Overview
The pri-ma-ry means of exe-cu-tion in the U.S. have been hang-ing, elec-tro-cu-tion, the gas cham-ber, fir-ing squad, and lethal injec-tion. The Supreme Court has nev-er found a method of exe-cu-tion to be uncon-sti-tu-tion-al, though some meth-ods have been declared uncon-sti-tu-tion-al by state courts. The pre-dom-i-nance of lethal injec-tion as the pre-ferred means of exe-cu-tion in all states in the mod-ern era may have put off any judg-ment by the Court regard-ing older methods.
Because of a resis-tance by drug man-u-fac-tur-ers to pro-vide the drugs typ-i-cal-ly used in lethal injec-tions, some states now allow the use of alter-na-tive meth-ods if lethal injec-tion can-not be per-formed. Controversies sur-round-ing the method to be used have delayed exe-cu-tions in many states, con-tribut-ing to an over-all decline in the use of the death penalty.
Authorized Methods
NOTE: [Brackets] around a state indi-cate that the state autho-rizes the list-ed method as an alter-na-tive method if oth-er meth-ods are found to be uncon-sti-tu-tion-al or are unavailable/?impractical.
| Method | # of exe-cu-tions by method since 1976 | # of states autho-riz-ing method | Jurisdictions that Authorize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lethal Injection | 1447 | 28 states+ and U.S. Military and U.S. Gov’t In South Carolina, lethal injec-tion may be elect-ed as an alter-na-tive method, if available. +includes 1 state that no longer have an active death penalty | Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida^, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire*, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, [South Carolina], South Dakota, Tennessee^, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, U.S. Military, U.S. Government *New Hampshire abol-ished the death penal-ty but the repeal may not apply retroac-tive-ly, leav-ing a pris-on-er on death row fac-ing possible execution. To find the drug pro-to-cols used by states, see State-by-State Lethal Injection. |
| Electrocution | 163 | 9 states (in South Carolina, elec-tro-cu-tion is the default method; the oth-er 8 have lethal injec-tion as default method). | [Alabama], [Arkansas], Florida, Kentucky, [Louisiana], [Mississippi], [Oklahoma], South Carolina, [Tennessee] The supreme courts of Georgia (2001) and Nebraska (2008) have ruled that the use of the elec-tric chair vio-lates their state con-sti-tu-tion-al pro-hi-bi-tions against cru-el and unusual punishment. Virginia had autho-rized the elec-tric chair as a method of exe-cu-tion in some cas-es, but it repealed the death penal-ty in March 2021. |
| Lethal Gas | 17 | 9 states (all have lethal injec-tion as default method) | [Alabama], [Arkansas], Arizona, California, [Louisiana], [Mississippi], Missouri, [Oklahoma], [Wyoming] Five states (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma) specif-i-cal-ly autho-rize exe-cu-tion by nitro-gen hypox-ia. Alabama and Louisiana have issued a pro-to-col for its use. Alabama and Louisiana are the only states that have per-formed an exe-cu-tion by nitrogen hypoxia. |
| Firing Squad | 5 | 5 states (in Idaho, fir-ing squad will be the pri-ma-ry method eff. July 2026; in South Carolina, elec-tro-cu-tion is the default method; the oth-er states have lethal injec-tion as primary method) | Idaho, [Mississippi], [Oklahoma], [Utah], [South Carolina] |
^Both Florida and Tennessee explic-it-ly autho-rize lethal injec-tion and elec-tro-cu-tion, but state that, if those meth-ods are found uncon-sti-tu-tion-al, pris-on-ers may be exe-cut-ed by any con-sti-tu-tion-al method of execution.
News & Developments
News
Jul 15, 2025
Kentucky Governor Cites Constitutional Concerns with Execution Protocol and Drug Acquisition Issues in Refusal to Set Execution Date
In June 2025, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman request-ed that Governor Andy Beshear set an exe-cu-tion date for death row pris-on-er Ralph Baze. In a late June 2025 reply, Gov. Beshear declined to do so because of an April 2025 Franklin County Circuit Court rul-ing that found part of Kentucky’s exe-cu-tion pro-to-col uncon-sti-tu-tion-al. Gov. Beshear indi-cat-ed that sev-er-al steps must be tak-en by the Department of Corrections (DOC) to address the issues raised by the court…
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Jun 04, 2025
2025 Roundup of Death Penalty Related Legislation
More than one hun-dred bills have been intro-duced this year in 34 states and in Congress to expand and lim-it use of the death penal-ty, abol-ish and rein-state the death penal-ty, mod-i-fy exe-cu-tion pro-to-cols and secret the infor-ma-tion about them, and alter aspects of cap-i-tal tri-als. Thus far, nine bills in five states have been enact-ed, with Florida enact-ing the most leg-is-la-tion. Of the bills that have been signed into law, three mod-i-fy exe-cu-tion pro-to-cols; two expand…
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News
May 21, 2025
DPI’s Podcast 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Author Corinna Barrett Lain on the ?“Untold Story” of Lethal Injection
In this month’s pod-cast episode of 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context, DPI’s Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Corinna Barrett Lain, the S.D. Roberts & Sandra Moore Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law and author of the recent-ly pub-lished book, Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection. Ms. Lain’s new book chal-lenges a wide-ly held assump-tion that lethal injec-tion is a pain-less, reg-u-lat-ed, and medically-sound…
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May 05, 2025
Federal Judge in Idaho Orders Department of Corrections Must Allow Greater Media Access to Executions
On April 29, 2025, U.S. District Judge Debora K. Grasham ordered the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) to give media wit-ness-es to an exe-cu-tion?“audio and visu-al access to the prepa-ra-tion and admin-is-tra-tion of the lethal injec-tion drugs.” The rul-ing stems from a December 2024 law-suit filed by the Associated Press, The Idaho Statesman, and East Idaho News, which argued that media out-lets were being uncon-sti-tu-tion-al-ly pro-hib-it-ed from view-ing?“key steps” in Idaho’s…
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News
Mar 19, 2025
Louisiana Resumes Executions After 15-Year Hiatus with First Nitrogen Gas Execution
After a series of last-minute legal chal-lenges, cul-mi-nat-ing with a denial of stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, Louisiana exe-cut-ed Jessie Hoffman on March 18, 2025. Mr. Hoffman’s exe-cu-tion marked both the state’s first exe-cu-tion in 15 years and the state’s first exe-cu-tion using nitro-gen gas?—?only the sec-ond state to use this new method. State offi-cials acknowl-edged that Mr. Hoffman exhib-it-ed?“con-vul-sive activ-i-ty” as he inhaled nitro-gen gas through a mask while…
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