THE DEATH PENALTY IN 2012:
YEAR END REPORT
Death Penalty Information Center
December 2012

Death Sentences Near Record Low; Executions
Equal 2011 Total, With Fewer States Carrying
Them Out
Connecticut Is 5th State in 5 Years to Abolish Death Penalty
Death Penalty Statistics
Executions*
New Inmates Under Death Sentence**
Death Row population (as of April 1)^
Percentage of executions by region:
South (31 executions)
TEXAS (15)
Midwest (5)
West (7)
Northeast (0)

Executions Since 1976
Texas
Virginia
Oklahoma
TX, VA, & OK combined

States With Death Penalty
2012 California Vote
(repeal death penalty)

1978 California Vote

2012 2011

2000

43
78
3,170

43
76
3,222

85
224
3,670

72%
35%
12%
16%
0%

74%
30%
14%
12%
0%

89%
47%
6%
5%
0%

34

38

For Death
Penalty
52%
71%

Against
DP
48%
29%

1,320
492 (37%)
109 (8%)
102 (8%)
703 (53%)
33

(expansion of death penalty)
*As of Dec. 17, 2012, with no more executions scheduled this year.
**Projected based on DPIC research as of Dec. 17, 2012; sentence numbers
earlier than 2011 from Bureau of Justice Statistics
^NAACP Legal Defense Fund, "Death Row USA" (2012)

The number of new
death sentences in 2012
was the second lowest
since the death penalty
was reinstated in 1976.
Seventy-eight people were
sentenced to death (DPIC
projection), with many
key states such as North
Carolina, Virginia, South
Carolina, and Indiana
having no death
sentences. The only year
with fewer death
sentences was 2011, when
the total surprisingly
dropped 27% from the
previous year. The
number of sentences this
year was 75% lower than
the high of 315 death
sentences in 1996. More
than half the sentences in
2012 (45) were in the
South. In 1996, the South
had 168 death sentences.
Executions remained
the same as last year, but
fewer states carried them
out. Nine states executed

Year End Report 2012 p. 2

Executions by
State
Texas
Arizona
Oklahoma
Mississippi
Ohio
Florida
South Dakota
Delaware
Idaho
Alabama
Georgia
Virginia
South Carolina
Missouri
TOTALS

2012

2011

15
6
6
6
3
3
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
43

13
4
2
2
5
2
0
1
1
6
4
1
1
1
43

inmates in 2012—compared to 13 in 2011—equaling the
fewest number of states to do so in 20 years. Just 4 states
(Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Arizona) were
responsible for over three-quarters of the executions in
the U.S.

Fewer Death Penalty States
Connecticut became the fifth state in five years to
abolish the death penalty. The legislation was passed
after vigorous debate and with the support of many
families of murder victims. Eleven inmates remained on
death row since the law was not retroactive, though
challenges to their sentences continue. The other four
states that ended the death penalty recently are New
Jersey, New York, New Mexico, and Illinois.

In signing the repeal bill in
April, Governor Dannel Malloy
noted the role of victims’
families, "[T]he campaign to
abolish the death penalty in Connecticut has been led by dozens of
family members of murder victims, and some of them were present as
signed this legislation today. In the words of one such survivor:
‘Now is the time to start the process of healing....'"

I

California Referendum
California came close to following Connecticut in a November referendum in which almost
half the electorate (48%) supported the total abolition of capital punishment in the state. This
was a dramatic shift from the 29% of the public who voted against expanding the death penalty
in 1978. Some of those who led the effort to end the death penalty were former supporters of the
law and many came from law enforcement backgrounds, such as Gil Garcetti, former District
Attorney of Los Angeles, Jeanne Woodford, former warden of San Quentin prison, George
Gascon, former police chief and current District Attorney of San Francisco, and Darryl
Stallworth, former Deputy District Attorney of Alameda County. Garcetti captured much of the
frustration with California’s dysfunctional system: "Much like millions of other voters, I
changed my mind on the death penalty when I understood that it serves no useful purpose, that
spending $184 million annually on it is obscenely expensive, and that some of California's
condemned are likely to be innocent."
California has not carried out an execution in almost 7 years. It is not clear when executions
will resume, as challenges to lethal injection and the fairness of the death penalty remain. Polls
showed a growing awareness among voters of the high cost of capital punishment—amounting
to $4 billion since its reinstatement there in 1977.

Executions
Thirty-six percent fewer states carried out executions in 2012 than in 2011. More than half
the states (29) in the country either do not have the death penalty or have not carried out an
execution in five years, and almost half (23) have been without executions in ten years. All
executions in 2012 were by lethal injection, and all used a relatively new drug, pentobarbital,
either alone or in combination with other drugs. Only 16% of the executions this year stemmed

Year End Report 2012 p. 3

from the murder of a black victim, even though blacks are the victims in about 50% of murders
in the U.S. A study released this year in Connecticut, which abolished the death penalty, by
Professor John Donohue of Stanford University found that minority defendants whose victims
were white were three times more likely to receive a death sentence than white defendants
whose victims were white.

