Executions Hit 14-Year Low

At some point or another the topic of the death penalty has been mentioned in each of my classes this semester. Recently, I was asked about how many executions are carried out each year in the United States. I had to admit my ignorance, and state simply that I knew the number was lower than usual because of a recent Supreme Court case. Thanks to the fine folks at Reuters, who ran a story yesterday about how executions have reached a 14-year low, we now have some answers. Last there were 37 executions, and this new low was indeed partly caused by a moratorium on executions while the Supreme Court decided whether death by lethal injection violated the Constitution (they ultimately decided it does not). But another reason is the continuing decrease in the number of death sentences that are handed out. Some statistics on the death penalty, which states have it, how many executions per states, etc., can be found here.