# Death row

Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ("being on death row"), even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists. In the United States, after an individual is found guilty of a capital offense in states where execution is a legal penalty, the judge will give the jury the option of imposing a death sentence or life imprisonment unparoled. It is then up to the 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 decades.
Opponents of capital punishment claim that a prisoner's isolation and uncertainty over their fate constitute a form of psychological abuse and that especially long-time death row inmates are prone to develop a mental disorder, if they do not already suffer from such a condition. This is referred to as the death row phenomenon. Estimates reveal that five to ten percent of all inmates on death row suffer from mental illness. Some inmates may attempt suicide. There have been some calls for a ban on the imposition of the death penalty for inmates with mental illness and also case law such as Atkins v. Virginia to further this. Executions still take place for those with clear intellectual disabilities due to poor legal representation and high standards of proof.

## Etymology

In 1933, Giuseppe Zangara attempted to kill Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, he missed the then president-elect and instead killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak. He was convicted of Cermak's murder and sentenced to death. Due to Florida law, an inmate could not be housed in a cell with an inmate who was awaiting execution so a prisoner awaiting execution was to be held in a separate waiting cell. Raiford Prison, where Zangara was being held, already had one prisoner waiting in their "death cell" so the waiting area was expanded to a row of cells, becoming a "Death Row".

## United States

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 increased relatively steadily between 1977 and 2010, including a 21% 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 (14 years and 10 months) 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 2,721 people on death row in the United States on October 1, 2018. As of 2024, 2,183 people are on death row in the United States. 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. Gary Alvord arrived on Florida's death row in 1974 and died 39 years later on May 19, 2013, from a brain tumor, having spent more time on death row than any American. Brandon Astor Jones spent 36 years on death row (with a brief period in the general prison population during his re-sentencing trial) before being executed for felony murder by the state of Georgia in 2016, at the age of 72. 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

| Federal | Men's death row | Women's death row |
| Civilian | Majority: United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, Indiana ADX Florence, Fremont County, Colorado (Timothy McVeigh, Joseph Edward Duncan, Kaboni Savage, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev) MCFP Springfield, Missouri (Marvin Charles Gabrion) | 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, Jefferson County | Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women, Wetumpka |
| Arizona | Arizona State Prison Complex - Eyman, Florence and Arizona State Prison Complex – Florence, Florence | Arizona State Prison Complex - Perryville, Goodyear |
| Arkansas | Varner Unit, Lincoln County | McPherson Unit, Newport |
| California | San Quentin State Prison, Marin County (formerly), now housed in general population at institutions throughout the state | Central California Women's Facility, Chowchilla, now housed in general population |
| Florida | Union Correctional Institution, Union County and Florida State Prison, Bradford County | Lowell Correctional Institution Annex, Marion County |
| Georgia | Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison, Butts County | Arrendale State Prison, Habersham County |
| Idaho | Idaho Maximum Security Institution, Ada County | 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, Shelby County |
| Louisiana | Louisiana State Penitentiary, West Feliciana Parish | Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, St. Gabriel |
| Mississippi | Mississippi State Penitentiary, Sunflower County | Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, Rankin County |
| Missouri | Potosi Correctional Center, Washington County | Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, Vandalia |
| Montana | Montana State Prison, Powell County | Montana Women's Prison, Billings |
| Nebraska | Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, Johnson County | Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, York County |
| Nevada | High Desert State Prison, Clark County | 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 | Northwest New Mexico Correctional Facility, Grants |
| North Carolina | Central Prison, Raleigh | North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, Raleigh |
| Ohio | Ross Correctional Institution, Ross County; Ohio State Penitentiary, Youngstown; and Franklin Medical Center, Columbus | Ohio Reformatory for Women, Marysville |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester | Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, McLoud |
| Oregon | Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem | Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Wilsonville |
| Pennsylvania | SCI-Somerset, Somerset Township and SCI-Phoenix, Skippack Township | SCI-Muncy, Clinton Township |
| South Carolina | Broad River Correctional Institution, Columbia | 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 | Tennessee Prison for Women, Nashville |
| Texas | Polunsky Unit, West Livingston and Wayne Scott Unit (formerly Jester IV Unit), Fort Bend County | Patrick O'Daniel Unit (formerly Mountain View Unit), Gatesville |
| Utah | Utah State Correctional Facility, Salt Lake City | Central Utah Correctional Facility, Gunnison |
| 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.

## European criticism of death row

Nearly all European countries have abolished capital punishment. Currently, Belarus remains the only European country to use the death penalty.
Around 70% of the world's countries have abolished capital punishment. These countries are frequently concerned with their citizens in the United States criminal system. There have even been instances of other countries citing human rights laws against the United States, or refusing to extradite incriminating material, in fear of their citizens being put on death row.
On November 9, 2020, the United States received persistent criticism on its use of capital punishment during a United Nations review of its human rights record. Many allies of the United States urged that the U.S. cease executions. France urged the US halt executions, Germany suggested a federal moratorium on and eventual abolition, Austria called for immediate cessation of executions and then abolition, and Australia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland all called for abolition entirely.

## Other countries

According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran were responsible for most known executions worldwide in 2020. When the United Kingdom had capital punishment, there were generally no 'death rows'. The condemned were however separated from the general prison population in one of two 'condemned cells' located adjacent to the execution chamber. 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 imprisonment. The Home Secretary 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. Essentially the speedy process from conviction to execution, re-sentencing or reprieve meant that there were low numbers, (if any) prisoners under sentence of death at any one time and so there was no need for a 'death row'. Assistant executioner Syd Dernley used the term "death row" in his 1990 memoir The Hangman's Tale to refer to the situation at Wandsworth Prison in April 1951 where, as only up to two persons could be hanged at one time, the execution of murderer James Virrels had to await the prior double execution of murderers/robbers Joseph Brown and Edward Smith a day earlier, before going ahead on April 26.
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.

### Condemn cells

A condemn cell, also known as a death row cell, is a designated room within a prison where individuals who have been sentenced to death as a legal punishment are held until their execution. This specialized cell is a temporary holding area specifically designed for individuals awaiting capital punishment.
Condemn cells are constructed with a focus on security and isolation. The room is typically designed to limit access and maintain strict control over the condemned individual. Furnishings and amenities in these cells are often minimal, as they are not intended for long-term incarceration but rather for the purpose of facilitating the impending execution. Typically, a condemn cell can house between one and three inmates.

#### Bangladesh

Bangladesh has witnessed significant controversy surrounding the use of condemn cells in relation to capital punishment. The issue has sparked debates on various aspects, including human rights, the efficacy of the death penalty, and the treatment of individuals awaiting execution. Several Bangladeshi prisons house inmates on trial in condemn cells, which is met with severe criticism. There have been instances where acquitted people have been confined in condemn cells, for multiple years.