Death row - wikipedia Death row For other uses, see Death row ( disambiguation ). The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. ( August 2015 ) Death row is a special section of a prison that houses inmates who are awaiting execution after being sentenced to death for the conviction of capital crimes. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ( `` been on death row '' ), even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists. After a person is found guilty of a capital offense, the judge will give the jury the option of imposing a death sentence or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. It is then up to a jury to decide whether to give the death sentence ; this usually has to be a unanimous decision. If the jury agrees on death, the defendant will remain on death row during appeal and habeas corpus procedures, which may continue for several years. Opponents of capital punishment claim that a prisoner 's isolation and uncertainty over his or her fate constitute a form of mental cruelty and that especially long - time death row inmates are liable to become mentally ill, if they are not already. This is referred to as the death row phenomenon. In extreme cases some inmates may attempt to commit suicide. Contents 1 United States 1.1 Death row locations in the United States 2 Other countries 3 See also 4 References 5 External links United States United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute houses the male death row prisoners sentenced by the U.S. federal government San Quentin State Prison houses the male death row prisoners sentenced by the U.S. state of California Allan B. Polunsky Unit houses the male death row prisoners sentenced by the U.S. state of Texas Louisiana State Penitentiary, which houses the male death row prisoners sentenced by the State of Louisiana The Mississippi State Penitentiary, which houses male death row prisoners sentenced by the State of Mississippi Oklahoma State Penitentiary, which houses male death row prisoners sentenced by the state of Oklahoma In the United States, prisoners may wait many years before execution can be carried out due to the complex and time - consuming appeals procedures mandated in the jurisdiction. The time between sentencing and execution has increased relatively steadily between 1977 and 2010, including a 22 % jump between 1989 and 1990 and a similar jump between 2008 and 2009. In 2010, a death row inmate waited an average of 178 months ( roughly 15 years ) between sentencing and execution. Nearly a quarter of inmates on death row in the U.S. die of natural causes while awaiting execution. There were 3,125 people on death row in the United States on January 1, 2013. Since 1977, the states of Texas ( 464 ), Virginia ( 108 ) and Oklahoma ( 94 ) have executed the most death row inmates. As of 2010, California ( 683 ), Florida ( 390 ), Texas ( 330 ) and Pennsylvania ( 218 ) housed more than half of all inmates pending on death row. As of 2008, the longest - serving prisoner on death row in the US who has been executed was Jack Alderman who served over 33 years. He was executed in Georgia in 2008. However, Alderman only holds the distinction of being the longest - serving executed inmate so far. A Florida inmate, Gary Alvord, arrived on Florida 's death row in 1974. On April 9, 2013, Alvord had been on death row for exactly 39 years when he died on May 19, 2013 from a brain tumor, having been longer on death row than any other United States inmate. The oldest prisoner on death row in the United States was Leroy Nash, age 94, in Arizona. He died of natural causes on February 12, 2010. Death row locations in the United States See also : Capital punishment in the United States Men 's death row Women 's death row Civilian Federal United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, Terre Haute, Indiana Federal Medical Center, Carswell, Fort Worth, Texas Military United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Naval Consolidated Brig, Miramar, San Diego, California State Men 's death row Women 's death row Alabama Holman Correctional Facility, Atmore and William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility, Bessemer Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women Arizona Arizona State Prison Complex - Eyman Arizona State Prison Complex - Perryville Arkansas Varner Unit McPherson Unit California San Quentin State Prison Central California Women 's Facility Colorado No designated death row Currently all DR prisoners are at Sterling Correctional Facility Colorado Women 's Correctional Facility Delaware James T. Vaughn Correctional Center Delores J. Baylor Women 's Correctional Institution Florida Union Correctional Institution and Florida State Prison Lowell Correctional Institution Annex Georgia Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison, Butts County Arrendale State Prison, Habersham County Idaho Idaho Maximum Security Institution, Boise Pocatello Women 's Correctional Center, Pocatello Indiana Indiana State Prison, Michigan City Indiana Women 's Prison, Indianapolis Kansas El Dorado Correctional Facility, El Dorado Topeka Correctional Facility, Topeka Kentucky Kentucky State Penitentiary, Eddyville Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women, Peewee Valley Louisiana Louisiana State Penitentiary, unincorporated West Feliciana