NCJ Number
175311
Date Published
1998
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This report presents statistics on death row inmates as of July 1, 1998, executions and other dispositions since January 1, 1973, jurisdictions with and without capital punishment laws, and United States Supreme Court decisions issued during the October 1997 term and related to capital punishment.
Abstract
The United States had a total of 3,474 death row inmates as of July 1, 1998. These included 1,639 whites, 1,461 blacks, 274 Hispanics, 274 Native American Indians, 26 Asians, and 30 persons whose race was unknown. A total of 467 executions, 51 suicides, 76 commutations, 112 deaths from natural causes or murder, and 1,642 reversals of convictions/sentences have occurred since January 1973. The executions have involved 265 whites, 167 blacks, 28 Hispanics, 5 Native American Indians, and 2 Asians. Five hundred twenty-four of their victims were white, 76 were black, 23 were Hispanic, and 9 were Asian. Forty jurisdictions have capital punishment laws; 13 do not. Supreme Court decisions during the October 1997 term focused on delaying a response and disposition in a habeas action, whether the jury should receive specific instruction on the consideration of mitigating circumstances, reviews of executive clemency determinations, and other topics related to capital punishment. Lists of persons executed and executions by State