Nowadays, capital punishment, also known as the death penalty or execution, is authorized in 27 states of the American Union. In addition, this is also allowed by the federal government and the United States military.
The last execution of this 2021 took place in Oklahoma on October 28 after John Marion Grant was executed at age 60 by lethal injection. To date, November 19, 9 executions have been carried out in the USA during 2021. In 2020, 17 were made.
What states still have execution in the USA?
The states that still allow capital punishment are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky; Louisiana, Mississippi, Misouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregón, Pensilvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah y Wyoming.
It is worth mentioning that Nebraska abolished capital punishment in 2015, but it was reinstated by state vote in 2016.
Execution methods
Lethal injection is currently the main method of execution. Texas was the first state to use the method in 1982. Meanwhile, in 2021, South Carolina became the first state to stop using lethal injection as its primary method of execution. It is the only state in which electrocution is primary and shooting and lethal injection are secondary methods.
Other secondary execution methods include electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, nitrogen hypoxia, and firing squad.
What states do not have the death penalty in the USA?
In addition to the District of Columbia, these are the states and the respective years in which they have abolished the death penalty: Alaska (1957), Colorado (2020), Connecticut (2012), Delaware (2016), Hawaii (1957), Illinois (2011), Iowa (1965), Maine (1887), Maryland (2013), Massachusetts (1984) , Michigan (1847), Minnesota (1911), New Hampshire (2019), New Jersey (2007), New Mexico (2009), New York (2007), North Dakota (1973), Rhode Island (1984), Vermont ( 1972), Virginia (2021), Washington (2018), West Virginia (1965), and Wisconsin (1853).
It is worth mentioning that although some states have abolished the death penalty, the repeal was not retroactive, so the prisoners continued with that sentence. For other states, the death penalty was converted to life imprisonment.