PUBLICATION ADVISORY

BJS Releases Capital Punishment, 2020 – Statistical Tables

      WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics today released Capital Punishment, 2020 – Statistical Tables.  This report presents statistics on persons who were under sentence of death in 2020, state and federal death penalty laws in 2020 and historical trends in executions.  It provides data on which jurisdictions have the death penalty, which jurisdictions carried out an execution in 2020 and which methods of execution are authorized in each jurisdiction.  The report also presents demographics (including sex, race and ethnicity, age and education) and criminal history of prisoners under sentence of death.  An advance count of executions in 2021 is also provided.  BJS collects information about capital punishment each year through the National Prisoner Statistics program.

      TITLE:  Capital Punishment, 2020 – Statistical Tables (NCJ 302729)

      AUTHOR:  BJS Statistician Tracy L. Snell

      WHERE:  bjs.ojp.gov

      The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing and disseminating reliable statistics on crime and criminal justice in the United States.  Doris J. James is the acting director.

      The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.  More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

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OFFICE:  bjs.ojp.gov
CONTACT:  Tannyr Watkins at 202-532-3923 or [email protected]