One common theme running through the histories of many of those facing execution this
year was the presence of severe mental illness. The Supreme Court has banned the execution of
those with intellectual disabilities (mental retardation) and those with no rational
understanding of their punishment (insanity). However, there is no exclusion for people with
diagnoses such as schizophrenia, acute paranoia, or bi-polar disorder. Lower courts feel
hampered by the lack of precedent in this area, many governors are hesitant to grant clemency,
and state legislatures have yet to address this issue. At least ten of those executed or scheduled
to be executed this year showed signs of severe mental illness. In Tibbals v. Carter the Supreme
Court will decide the narrow question of whether appeal deadlines should be extended if an
inmate is too mentally incompetent to assist his attorneys. However, the larger question of
whether some defendants should be automatically excluded from the death penalty because of
their severe mental illness at the time of their crime remains unresolved.
Some inmates with severe mental illness received stays of execution in 2012, including John
Ferguson in Florida, Marcus Druery in Texas, and Abdul Awkal in Ohio. Others, however, with
compelling histories of mental illness were executed:
•

Garry Allen was executed in Oklahoma on November 6 despite a diagnosis of
schizophrenia and dementia caused by seizures, drug abuse, and a gunshot wound to his
head. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board had
recommended a commutation, but
DEATH ROW INMATES BY

Year End Report 2012 p. 4

STATE (April 1, 2012)
California
724
Florida
407
Texas
308
Pennsylvania
204
Alabama
200
N. Carolina
165
Ohio
150
Arizona
132
Georgia
100
Louisiana
90
Tennessee
88
Nevada
80
Oklahoma
66
U. S. Government
60
S. Carolina
56
Mississippi
53
Missouri
47
Arkansas
40
Oregon
37
Kentucky
35
Delaware
18
Idaho
14
Indiana
14
Virginia
12
Nebraska
11
Connecticut*
11
Kansas
10
Utah
9
Washington
9
U.S. Military
6
Maryland
5
South Dakota
5
Colorado
4
Montana
2
New Mexico*
2
New Hampshire
1
Wyoming
1
Total death row 3,170
Six inmates in the national total
received two death sentences in
different states
*Abolished death penalty for
future cases

Governor Mary Fallin denied clemency. Allen murdered his
wife 26 years ago, after she had left him and taken their two
children.
• Arizona executed Robert Moormann on February 29. His
attorneys said he killed and dismembered his adoptive mother
after years of sexual abuse. At his trial, a defense psychologist
testified that Moormann suffered from organic delusional
syndrome, pedophilia, and schizoid personality disorder, and
was unable to appreciate the nature and consequences of his
actions. Moormann was born to a 15-year-old girl who drank
heavily, engaged in prostitution, and died at age 17. In school
he showed evidence of mental retardation and attended special
education classes. He was first committed to a mental
institution when he was 13.
• Edwin Turner was executed in Mississippi on February 8.
Turner had a long family history of mental illness: his greatgrandmother and grandmother were committed to state
hospitals; Turner’s mother attempted suicide twice; and his
father was killed in an explosion that some believe was a
suicide. Turner had also attempted suicide several times,
including one instance at age 18 that left his face permanently
disfigured. His attorneys argued that he was mentally
unbalanced at the time of his crime and continued to be so at his
execution.
At least 38 scheduled executions were stayed in 2012,
including 3 stays issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. Four
inmates were granted clemency this year, one each in Delaware
(defendant suffered severe childhood abuse) and Georgia (life
without parole not available as a sentencing option when
defendant was sentenced), and 2 in Ohio (one defendant’s
limited mental capacity; one, inadequate representation).
Pennsylvania prepared to carry out its
first non-consensual execution in 50 years
with the lethal injection of Terrance Williams
(pictured, at age 17). However, significant
evidence emerged that Williams, who had
just turned 18 at the time of his crime, had
been sexually abused by the man he killed-information improperly withheld from his attorneys. A
Pennsylvania judge stayed the execution, granting him a new
sentencing hearing, though that ruling is being challenged.

Death Sentences
Death sentences are predictors of the future of the death penalty in the U.S. The number of
sentences has steadily declined since 1998. Last year, there were fewer than 100 death
sentences, for the first time since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. This year, the
number remained well below 100. If two cases to be finally adjudicated by the end of the year
result in death sentences, the number of new sentences is projected to be 78, a slight increase

Year End Report 2012 p. 5

from last year’s total of 76, but still 25% less than 2010 and 65% less than 2000. In the future,
fewer death sentences will mean fewer executions as well.

