Death Penalty Information Center: 2019 Year End Report Shows Death Penalty Continues to Decline

The death penalty has now disappeared from whole regions of the country and continues to erode in others, according to the Death Penalty Information Center 2019 Year End Report. With New Hampshire's repeal of its capital punishment statute in May, 21 states have now abolished the death penalty. In March, California Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions on the nation's largest death row, joining governors in Oregon, Colorado, and Pennsylvania in formally halting executions. Half of the country has now either abolished the death penalty or halted executions. 

Executions and new death sentences remained near historic lows for the fifth consecutive year. Another sign of the changing attitude toward the death penalty is shown in the Gallup polls. For the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1985, a majority of the respondents (60%) believe that life in prison without parole is a better approach for punishing murder than the death penalty.