent of the
executions occurred in 5 States: Texas
(239), Virginia (81), Florida (50), 
Missouri (46), and Oklahoma (30).  

Capital punishment laws

At yearend 2000 the death penalty was
authorized by 38 States and the Federal
Government.  During 2000 no State
enacted new legislation authorizing 
capital punishment.

Statutory changes

During 2000, 5 States revised statutory
provisions relating to the death penalty.
Most of the changes involved additional
aggravating circumstances and procedural 
amendments.

By State, the changes were as follows:

Colorado -- Added as an aggravating
factor use of a weapon during a Class 
1 felony when use of the weapon itself
constituted a felony under State or
Federal law (CRS 16-11-103(5)(o)),
effective 8/2/2000.

Florida -- Authorized lethal injection 
as a method of execution, effective 
1/14/2000. An inmate may elect in writing 
to be executed by electrocution within 30 
days of the effective date or the date of
sentence; if this option is waived, the
method shall be lethal injection (FSA sec.
922.105).

Georgia -- Revised the penal code to
allow for lethal injection as the method 
of execution for all inmates sentenced 
to death for crimes committed on or a
fter May 1, 2000; those whose offenses
occurred before that date shall be
executed by electrocution, effective
5/1/2000 (O.C.G.A. 17-10-38). 

Mississippi -- Revised the definition 
of capital murder to include among peace
officers who were murdered victims
conservation officers (was previously
called "game warden") (Miss. Code Ann
sec. 97-3-19(2)(a)), effective 
 4/30/2000. 

Mississippi also amended the code of
criminal procedure setting a time 
limit of 1 year within which a defendant 
must apply for post-conviction relief. 
Upon exhaustion of appeals or failure to 
file for post-conviction relief in the 
allotted time, any stays of execution 
will be vacated and an execution date 
will be set (Miss. Code Ann. sec. 
99-19-106), effective 7/1/2000. 

New Jersey -- Revised the penal code 
to create a mandatory sentence to life
without the possibility of parole or
commutation for offenders convicted of 
a capital offense but not sentenced to 
death (NJSA 2C:11-3b(4)), effective
8/22/2000. 

Automatic review

Of the 38 States with capital statutes at
yearend, 37 provided for review of all
death sentences regardless of the defendant's 
wishes.  In South Carolina the defendant 
had the right to waive sentence review if 
he or she was deemed competent by the 
court (State v. Torrence, 473 S.E. 3d 703 
(S.C. 1996)).  Federal death penalty 
procedures did not provide for automatic 
review after a sentence of death had been 
imposed.

The State's highest appellate court usually
conducted the review.  If either the
conviction or sentence were vacated, the
case could be remanded to the trial court
for additional proceedings or retrial.  
As a result of retrial or resentencing, 
a death sentence could be reimposed. 

While most of the 37 States authorized an
automatic review of both the conviction
and sentence, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky,
Oklahoma, and Tennessee required review 
of the sentence only. In Idaho review of 
the conviction had to be filed through 
appeal or forfeited. In Indiana and 
Kentucky a defendant could waive review 
of the conviction.

In Virginia a defendant could waive an
appeal of trial court error but could not
waive review of the death sentence for
arbitrariness and proportionality. In
Mississippi the question of whether the
defendant could waive the right to
automatic review had not been addressed. 
In Wyoming neither statute nor case law 
precluded a waiver of appeal.

In Arkansas case law held that the supreme 
court review the trial court record for 
error in capital cases (State v. Robbins, 
339 Ark. 379, 5 S.W. 3d 51 (1999)). Such 
a review is independent of a defendant's 
right to waive appeals.

Method of execution

As of December 31, 2000, lethal injection
was the predominant method of execution 
(36 States).

Eleven States authorized electrocution; 4
States, lethal gas; 3 States, hanging; and
3 States, firing squad.

Eighteen States authorized more than 1
method -- lethal injection and an
alternative method -- generally at the
election of the condemned prisoner;
however, 6 of these 18 stipulated which
method must be used, depending on the
date of sentencing; 1 authorized hanging
only if lethal injection could not be 
given; and if lethal injection is ever 
ruled to be unconstitutional, 1 authorized 
lethal gas, and 1 authorized electrocution.

