Death Penalty Use in 2015 Declines Sharply

A report by the Death Penalty Information Center shows that the use of the death penalty declined by virtually every measure in 2015. There were only 28 executions, which is the lowest number since 1991. Fourteen states and the federal government imposed 49 new death sentences, a 33% decline over 2014 and the lowest number since the early 1970s when the death penalty was halted by the US Supreme Court.

Similarly public support for the death penalty continued to fall in 2015, with various polls showing a huge decrease since in support since the peak years of the 1980s and 1990s.

There were six exonerations in 2015, bringing the total to 156 innocent men and women who have been released from death row since 1973.

A summary of the report can be found at:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/YearEnd2015#pressrelease

This also gives a link to the full report.