Which states support the death penalty remains a divided issue in 2026, with 27 states maintaining capital punishment on the books. However, “support” varies; while Texas and Florida are active in carrying out executions, states like California, Pennsylvania, and Ohio have gubernatorial moratoriums in place, meaning they have the law but are not currently using it. Conversely, 23 states have fully abolished the death penalty in favor of life without parole.
The states that actively carry out executions are concentrated in the South and parts of the Midwest. Texas leads all states by a wide margin in total executions since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in Gregg v. Georgia.
States That Have the Death Penalty (Active or Inactive)
|
State |
Status |
Last Execution |
Method |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Texas |
Active |
2024 |
Lethal injection |
|
Oklahoma |
Active |
2024 |
Lethal injection / nitrogen hypoxia |
|
Florida |
Active |
2023 |
Lethal injection |
|
Georgia |
Active |
2023 |
Lethal injection |
|
Missouri |
Active |
2024 |
Lethal injection |
|
Alabama |
Active |
2024 |
Lethal injection / nitrogen hypoxia |
|
Arizona |
Active |
2022 |
Lethal injection |
|
Tennessee |
Moratorium |
2018 |
Lethal injection |
|
Ohio |
Moratorium |
2018 |
Lethal injection |
|
Pennsylvania |
Moratorium |
1999 |
Lethal injection |
|
California |
Moratorium |
2006 |
Lethal injection |
States That Have Abolished the Death Penalty
|
State |
Year Abolished |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
Michigan |
1846 |
First state to abolish – never reinstated |
|
Wisconsin |
1853 |
No executions since statehood |
|
Alaska |
1957 |
Abolished before statehood |
|
Hawaii |
1957 |
Abolished before statehood |
|
New York |
2007 |
Court struck it down; legislature never reinstated |
|
New Jersey |
2007 |
Legislative abolition |
|
Illinois |
2011 |
Governor commuted all sentences |
|
Connecticut |
2012 |
Abolished prospectively |
|
Maryland |
2013 |
Full abolition |
|
New Mexico |
2009 |
Abolished; two on death row at time |
|
Virginia |
2021 |
First Southern state to abolish |
Methods Currently Used
|
Method |
States That Use It |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
Lethal injection |
All active death penalty states |
Primary method nationwide |
|
Nitrogen hypoxia |
Alabama, Oklahoma, Mississippi |
Newest method; controversial |
|
Electrocution |
South Carolina, Alabama, others |
Alternative if lethal injection unavailable |
|
Firing squad |
South Carolina, Utah, Mississippi |
Authorized as alternative method |
|
Gas chamber |
Authorized as backup |
Federal Death Penalty
The federal government has the death penalty for certain crimes including terrorism, treason, and murder of federal officials. After a 17-year pause, the Trump administration carried out 13 federal executions in 2020-2021. The Biden administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions in 2021.
Public Opinion and Trends
- Support for the death penalty has declined from ~80% in 1994 to roughly 55% in recent polling.
- Wrongful conviction concerns have driven much of the shift – over 190 death row exonerations since 1973.
- Racial and economic disparities in who receives death sentences remain a major criticism.
- The trend since 2000 has been toward abolition – 11 states have abolished since 2007.
Capital punishment in America is a patchwork system – technically legal in 27 states, actively practiced in far fewer, and facing increasing legal and moral scrutiny. The national trend points toward fewer executions and gradual abolition, even in states where it remains on the books.