The Federal Government authorizes the
method of execution under two different
laws.  Offenses prosecuted under 28 CFR, 
Part 26, mandate lethal injection, while 
those prosecuted under the Violent Crime 
Control Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. 3596) 
call for the method of the State in 
which the conviction took place.

Minimum age

In 2000 seven jurisdictions did not 
specify a minimum age for which the 
death penalty could be imposed.  

In some States the minimum age was set
forth in the statutory provisions that
determine the age at which a juvenile 
may be transferred to adult court for 
trial as an adult.  Fourteen States and 
the Federal system required a minimum 
age of 18. Seventeen States indicated 
an age of eligibility between 14 and 
17. 

Characteristics of prisoners under
sentence of death at yearend 2000

Thirty-seven States and the Federal
prison system held a total of 3,593
prisoners under sentence of death on
December 31, 2000, an increase of 53, 
or 1.5% more than at the end of 1999.

The Federal prison system count
remained unchanged at 18.  Three States
reported 39% of the Nation's death row
population: California (586), Texas 
(450), and Florida (371).  Of the 39 
jurisdictions with death penalty statutes 
enacted during 2000, New Hampshire had 
no one under a capital sentence, and 
Kansas, South Dakota,  and Wyoming had 
4 or fewer.

Among the 38 jurisdictions with prisoners
under sentence of death at yearend 2000,
20 had more inmates than a year earlier,
5 had fewer inmates, and 13 had the same 
number.  California had an increase of 30, 
followed by North Carolina (13). Oklahoma 
and Texas had the largest decreases (12 
and 10, respectively).

During 2000 the number of white inmates
under sentence of death rose by 30; the
number of blacks increased by 20; and
the number of persons of other races 
rose from 65 to 68.

The number of Hispanics under sentence
of death rose from 326 to 339 during
2000. Twenty-five Hispanics were
received under sentence of death, 6 
were removed from death row, and 6 
were executed.  Nearly three-quarters 
of the Hispanics were held in 3 States: 
California (114), Texas (101), and 
Florida (32).

During 2000 the number of women sentenced 
to be executed increased from 51 to 54.  
Nine women were received under sentence 
of death, 3 were removed from death row, 
and 2 were executed.  

Women were under sentence of death in
18 States.  More than half of women on
death row at yearend were in California,
Texas, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. 

                  Women under sentence
                  of death, 12/31/00
State                Total*  White   Black
 
Total                 54       33      18
 
California            12        8       2
Texas                  7        4       3
North Carolina         6        4       1
Pennsylvania           4        1       3
Illinois               4        1       3
Alabama                3        2       1
Florida                3        2       1
Oklahoma               3        2       1
Tennessee              2        2       0
 
Arizona                2        2       0
Missouri               1        1       0
Kentucky               1        1       0
Georgia                1        1       0
Mississippi            1        1       0
Idaho                  1        1       0
Indiana                1        0       1
Louisiana              1        0       1
Nevada                 1        0       1
 
*Total includes races other than 
white and black.
 
Men were 98% (3,538) of all prisoners
under sentence of death.  Whites
comprised 55%; blacks comprised 43%;
and other races (1.9%) included 29
American Indians, 27 Asians, and 12
persons of unknown race.  Among those
for whom ethnicity was known, 11% were
Hispanic.

The gender, race, and Hispanic origin of
those under sentence of death at yearend
2000 were as follows:

               Persons under sentence
               of death, by sex, race, and
               Hispanic origin, 12/31/00
               White   Black  Other races
Male           1,957   1,516      65
Hispanic         309      14      11
Female            33      18       3
Hispanic           2       1       2
 
Among inmates under sentence of death on 
December 31, 2000, for whom information 
on education was available, three-fourths 
had either completed high school (38%) 
or finished 9th, 10th, or 11th grade (37%). 
The percentage who had not gone beyond 
eighth grade (14%) was larger than that 
of inmates who had attended some college 
(10%). The median level of education was 
the 11th grade.  

