Topic: Death Penalty Information Center

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Five US states that use the death penalty most

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Jodi Arias trial: Does her statement about wanting death penalty factor in?

The death penalty phase of the Jodi Arias trial began on Thursday. Jurors aren't supposed to watch news coverage of the case, but experts say information from it often filters in.
Texas man: 'Ready to go home'

Cleve Foster, convicted of murder and rape, was put to death in Texas on Tuesday after previously receiving three stays of execution from the country's highest court.
Why the death penalty is at historic low in the US

By and large, Americans still support the death penalty. But concerns about the fairness of its application, and even its costs, are playing a role in the steep drop in executions and convictions.
Florida firing squads? What has death penalty supporters all riled up?

Heated rhetoric over the death penalty just got hotter with a proposal, in Florida, that firing squads replace lethal injections. Some see this as a sign that death penalty supporters are insecure.
Five US states that use the death penalty most

It's not often that the US Supreme Court stays an execution, as it did late Thursday in the case of convicted murderer Duane Buck. But the justices routinely consider such requests, given that 34 states permit capital punishment. Since 1999, when a record 99 inmates were put to death, the number of executions has dropped slightly, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which opposes capital punishment. Can you guess which five states had the most executions over the past four years?
Illinois death penalty abolished, state clears death row

Illinois death penalty: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn's signature on legislation getting rid of the death penalty provoked an extraordinary array of emotions Wednesday — almost all of them intense.
Illinois abolishes death penalty, will other Midwest states follow?

Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill to make Illinois the 16th state to abolish the death penalty. Questions about the fairness of the death penalty led to a state moratorium in 2000.
Death penalty less common in US now than in 1990s, report finds

Forty-six executions were carried out in 2010, less than half the all-time high of 98 in 1999, a new report finds. The death penalty was assessed to 114 murderers this year, far short of former levels.
Teresa Lewis execution plan draws protest worldwide

Teresa Lewis will be the first woman executed in Virginia in nearly a century. The death sentence has prompted appeals from the EU and accusations of double-standards from Iran's president.
Ronnie Lee Gardner execution: firing squads are humane say some experts

Ronnie Lee Gardner execution: Some experts say that firing squads are more humane than lethal injection.
Why is use of the death penalty going down?

Fewer people received a death sentence over the past 12 months than in any year since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. One reason: Some state prosecutors are growing more hesitant to seek a death sentence in cases that might later be upended because of DNA evidence.
Death penalty is too expensive for states, study finds

State and local governments facing budget crunches can realize big savings by eliminating the death penalty, according to a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center.
How long can executions be delayed?

The Supreme Court denied the appeal of a Florida inmate on death row for 32 years.
As California looks to expand death row, a flap over where to build it

Death-penalty foes want the condemned to be kept at San Quentin Prison rather than transferred to remote areas.
As California looks to expand death row, a flap over where to build it

Death-penalty foes want the condemned to be kept at San Quentin Prison rather than transferred to remote areas.