Spotlight on Capital Punishment in the United States Data and Resources

Since 1972, the Capital Punishment in the United States Series has collected annual statistics pertaining to prisoners under a sentence of death and on those whose offense sentences were commuted or vacated during the years indicated.

NACJD recently released the 2017 and 2018 Capital Punishment in the United States data. However, access to these data is restricted. Users interested in accessing these data must complete an online application and sign a Restricted Data Use Agreement. More information about NACJD’s application process can be found here. 

Within the Capital Punishment in the United States data series, information is supplied for basic sociodemographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, ethnicity, marital status at time of imprisonment, level of education, and state of incarceration. Criminal history data include prior felony convictions for criminal homicide and legal status at the time of the capital offense. Additional information is available for inmates removed from death row by year end of the last year indicated and for inmates who were executed. 

NACJD has created a Capital Punishment in the United States Data Resource Guide to describe this data series and its file structure in detail, as well as to provide information and resources that may be of interest to users. Please visit the links below to learn more. 

View NACJD’s Capital Punishment in the United States Resource Guide

Visit the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Capital Punishment Webpage

Browse the Capital Punishment in the United States Data Series

Jan 15, 2021

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