Of inmates under a capital sentence and
with reported marital status, more than
half had never married; more than a fifth
were married at the time of sentencing;
and more than a fifth were divorced,
separated, or widowed.

Among all inmates under sentence of death 
for whom date of arrest information was 
available, about half were age 20 to 29 
at the time of arrest for their capital
offense; 13% were age 19 or younger;
and less than 1% were age 55 or older. 
The average age at time of arrest was 28
years.  On December 31, 2000, 36% of all
inmates were age 30 to 39, and 68% were
age 25 to 44.  The youngest offender
under sentence of death was 18; the
oldest was 85.

Entries and removals of persons 
under sentence of death

Between January 1 and December 31,2000, 
25 State prison systems reported
receiving 212 prisoners under sentence 
of death;the Federal Bureau of Prisons
received 2 inmates. More than half of 
the inmates were received in 5 States: 
Texas (34), California (31), Florida 
(20), North Carolina (18), and 
Pennsylvania (12).

All 214 prisoners who were received
under sentence of death had been
convicted of murder. By gender and 
race, 115 were white men, 85 were black 
men, 1 was an American Indian man,4 
were Asian men, 7 were white women,1 
was a black woman, and 1 was an American
Indian woman.  Of the 214 new admissions, 
25 were Hispanic men.

Twenty States and the Federal Bureau of
Prisons reported a total of 58 persons
whose sentence of death was overturned
or removed.  Appeals courts vacated 27
sentences while upholding the convictions
and vacated 27 sentences while overturning 
the convictions.  Florida (9 exits) had 
the largest number of vacated capital 
sentences. Maryland, North Carolina, and 
Arizona each reported one commutation of 
a death sentence. 

As of December 31, 2000, 30 of 58 persons 
who were formerly under sentence of death 
were serving a reduced sentence, 13 were 
awaiting a new trial,5 were awaiting 
resentencing,2 had all capital charges 
dropped, and 5 had no action taken after 
being removed from under sentence of death.  
No information was available on the current 
status of 3 inmates.

In addition, 18 persons died while under
sentence of death in 2000.  All of these
deaths were from natural causes -- 2 each
in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and
Nevada, and 1 each in Illinois, Missouri,
Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee,
and Arizona. 

From 1977, the year after the Supreme
Court upheld the constitutionality of
revised State capital punishment laws, 
to 2000, a total of 6,208 persons entered
prison under sentence of death. During
these 24 years, 683 persons were executed, 
and 2,312 were removed from under a 
death sentence by appellate court 
decisions and reviews, commutations, or 
death.***Footnote 1: An individual may
have been received and removed from under
sentence of death more than once. Data 
are based on the most recent sentence.***

Among individuals who received a death
sentence between 1977 and 2000, 3,058
(49%) were white, 2,542 (41%) were
black, 509 (8%) were Hispanic, and 99
(2%) were other races. The distribution
by race and Hispanic origin of the 2,995
inmates who were removed from death row 
between 1977 and 2000 was as follows:  
1,564 whites (52%), 1,202 blacks (40%), 
185 Hispanics (6%), and 44 persons of 
other races (1%). Of the 683 who were 
executed, 377 (55%) were white, 246 
(36%) were black, 49 (7%) were Hispanic, 
and 11 (2%) were of other races.
 
Criminal history of inmates under
sentence of death in 2000

Among inmates under a death sentence
on December 31, 2000,for whom criminal 
history information was available, 64% 
had prior felony convictions, including 
8% with at least one previous homicide 
conviction.

Among those for whom legal status at the
time of the capital offense was available,
39% had an active criminal justice status. 
Less than half of these were on parole,
and a quarter were on probation.  The
remaining quarter had charges pending,
were incarcerated, had escaped from
incarceration, or had some other criminal
justice status.

Criminal history patterns differed by race
and Hispanic origin.  More blacks (68%)
than whites (62%) or Hispanics (59%) had
a prior felony conviction. 

About the same percentage of whites,
blacks, and Hispanics had a prior
homicide conviction (8%). A slightly
higher percentage of Hispanics (24%) or
blacks (19%) than whites (15%) were on
parole when arrested for their capital
offense.

