US death sentences and executions remained at historic lows in 2017

Twenty-three people were executed and 39 sentenced to death in 2017 in the US, one of the few developed countries to still use the death penalty.

But executions and death sentences in the US remained at historic lows this year, with only a few counties and states supporting capital punishment, according to an annual report released on Thursday by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).

“In the long term, it looks as though death sentences and executions are going to remain low; certainly they are going to remain low compared to the levels a generation ago,” said Robert Dunham, the organization’s executive director.

DPIC provides analysis and tracks data on the death penalty, but does not take a position for or against capital punishment.

The falling rates are marked by the DPIC report’s findings that 90% of the executions in 2017 involved people with “significant evidence” of mental illness, intellectual disability, brain damage, severe trauma, and, in some cases, innocence.

In one week this April, Arkansas killed four people despite legal challenges to three of the cases, which the Fair Punishment Project at Harvard Law School said had potent claims for mitigation.

“One of the most disturbing features of the 2017 executions was the execution of prisoners who had never received meaningful review of important issues in their cases,” the report said. “At least five of those executed this year had received glaringly deficient legal representation or were denied substantial judicial review.”

The falling number of death sentences, however, is more significant than the number of executions for detecting the popularity of the death penalty, because the majority of executions are the product of legal decisions made decades ago. For instance, Tommy Arthur was sentenced to death in 1983, but he faced seven execution dates in 16 years before being killed in Alabama in May.

There were 39 death sentences projected for 2017 – the second-lowest annual total of death sentences since 1972. The tally includes 36 confirmed death sentences and three cases in which final sentences are due by the end of the year and are expected to be death because it was recommended by the jury.

These falling rates coincide with declining public support for the death penalty for a person convicted of murder. Only 55% of Americans said they support the death penalty, the lowest rate since 1972, according to a Gallup poll released in October.

In Amnesty International’s most recent assessment of global executions, the human rights group found 2016 was the first year the US did not appear in the world’s top five executioners since 2006. It was edged out of its usual position by China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan and Egypt.

“Despite the fact that these are still problems in the US and around the world, we are seeing some hopeful trends,” said Kristina Roth, senior program officer for criminal justice at Amnesty International USA.

The human rights group also found that the US was one of 23 countries that carried out executions in 2016. Amnesty was not able to confirm whether state executions took place that year in Libya, Syria and Yemen.

While the US remains in the minority of countries that support the death penalty, executions and death sentences only occur in concentrated parts of the country. The 23 executions in 2017 were carried out in just eight states and the 39 new death sentences were imposed by 14 states and the federal government.

Even so, some of the outlier counties known for their propensity for the death penalty are no longer using the punishment, which suggests the use of capital punishment is tied closely to the politics of the local prosecutor.

Harris County, Texas, which has carried out more executions than any other county, in 2017 did not execute any prisoner or sentence any defendant to death for the first time since 1974.

The county, which is home to Houston, recently elected a new district attorney, Kim Ogg, who took office on the first of this year.

Ogg told the Texas Observer in June that she had opposed the death penalty early in her career but as district attorney thought it should remain an option for prosecutors. One of her first acts after being elected was terminating 37 county prosecutors.

“The fact that Harris County is dropping off the list of most prolific death sentences shows that death sentencing has less to do with the homicide rate than it has to do with the politics of homicide,” Dunham said.

Some legal changes in states that use the death penalty impacted the 2017 rates as well. In Florida, a judge can now only give the death penalty if a jury unanimously recommends it. In Alabama, judges can no longer override a jury’s decision to recommend life sentences instead of death.

Dunham said the DPIC data did not show whether the US would renounce capital punishment, but it seems clear the practice is on its last legs. He said: “What we see is a long-term trend, and that long-term trend is toward diminished use of the death penalty with both fewer death sentences and fewer executions.”