Report: The State of Death Row in America - Articles

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Report: The State of Death Row in America

Posted by: Jarod Word on Nov 19, 2024

An article published today by The Washington Post examines the death penalty in America. Currently, the nation holds approximately 2,100 prisoners with death sentences, around half incarcerated in states with a moratorium on executions. Capital punishment is sanctioned in 27 states, many of which have paused executions because of court orders and inability to obtain drugs for lethal injections. This has led to a three-fold increase in the average amount of time condemned inmates spend on death row. The Post found that around half the inmates on death row were sentenced more than 25 years ago, with many prisoners dying of other causes or having their sentences commuted or overturned before they could be executed. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in 2022 paused all executions in the state pending a third-party review of lethal injection testing oversight. Lee has said he is working with the state Department of Corrections to resume capital punishment. There are currently 45 Tennessee inmates on death row.