The Supreme Court rules in Coker vs. Georgia that use of the death penalty in rape cases is unconstitutional because the sentence is disproportionate to the crime. Mumia Abu-Jamal is condemned to death for killing a Philadelphia police officer. Today he continues to maintain his innocence and is petitioning for a new trial. The Supreme Court rules in Thompson vs. Oklahoma that people younger than 16 when they committed a crime may not be sentenced to death. Some politicians have challenged this notion, of not executing convicts who committed crimes as juveniles.
Lethal injection is currently the most-used method.
A Maritz AmeriPoll poll finds that 63 percent of Americans support capital punishment. Only 23 percent of those polled oppose the death penalty, while 13 percent are undecided. Congress enacts a new federal death penalty, called the Drug Kingpin Statute, for murder in the course of a drug conspiracy. Six people have been sentenced under this federal law, but none executed. The omnibus federal crime bill lists about 60 federal death penalty offenses.