Death	
  Sentences	
  1977	
  -­‐	
  2012	
  
350	
  

Death	
  Sentences	
  

300	
  
250	
  
200	
  
150	
  
100	
  
50	
  
0	
  

Years	
  
For the eighth consecutive year, Texas executed more people than it sentenced to death,
foreshadowing a decline in executions in the future. There were no death sentences in Houston,
which used to be referred to as the “capital of capital punishment.” Prominent death penalty
states in the South, including North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia (which has been
second to Texas in executions) remarkably had no death sentences and no executions in 2012.
Georgia had two death sentences and no executions; Louisiana had one sentence and no
executions.
Death sentences, like executions, were largely clustered in a few states. Just four states
(Florida (21), California (14), Texas (9), and Pennsylvania (7)) accounted for 65% of the
country’s death sentences. Within states the use of the death penalty is often concentrated in
only a few counties. This substantial financial burden is generated by a small minority but borne
by all the taxpayers.

Innocence

In September, Damon Thibodeaux was freed from death row in Louisiana
after an extensive investigation, including DNA testing, with the cooperation of
Jefferson Parrish District Attorney Paul Connick. Thibodeaux at first confessed
to killing his cousin after a nine-hour interrogation but recanted a few hours
later, saying his confession was coerced. Thibodeaux became the 141st person to
be exonerated and freed from death row since 1973, and the 18th person released
through DNA evidence. Attorney Barry Scheck of New York’s Innocence

Year End Report 2012 p. 6

Project noted, “People have a very hard time with the concept that an innocent person could
confess to a crime that they didn’t commit. But it happens a lot. It’s the ultimate risk that an
innocent man could be executed."
Missouri convened a special hearing to review the case of Reggie Clemons,
who has been on death row for 19 years. Clemons' conviction was based partly
on his confession to rape, which he said was beaten out of him by the
police. Because of doubts about the validity of his conviction, a special master
was appointed to determine whether the prosecution committed misconduct; a
report will be made to the state’s Supreme Court in 2013.
In Texas, the family of Cameron Willingham has petitioned the Board of
Pardons and Paroles to grant him a posthumous pardon based on new
evidence that has emerged since his execution in 2004. Willingham was
sentenced to death for the murder of his three children in a house fire in 1991.
At his trial, investigators testified that Willingham had intentionally set the fire,
but the basis for that conclusion has since been completely discredited. Experts now believe the
fire was accidental. The other evidence presented at Willingham's trial included the testimony
of a jailhouse informant who later recanted his assertion that Willingham admitted to the crime.
A comprehensive investigation by Prof. James Liebman of Columbia
University, published in the Human Rights Law Review, of another Texas
execution concluded Carlos DeLuna was innocent and had been wrongly
convicted on the basis of unreliable testimony. Strong evidence pointed to a man
named Carlos Hernandez, who looked like DeLuna and had bragged about the
murder. Hernandez had a history of violent crimes, including ones similar to the
crime for which DeLuna was executed. Liebman wrote that DeLuna was convicted "on the
thinnest of evidence: a single, nighttime, cross-ethnic eyewitness identification and no
corroborating forensics."

Deterrence Research
A report released in April by the National Research Council, associated
with the National Academy of Sciences, concluded studies conducted over the
past 35 years claiming a deterrent effect from the death penalty are
“fundamentally flawed,” “should not be used to inform deliberations requiring
judgments about the effect of the death penalty on homicide,” and “should not
influence policy judgments about capital punishment.” Professor John Donohue
of Stanford Law School and a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research
said such past unreliable studies “have now been properly interred.” (The report is available
from The National Academies Press, www.nap.edu.)
Contrary to the predictions of some death penalty proponents, the murder rate in the U.S.
has declined even as the death penalty is being used less. In October, the FBI released its
annual Uniform Crime Report for 2011, showing another drop in the country’s murder rate. Since
2000, when the murder rate was 5.5 murders per 100,000 people, the rate has declined about
15% to 4.7. The lowest murder rate among the four geographical regions was in the Northeast,
which uses the death penalty the least; it also had the largest decrease in its murder rate from
the previous year. The highest rate was in the South, which executes the most people.

Public Opinion
According to the 2012 American Values Survey conducted by the Public Religion Research
Institute, Americans are now evenly divided on whether the death penalty or life without parole

Year End Report 2012 p. 7

is the appropriate punishment for murder. The survey, released shortly before the elections,
found that 47% of respondents favored life without parole, while 46% favored the death
penalty. Life without parole was favored by African-Americans (64%), Hispanic-Americans
(56%), women (52%) and millennials (ages 18 to 29) (55%). Support for the death penalty was
strong among Republicans (59%), Tea Party members (61%), and white Americans (53%). In
one demographic, views on the death penalty differed from those on other social issues: nonCatholic conservatives favored the death penalty by almost 20 percentage points (56-37%), but
Catholic conservatives supported life without parole (51-44%).

