12/11/2023

Is the Death Penalty Dying?

Sentences, executions remain low

The number of states imposing or performing executions in 2023 was at a 20-year low, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a group that complies such statistics.

Polling indicates that public skepticism of the fairness and propriety of the death penalty continues to increase. And increasingly, bipartisan coalitions in legislatures are pushing to abolish it in states that haven’t already, the year-end report said. 

The U.S. Supreme Court is one institution, however, that seems to be out of step with the growing march against state-sponsored killing.

Ohio continued to delay executions this year — as Gov. Mike DeWine has since taking office in early 2019.