Parish Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, St. Gabriel Mississippi Mississippi State Penitentiary, Sunflower County Central Mississippi Correctional Facility Missouri Potosi Correctional Center Women 's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center Montana Montana State Prison, Deer Lodge Montana Women 's Prison, Billings Nebraska Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, Tecumseh Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, York Nevada Ely State Prison, Ely Florence McClure Women 's Correctional Center, North Las Vegas New Hampshire New Hampshire State Prison for Men, Concord New Hampshire State Prison for Women, Goffstown New Mexico Penitentiary of New Mexico, Santa Fe County New Mexico Women 's Correctional Facility, Grants North Carolina Central Prison, Raleigh North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, Raleigh Ohio Chillicothe Correctional Institution, Chillicothe, Ohio State Penitentiary, Youngstown and Franklin Medical Center, Columbus Ohio Reformatory for Women, Marysville Oklahoma Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, Oklahoma City Oregon Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Wilsonville Pennsylvania SCI - Greene, Franklin Township and Skippack Township ( SCI Graterford ) SCI - Muncy, Clinton Township South Carolina Lieber Correctional Institution, Ridgeville Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution, Columbia South Dakota South Dakota State Penitentiary, Sioux Falls South Dakota Women 's Prison, Pierre Tennessee Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville and Morgan County Correctional Complex, Wartburg Tennessee Prison for Women, Nashville Texas Polunsky Unit, West Livingston Mountain View Unit, Gatesville Utah Utah State Prison, Draper Central Utah Correctional Facility, Gunnison Virginia Sussex I State Prison, Sussex County Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, Troy Washington Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla Washington Corrections Center for Women, Gig Harbor Wyoming Wyoming State Penitentiary, Rawlins Wyoming Women 's Center, Lusk Notes : Naval Consolidated Brig, Miramar is the only facility in the United States Department of Defense designated to house female Level III inmates. Other countries When the United Kingdom had capital punishment, sentenced inmates were given one appeal. If that appeal was found to involve an important point of law it was taken up to the House of Lords, and if the appeal was successful, at that point the sentence was changed to life in prison. The Home Secretary in the United Kingdom had the power to exercise the Sovereign 's royal prerogative of mercy to grant a reprieve on execution and change the sentence to life imprisonment. In some Caribbean countries that still authorize execution, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the ultimate court of appeals. It has upheld appeals by prisoners who have spent several years under sentence of death, stating that it does not desire to see the death row phenomenon emerge in countries under its jurisdiction. See also Live from Death Row The Green Mile The Chamber Dead Man Walking Capital punishment List of death row inmates in the United States List of women on death row in the United States List of exonerated death row inmates Execution chamber List of wrongful convictions in the United States References ^ Jump up to : `` Department of Justice : Capital Punishment, 2010 Figures ''. Journalist 's Resource.org. Jump up ^ United States Department of Justice Jump up ^ http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf Jump up ^ Jack Alderman Executed Jump up ^ `` A man too crazy to be executed ''. Tampa Bay Times. Jump up ^ `` BBC News - Oldest US death row inmate dies aged 94 ''. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Special Confinement Unit Opens at USP Terre Haute. '' Federal Bureau of Prisons. July 13, 1999. Retrieved on October 3, 2010. Jump up ^ Marshall, John. `` Lisa Montgomery gets death penalty for killing pregnant woman. '' Associated Press at the Southeast Missourian. Friday April 4, 2008. Retrieved on October 3, 2010. `` Department of Justice spokesman Don Ledford said Montgomery will likely be sent to the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, a women 's correctional facility that has medical services for inmates. '' Jump up ^ `` Lisa M Montgomery. '' Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on October 3, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Angela Johnson. '' Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on October 14, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Annual Report Fiscal Year 2003. '' Alabama Department of Corrections. 33 / 84. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. `` which also included a cellblock for 20 death row inmates. '' Jump up ^ `` Annual Report Fiscal Year 2003. '' Alabama Department of Corrections. 21 / 84. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. `` Donaldson has a death row unit with a capacity of 24 inmates. '' Jump up ^ `` Annual Report Fiscal Year 2003. '' Alabama Department of Corrections. 45 / 84. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. `` Tutwiler also has a death row, '' ^ Jump up to : `` Death Row Information and Frequently Asked Questions. '' Arizona Department of Corrections. Retrieved on February 23, 2011. Jump up ^ `` State Capitol Week in Review. '' State of Arkansas. June 13, 2008. