U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin December 1996, NCJ-162043 Capital Punishment 1995 By Tracy L. Snell BJS Statistician Highlights Status of the death penalty, December 31,1995 Sixteen States executed 56 prisoners during 1995. The number of persons Number of prisoners Jurisdictions executed was 25 greater than in 1994 Executions during 1995 under sentence of death without a death penalty and was the largest annual number Texas 19 California 420 Alaska since the 56 executed during 1960 Missouri 6 Texas 404 District of Columbia and the 65 in 1957. The prisoners Illinois 5 Florida 362 Hawaii executed during 1995 had been under Virginia 5 Pennsylvania 196 Iowa sentence of death an average of 11 Florida 3 Ohio 155 Maine Oklahoma 3 Illinois 154 Massachusetts years and 2 months, about 12 months Alabama 2 Alabama 143 Michigan more than the average for inmates Arkansas 2 North Carolina 139 Minnesota executed the previous year. Georgia 2 Oklahoma 129 North Dakota North Carolina 2 Arizona 117 Rhode Island At yearend 1995, 3,054 prisoners were Pennsylvania 2 Georgia 98 Vermont Arizona 1 Tennessee 96 West Virginia under sentence of death. California Delaware 1 Missouri 92 Wisconsin held the largest number of death row Louisiana 1 22 other jurisdictions 549 inmates (420), followed by Texas Montana 1 (404), Florida (362), and Pennsylvania South Carolina 1 (196). Eight prisoners were in Federal Total 56 Total 3,054 custody under a death sentence on In 1995, 56 men were executed: Forty-eight women were under December 31, 1995. 33 were white a sentence of death. 22 were black The 237 Hispanic inmates under Between January 1 and December 31, 1 was Asian. sentence of death accounted for 1995, 26 State prison systems and the Federal prison system received 310 The persons executed in 1995 were 8.5% of inmates with a known prisoners under sentence of death. under sentence of death an average ethnicity. Texas (40 admissions), California (36), of 11 years and 2 months. North Carolina (34), and Florida (31) Among inmates under sentence of death and with available criminal accounted for 45% of the inmates en- At yearend 1995, 34 States and the Federal prison system held 3,054 histories, 2 in 3 had a prior felony tering prison under a death sentence conviction; 1 in 12 had a prior homi- in 1995. prisoners under sentence of death, 5.1% more than at yearend 1994. cide conviction. All had committed murder. During 1995, 56 persons in 16 States Among persons for whom arrest were executed 19 in Texas; 6 in Of persons under sentence information was available, the aver- Missouri; 5 each in Illinois and Vir- of death age age at time of arrest was 28; about 2% of inmates were age 17 ginia; 3 each in Florida and Okla- 1,730 were white or younger. homa; 2 each in Alabama, Arkansas, 1,275 were black Georgia, North Carolina, and 22 were Native American Pennsylvania; and 1 each in Arizona, 19 were Asian At yearend, the youngest inmate was 18; the oldest was 80. Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, and 8 were classified as "other race." Persons executed, 1930-95 Connecticut Revised its penal code to change the method of execution Number from electrocution to lethal injection; to of executions remove the requirement that the State 200 supreme court review the proportional- ity of a death sentence compared to penalties imposed in similar cases; 160 and to add to its list of capital felonies murder of a person under age 16 (See P.A. 95-16). These changes became effective 10/1/95. 120 Delaware Revised a statute limiting the number of witnesses at the execu- 80 tion to 10 and allowing one adult, either an immediate family member 56 of the victim or the "victim's designee", 40 to be present as one of those wit- nesses (11 Del. c. § 4209(f)), effective 5/15/95. 0 Delaware lawmakers also added as 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1995 an aggravating circumstance murder committed to interfere with the victim's South Carolina. All were men. Thirty Statutory changes First Amendment rights or as a re- of the executed prisoners were non- sponse to the victim's exercise of Hispanic whites; 22 were non-Hispanic During 1995, 19 States revised statu- those rights or to the victim's race, blacks; 2, white Hispanics; 1, Asian; tory provisions relating to the death religion, color, disability, national origin and 1, white with unknown Hispanic penalty (table 1). Most of the changes or ancestry (11 Del. c. § 4209(e) origin. Forty-nine of the executions involved additional aggravating cir- (1)(v)), effective 7/6/95. were carried out by lethal injection and cumstances, procedural amendments 7 by electrocution. addressing the rights of victims and Idaho Revised and added sections their