Death Penalty, Gender and the

Crimes That Could Warrant the Death Penalty

The 38 states that allow capital punishment sentences have some similarities and difference about which crimes could warrant the death penalty. Most states require that the crime be a homicide committed in the first degree. However, some state statutes do indicate that a death sentence could be pursued against a person who has committed, for example, treason, sexual assault, and aircraft hijacking. Each state differs in the number of aggravating factors that are required for a prosecutor to seek a death sentence. For instance, some states require that one of eighteen aggravating factors be present for a death sentence to be considered. Other states may require that one of only eight aggravating factors be considered when the death sentence is sought. Examples of aggravating factors include solicitation of murder, murder for hire, murder of more than one victim, victim was a police officer or another public official such as a judge, victim was a reporter, and the murder was committed in the course of another crime. When prosecutors are deciding whether to pursue a death sentence, they will also examine mitigating factors. Examples of mitigating factors include no significant prior record of the defendant, the defendant possesses an extreme mental or emotional deficit, or the defendant was a minor participant in the crime. Thus, even if a defendant meets one of the aggravating criteria for capital punishment in her or his state, that prosecutor may decide not to pursue a death sentence against the defendant because of one or more mitigating factors.

Current Statistics

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in 2005 that 16 states executed 60 prisoners, and those executed in 2005 spent an average of 12 years on death row before the capital punishment sentence was imposed. In 2005, Texas executed the most prisoners at 19; Indiana, Missouri, and North Carolina were the next most prevalent states to execute prisoners, at 5 each. Currently, California has the most prisoners under the sentence of death (646) with Texas being the state with the next highest number of prisoners on death row (411). The five methods of execution allowed in the United States are lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, and the firing squad. Of those states that allow capital punishment, most authorized only lethal injection in their statutes. In 2005, all 60 executions were carried out by lethal injection.

In 2005, the minimum age for capital punishment varied by state with some states allowing 14 as the minimum age and other states requiring 18. During fiscal year 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court abolished capital punishment for juveniles, stating that the use of the death penalty for minors is cruel and unusual.

...