Capital Punishment Map

Newsweek/Capital Punishment Map

Joe Edwards

By Joe Edwards

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Loran Cole, 57, was set to be executed in Florida on Thursday for the 1994 murder of 18-year-old Florida State University freshman John Edwards and the sexual assault of his 21-year-old sister.

Cole was scheduled to die any time after 6:00 p.m. local time.

The use of the death penalty in the U.S. has been a topic of intense debate for decades. Proponents argue that it serves as a deterrent to crime and provides justice for the victims and their families. Opponents, however, highlight concerns about wrongful convictions, racial disparities and the ethics of state-sanctioned killing. Despite these concerns, the death penalty persists in nearly half of the states.

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As of 2024, the death penalty remains a completely legal form of punishment in 21 U.S. states, including Florida, which according to the Death Penalty Information Center has a current death row population of 288.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law in 2023 that lowered the threshold for a jury's recommendation of the death penalty from a unanimous vote to a majority of eight, further cementing the state's stance on capital punishment.

Several states have moved away from capital punishment in recent years, however. Washington, Virginia and New Hampshire are among the states that have repealed the death penalty in recent years.

A few states, whilst still having capital punishment on the books, have paused executions via executive action by state officials – including California, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

Which States Still Have the Death Penalty?

The states where capital punishment is still employed are:

Which States Do Not Have the Death Penalty?

The U.S. states that do not have the death penalty are:

In Which States Has the Death Penalty Been Put on Hold?

Some states have halted the practice via gubernatorial hold:

Which Crimes Get the Death Penalty?

Death penalty laws vary from state to state. Crimes punishable by death can include:

How Much Does the Death Penalty Cost?

Perhaps surprisingly, studies suggest that death penalty cases can be more costly than life imprisonment.

According to Amnesty International, the greatest costs associated with the death penalty occur prior to and during trial, not in post-conviction proceedings.

For example, Amnesty cited a 2004 report from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Office of Research, which found that death penalty trials in the state cost an average of 48% more than trials where prosecutors seek life imprisonment.

Amnesty also cited a 2003 legislative audit in Kansas, which found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than a comparable non-death penalty case.

The death penalty case costs, counted through to execution, were $1.26 million on average, while a non-death penalty case cost $740,000.

Florida killer Wade Wilson was sentenced to execution Tuesday for the 2019 murders of Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz after a majority of the 12 jurors in his trial recommended the death sentence in June.

Wilson's lawyer, Kevin Shirley, told Newsweek he found the commotion surrounding Wilson's high-profile case on social media "very unusual."

"I've never been involved in anything like this before. I don't know how many tens of thousands of people are communicating with him or communicating with each other about him. There's donations that are set up for him. I think it's ridiculous, but there's a lot of people that think otherwise," Shirley said.

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com

Update, 11/22/24, 03:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

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