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. `` Executions are carried out in the Cummins Unit, which is adjacent to Varner. '' Jump up ^ Haddigan, Michael. `` They Kill Women, Do n't They ? '' Arkansas Times. April 9, 1999. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` History of Capital Punishment in California Archived July 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine... '' California Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. `` All male prisoners on condemned status are housed at a maximum - security custody level in three units at San Quentin State Prison. Females are housed in a maximum - security unit at Central California Women 's Facility in Chowchilla. '' Jump up ^ `` Death Row FAQ. '' ( Archive ) Colorado Department of Corrections. Retrieved on April 19, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Death Row Fact Sheet. '' Delaware Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Death Row Fact Sheet. '' Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison. '' Georgia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on July 18, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Inmates Under Death Sentence January 1, 2012 Changes to UDS Population During 2011. '' ( Archive ) Georgia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on November 18, 2012. Jump up ^ Barrouquere, Brett. `` Inmate challenges sedatives used in lethal injections Wilson also claims state does n't provide enough information to inmates. '' The Harlan Daily Enterprise. November 24, 2007. Retrieved on September 8, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Kentucky State Penitentiary Prepares For 165th Execution. '' WLKY. Retrieved on September 8, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Life After Death Row. '' CBS News. April 25, 2010. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. `` Rideau was sent to Louisiana 's Angola Prison, where he spent a decade waiting to be executed. '' Jump up ^ `` Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women. '' Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Division of Institutions State Prisons. '' Mississippi Department of Corrections. April 21, 2010. Retrieved on May 21, 2010. Jump up ^ Lombardi, George, Richard D. Sluder, and Donald Wallace. `` The Management of Death - Sentenced Inmates : Issues, Realities, and Innovative Strategies. '' Missouri Department of Corrections. 8 - 9. Retrieved on September 18, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Organization. '' Nevada Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 5, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Lone woman on Nevada 's death row dies in prison. '' Associated Press at North County Times. January 31, 2005. Retrieved on September 5, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Death Row and Death Watch. '' North Carolina Department of Correction. Retrieved on September 1, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` CCI death row receives final inmates. '' Chillicothe Gazette. Retrieved on February 2, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Capital Punishment in Oregon. '' Oregon Department of Corrections. Retrieved on December 28, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Death Penalty FAQ. '' Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. 2 ( 2 / 4 ). Retrieved on July 26, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Death Row / Capital Punishment. '' South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Graham ( Camille Griffin ) Correctional Institution. '' South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010. `` The institution also functions as a major special management unit with the ability to house female death row inmates and county safekeepers. '' ^ Jump up to : `` Death Row Facts. '' Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. Jump up ^ `` West Livingston CDP, Texas Archived June 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine... '' U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Death Row Facts Archived August 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine... '' Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Sussex I State Prison. '' Virginia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` DOC Appoints New Warden at Sussex I State Prison. '' Virginia Department of Corrections. March 9, 2006. Retrieved on August 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Virginia Death Row / Execution Facts. '' My FOX DC. Tuesday November 10, 2009. Retrieved on August 22, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women ( female institution ). '' Virginia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 22, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Capital Punishment in Washington State. '' Washington Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 26, 2010. Jump up ^ `` History of Capital Punishment ''. External links Death Row Conditions : Death Penalty Worldwide Academic research database on the laws, practice, and statistics of capital punishment for every death penalty country in the world. 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Question: how long is an inmate on death row
Answer: an average of 178 months (roughly 15 years) between sentencing and execution