Since 1988,data have been collected on
the number of death sentences imposed
on entering inmates.  Among the 3,678
individuals received under sentence of
death during that time, about 1 in 7
entered with 2 or more death sentences.

Number of death sentences received     Inmates
     Total                               100 %
1                                         85
2                                         11
3 or more                                  5
 
Number admitted under
sentence of death, 1988-2000           3,678

Executions

According to data collected by the Federal
Government, from 1930 to 2000, 4,542
persons were executed under civil
authority.***Footnote 2: Military authority
carried out an additional 160 executions 
between 1930 and 1961.***
 
After the Supreme Court reinstated the
death penalty in 1976, 31 States executed
683 prisoners:

1977     1       1990       23
1979     2       1991       14
1981     1       1992       31
1982     2       1993       38
1983     5       1994       31
1984    21       1995       56
1985    18       1996       45
1986    18       1997       74
1987    25       1998       68
1988    11       1999       98
1989    16       2000       85

During this 24-year period, 5 States
executed 446 prisoners: Texas (239),
Virginia (81), Florida (50), Missouri 
(46), and Oklahoma (30).  These States
accounted for nearly two-thirds of 
all executions.  Between 1977 and 2000, 
372 white non-Hispanic men, 246 black
non-Hispanic men, 49 Hispanic men, 6
American Indian men, 5 Asian men, and 
5 white non-Hispanic women were
executed.

During 2000 Texas carried out 40
executions, Oklahoma executed 11
persons; Virginia, 8; Florida, 6; 
Missouri, 5; Alabama, 4; Arizona, 3; 
Arkansas, 2; and Delaware, Louisiana, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, and California, 1 each.  
The inmate executed in Tennessee was 
the first executed in that State 
since 1960.  Eighty-three persons 
executed in 2000 were male and two 
were female.  Forty-three were white; 
35 were black; 6 were Hispanic; and 
1 was American Indian.

From 1977 to 2000, 6,588 prisoners 
were under death sentences for varying 
lengths of time.  The 683 executions 
accounted for 10% of those at risk.  
A total of 2,312 prisoners (35% of 
those at risk) were removed by means 
other than execution.  About the same 
percentage of whites (12%), blacks 
(9%), and Hispanics (9%) were executed.
Somewhat larger percentages of whites
(37%) and blacks (35%) than Hispanics
(26%) were removed from under a death
sentence by means other than execution.

Among prisoners executed from 1977 to
2000, the average time spent between 
the imposition of the most recent 
sentence received and execution was 
more than 10 years.  White prisoners 
had spent an average of 9 years and 8 
months, and black prisoners, 10 years 
and 8 months. The 85 prisoners executed 
in 2000 were under sentence of death an 
average of 11 years and 5 months.

For the 683 prisoners executed between
1977 and 2000, the most common method
of execution was lethal injection (518). 
Other methods were electrocution (149),
lethal gas (11), hanging (3), and firing
squad (2).

                          Executions, 1977-2000
                                        Amer-
Method of                        His-   ican
execution          White  Black  panic  Indian  Asian
 
Total               377    246    49      6       5
 
Lethal
   injection        287    174    47      5       5
Electrocution        77     69     2      1       0
Lethal gas            8      3     0      0       0
Hanging               3      0     0      0       0
Firing squad          2      0     0      0       0

Among prisoners under sentence of death
at yearend 2000, the average time spent
in prison was 8 years, up 5 month from
that of 1999.

                       Elapsed time
Inmates under          since sentencing
sentence of death        Mean    Median
 
    Total                96mo      83mo
 
Male                     97        83
Female                   73        70
 
White                   100        87
Black                    96        81
Hispanic                 85        69

The median time between the imposition
of a death sentence and yearend 2000
was 83 months.  Overall, the average time
for women was 6.1 years, 2 years less
than that for men (8.1 years).  On
average, whites, blacks, and Hispanics
had spent from 85 to 100 months under a
sentence of death. 

-------------------------------------------
Advance count of executions:  January
1, 2001 - November 30, 2001

To provide the latest data on capital
punishment, BJS gathers information
following each execution.  The data
include the date of execution, the
jurisdiction, method used, and the 
name, race, and gender of each person
executed.