New Voices
Each year new voices, including leaders in law enforcement and former supporters of the
death penalty, speak out against the death penalty. Below are some of the voices heard this
year:
George Gascon served for 30 years as a police officer, including as a police
chief in Arizona and California, and currently is the District Attorney of
San Francisco. Although he formerly supported the death penalty, Gascon
now believes it should be replaced with life without parole: “I have had
the opportunity to observe and participate in the development and
implementation of public safety policies at every level. I have seen what
works and what does not in making communities safe. Given my experience, I believe there are
three compelling reasons why the death penalty should be replaced. (1) The criminal justice
system makes mistakes and the possibility of executing innocent people is both inherently
wrong and morally reprehensible; (2) My personal experience and crime data show the death
penalty does not reduce crime; and (3) The death penalty wastes precious resources that could
be best used to fight crime and solve thousands of unsolved homicides languishing in filing
cabinets in understaffed police departments across the state.”

Editorial: “For most of its 162 years as a state, California has had laws on the books authorizing
the death penalty. And for nearly all of its 155 years as a newspaper, The Bee has lent its support
to those laws and use of capital punishment to deter violence and punish those convicted of the
most horrible of crimes. That changes today. The death penalty in California has become an
illusion, and we need to end the fiction – the sooner the better. The state's death penalty is an
outdated, flawed and expensive system of punishment that needs to be replaced with a rocksolid sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole.”
Justice Lubbie Harper, Jr., of Connecticut’s Supreme Court came to the
conclusion that the state’s death penalty has been applied unconstitutionally. “It
is clear to me both that capital punishment violates our state’s constitutional
prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and that this punishment is
systematically plagued by an unacceptable risk of arbitrary and racially
discriminatory imposition that undermines the fairness and integrity of
Connecticut’s criminal justice system as a whole.”
Jim Petro, a former Attorney General of Ohio, strongly supported the death
penalty as a state legislator, believing it was a deterrent and Ohio would save
money using it. However, he recently concluded, "Neither of those things have
occurred, so I ask myself, 'Why would I vote for it again?' I don't think I would. I
don't think the law has done anything to benefit society and us. It's cheaper and,
in my view, sometimes a mistake can be made, so perhaps we are better off with
life without parole."

Year End Report 2012 p. 8

Conclusion
Use of the death penalty in 2012 continued to decline, with fewer states endorsing capital
punishment, relatively few death sentences being imposed, and executions being carried out at
only half the rate of the late 1990s. Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina--traditional
death penalty states--had no death sentences or executions this year. Georgia, Alabama, and
Louisiana had no executions. The projected number of death sentences this year is 78, slightly
higher than in 2011, but sharply lower than any other year since 1976. Only 9 states carried out
an execution, indicating the isolation of this practice. Even in Texas, death sentences over the
past few years have been at a historic low.
Five states have abolished the death penalty in the past five years. Connecticut became the
latest state to join 16 other non-death penalty states. Although voters in California narrowly
chose to continue the death penalty, support there is much lower than it was 35 years ago.
Other states, like Maryland, Colorado, and New Hampshire, appear to be moving closer to
legislative votes like Connecticut’s.

I cannot stand the thought of being responsible for someone being
falsely accused and facing the death penalty. For me this is a moral
issue...I don't want to be part of a system that sends innocent people…to
the death penalty.
-Sen. Edith Prague (voting to abolish Connecticut’s death
penalty)

When a law is so rarely imposed, and the rationale for its imposition discredited, its
continued use is placed in doubt. Many criminal justice experts have changed their position
and no longer support the death penalty. The remnant of the punishment that continues often
falls on mentally ill defendants and those sentenced many years ago pursuant to practices no
longer commensurate with current legal standards. In a time of grave fiscal concerns, the high
cost of the death penalty is providing an additional rationale for its reconsideration. Based on
these trends, the death penalty appears to be an increasingly irrelevant component of our
criminal justice system.

Death Penalty Information Center
Washington, D.C.
(202) 289-2275
dpic@deathpenaltyinfo.org
www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public
by providing information and analysis on capital punishment. The Center provides in-depth reports,
conducts briefings for journalists, promotes informed discussion, and serves as a resource to those
working on this issue. Richard Dieter, DPIC’s Executive Director, wrote this report with assistance from
DPIC staff. Further sources for facts and quotations in it are available upon request. The Center is
funded through the generosity of individual donors and foundations, including the Roderick MacArthur
Foundation and the Open Society Foundations. The views expressed in this report are those of DPIC and
should not be taken to reflect the opinions of its donors.