Under Gregg vs. Georgia, death penalty trials are divided into two parts. In the first phase, a jury determines whether the defendant is guilty of a death-eligible crime. In the 2nd, the jury decides whether the defendant is to be sentenced to death. The states are slow to carry out executions. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics found that the 98 prisoners executed in 1998 spent an average of 10 years and 10 months on death row from conviction to execution.
Some states are more prolific than others.
Oklahoma City prosecutor Robert Macy has spent the past 19 years seeking the death penalty for accused killers. One thing still surprises him. And they're sitting right there in court looking to you to explain why their relative has to die. So you'd better have a good reason. In America, it takes many steps to get a murderer to death row.