Between January 1, 2001, and November
30, 2001, 15 States and the Federal
Government executed 62 inmates.  This
represents a 22% decrease from the 79
executed during the same period in 2000.

Oklahoma and Texas had carried out 16,
52% of the executions in 2001.  This is 
the most inmates executed in Oklahoma 
in a single year since the Federal 
Government began tracking executions on 
an annual basis.

The Federal Government executed two
inmates, the first since 1963 (and the
most since the two federally executed 
in 1957).  New Mexico executed one
inmate, the first since 1960.

Lethal injection accounted for all 62
executions.  This is the first year 
since executions resumed in 1977 that 
lethal injection was the only method 
used.  

                       Number of
Jurisdiction           executions    Method used
 
Oklahoma                  16         Lethal Injection
Texas                     16         Lethal Injection
Missouri                   7         Lethal Injection
North Carolina             5         Lethal Injection
Georgia                    3         Lethal Injection
Federal Government         2         Lethal Injection
Indiana                    2         Lethal Injection
Delaware                   2         Lethal Injection
Virginia                   2         Lethal Injection
Ohio                       1         Lethal Injection
Arkansas                   1         Lethal Injection
Florida                    1         Lethal Injection
California                 1         Lethal Injection
Nevada                     1         Lethal Injection
New Mexico                 1         Lethal Injection
Washington                 1         Lethal Injection
 
   Total                  62
 

Forty-five of those executed were white,
16 black, and 1 American Indian. Two
women were executed in Oklahoma.

Final counts for all of 2001 will appear in
Capital Punishment 2001, a BJS Bulletin,
released in late 2002. This annual report
will comprise data collected from State
and Federal departments of correction. The 
report will cover all persons under sentence 
of death on December 31, 2001, as well as 
those removed from under sentence of death.
--------------------------------------------

Methodology

Capital punishment information is
collected annually as part of the 
National Prisoner Statistics program 
(NPS-8). This data series is collected 
in two parts: data on persons under 
sentence of death are obtained from 
the department of correction in each 
jurisdiction currently authorizing capital 
punishment; information on the status of 
death penalty statutes is obtained from 
the Office of the Attorney General in 
each of the 50 States, the District of 
Columbia, and the Federal Government.  
Data collection forms and more detailed 
tables are available in Correctional 
Populations in the United States, 
published annually.  NPS-8 covers
all persons under sentence of death at
any time during the year who were held 
in a State or Federal nonmilitary correc-
tional facility.  Included are capital 
offenders transferred from prison to 
mental hospitals and those who may have 
escaped from custody.  Excluded are 
persons whose death sentences have been 
overturned by the court, regardless of 
their current incarceration status.

The statistics reported in this Bulletin 
may differ from data collected by other
organizations for a variety of reasons:  
(1) NPS-8 add inmates to the number under
sentence of death not at sentencing but at
the time they are admitted to State or
Federal correctional facility; (2) If in 
one year inmates entered prison under a 
death sentence or were reported as being 
relieved of a death sentence but the 
court had acted in the previous year,
the counts are adjusted to reflect the 
dates of court decisions (see the note 
on table 5 for the affected jurisdictions); 
(3) NPS counts are always for the last 
day of the calendar year and will differ 
from counts for more recent periods.

All data in this report have been reviewed
for accuracy by the data providers in each
jurisdiction prior to publication.   

---------------------------------------
The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the
statistical agency of the U.S. Department
of Justice.  Lawrence A. Greenfeld is 
acting director.

BJS Bulletins present the first release of
findings from permanent data  collection
programs.  

This Bulletin was written by Tracy L. Snell
under the supervision of Allen J. Beck. 
Paige M. Harrison provided assistance
and statistical review. 

Tina Dorsey edited the report.  Jayne
Robinson prepared the report for final
printing.

At the U.S. Census Bureau, Patricia A.
Clark collected the data under the
supervision of Gertrude B. Odom and
Marilyn M. Monahan.

December 2001, NCJ 190598
-------------------------------------------

End of file 
12/05/01 ih