families, and changes in methods to its penal code relating to the death From January 1, 1977, to December of execution. penalty. These changes became 31, 1995, a total of 4,857 persons en- effective 7/1/95. tered State and Federal prisons under By State, these statutory changes sentences of death, among whom 51% were as follows: Idaho amended its code of criminal were white, 41% were black, 7% were procedure to require that, upon convic- Hispanic, and 1% were of other races. Arkansas Added to its definition of tion of a defendant, the court hold a capital murder purposely discharging a hearing to weigh aggravating and miti- During this 19-year period, a total of firearm from a vehicle resulting in the gating factors in the case to determine 313 executions took place in 26 death of another person (Ark. Code the appropriateness of a death sen- States. Of the inmates executed, 171 Ann. § 51-10-101(a)(10)), effective tence (19-2515, Idaho Code). were white, 120 were black, 19 were 7/27/95. Hispanic, 2 were Native American, Another procedural amendment set and 1 was Asian. Colorado Amended its code of guidelines regarding requests for stays criminal procedure establishing appel- of execution based on petitions to hear Also during 1977-95, 1,870 prisoners late review at the sentencing phase of new evidence that was not known prior were removed from a death sentence a capital case. Upon conviction of a to the deadline for filing of an appeal as a result of dispositions other than defendant, a sentencing hearing will on such grounds. The statute nar- execution (resentencing, retrial, com- be conducted by a three-judge panel; rowed the availability of successive mutation, or death while awaiting exe- previously, a jury considered evidence post-conviction proceedings (19-2719, cution). Of all persons removed from and recommended punishment. The Idaho Code). under a death sentence, 52% were amendment also outlines the process white, 41% were black, 1% were Na- by which panel members will be se- The Idaho legislature also added new tive American, 0.5% were Asian, and lected (CRS 16-11-103(1)(a)). These sections to its code of criminal proce- 5% were Hispanic. revisions became effective 7/1/95. dure in capital cases: one providing for an inquiry into a convicted defendant's 2 Capital Punishment 1995 need for a new attorney upon showing Nevada Added to its penal code as origin, physical or mental disability, of ineffectiveness of the trial lawyer aggravating factors murder of a de- or sexual orientation (NRS 200.033), (19-2719A, Idaho Code); another pro- partment of prisons employee who effective 10/1/95. viding for review of a case by the doesn't exercise control over but Idaho supreme court, upon remand comes into regular contact with the New Jersey Amended its penal from a Federal court, to decide offender; murder of a person under code to allow evidence during the sen- whether legal or factual errors can be age 14; and murder of a person be- tencing proceeding pertaining to the addressed without remanding the case cause of their race, religion, national victim's character and impact of the back to the State district court (19-2818, Idaho Code). Table 1. Capital offenses, Missouri. First-degree murder (565.020 by State, 1995 RSMO). Illinois Added to its penal code as Montana. Capital murder with aggravating an aggravating factor murder by dis- Alabama. Intentional murder with 18 aggravat- circumstances. charging a firearm from a motor vehi- ing factors (13A-5-40). Nebraska. First-degree murder. cle when the victim was outside of the Arizona. First-degree murder accompanied by motor vehicle (720-ILCS 5/9-1(b)(15)), at least 1 of 10 aggravating factors. Nevada. First-degree murder with 10 aggravat- ing circumstances. effective 1/1/95. Arkansas. Capital murder with a finding of at least 1 of 9 aggravating circumstances New Hampshire. Capital murder. Indiana Amended the code of crimi- (Ark. Code Ann. 5-10-101); treason. nal procedure to specify time limits New Jersey. Purposeful or knowing murder; California. First-degree murder with special contract murder; murder or solicitation thereof within which the execution must be circumstances; train-wrecking; treason; perjury by a leader of a narcotics trafficking network. carried out, time limits and procedures causing execution. for addressing petitions for post- New Mexico. First-degree murder (Section Colorado. First-degree murder with at least 30-2-1 A, NMSA). conviction relief, and issues for consid- 1 of 13 aggravating factors; treason. Capital eration by Indiana's supreme court sentencing excludes persons determined to be New York. First-degree murder with 1 of 10 in conducting automatic review of mentally retarded. aggravating factors.