Twenty-seven states keep the death penalty in 2026, four of them under a governor’s hold on executions, and 23 states have abolished it. These death penalty states carried out 47 executions in 2025 and 32 in 2026 through 20 October, and Florida alone accounts for 19 of the first figure and 18 of the second. The table covers all 50 states, the federal government and the military.
Status is as of early November 2026, and execution counts run through 20 October 2026. National death row held 2,004 active sentences in January 2026, down from a peak of 3,593 in 2000. Executions rose from 25 in 2024 to 47 in 2025; 11 states carried one out in 2025 and six have done so far in 2026.
Death Penalty Status in All 50 States
| State | Status | Authorised methods | Executions 2025 | Executions 2026 to 20 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Active | Injection; backups electrocution, nitrogen | 5 | 2 |
| Alaska | Abolished 1957 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Arizona | Active | Injection, gas | 2 | 1 |
| Arkansas | Active | Injection; backups electrocution, nitrogen | 0 | 0 |
| California | Governor’s hold | Injection, gas | 0 | 0 |
| Colorado | Abolished 2020 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | Abolished 2012 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Delaware | Abolished 2016 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Florida | Active | Injection, electrocution | 19 | 18 |
| Georgia | Active | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| Hawaii | Abolished 1957 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Idaho | Active | Injection; firing squad primary from 1 July 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Illinois | Abolished 2011 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Indiana | Active | Injection | 2 | 0 |
| Iowa | Abolished 1965 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Kansas | Active | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| Kentucky | Active | Injection, electrocution | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana | Active | Injection; backups electrocution, nitrogen | 1 | 0 |
| Maine | Abolished 1887 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Maryland | Abolished 2013 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | Abolished 1984 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | Abolished 1847 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota | Abolished 1911 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi | Active | Injection; backups electrocution, nitrogen, firing squad | 2 | 0 |
| Missouri | Active | Injection, gas | 1 | 0 |
| Montana | Active | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| Nebraska | Active | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| Nevada | Active | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | Abolished 2019 | None | 0 | 0 |
| New Jersey | Abolished 2007 | None | 0 | 0 |
| New Mexico | Abolished 2009 | None | 0 | 0 |
| New York | Abolished 2007 | None | 0 | 0 |
| North Carolina | Active | Injection; any method not held unconstitutional | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota | Abolished 1973 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio | Governor’s hold | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | Active | Injection; backups electrocution, nitrogen, firing squad | 2 | 3 |
| Oregon | Governor’s hold | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | Governor’s hold | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | Abolished 1984 | None | 0 | 0 |
| South Carolina | Active | Electrocution default; injection, firing squad | 5 | 0 |
| South Dakota | Active | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | Active | Injection; backup electrocution | 3 | 1 |
| Texas | Active | Injection | 5 | 7 |
| Utah | Active | Injection; backup firing squad | 0 | 0 |
| Vermont | Abolished 1972 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Virginia | Abolished 2021 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Washington | Abolished 2023 | None | 0 | 0 |
| West Virginia | Abolished 1965 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | Abolished 1853 | None | 0 | 0 |
| Wyoming | Active | Injection; backup gas | 0 | 0 |
| Federal government | Active | Injection | 0 | 0 |
| US military | Active | Set by the Secretary of the Army | 0 | 0 |
Methods after a semicolon are backups, used when the primary method is unavailable or the prisoner elects one.
Death Penalty States With the Most Executions in 2025 and 2026, Ranked
1. Florida: 37 Executions Since January 2025
2025: 19 · 2026: 18 · Since 1976: 143 · Death row: 256
Florida carried out 19 executions in 2025, 40% of the national total, and 18 more in 2026 through 20 October. That is more than the other five executing states combined, which total 14.
Florida was the first state to reinstate the death penalty after Furman and carried out the first non-volunteer post-Furman execution, on 25 May 1979. Its death row of 256 is second only to California.
2. Texas: The Largest Total Since 1976
2025: 5 · 2026: 7 · Since 1976: 603 · Death row: 168
Texas has carried out 603 executions since 1976, more than any other state and more than four times Florida’s 143. It executed five people in 2025 and seven in 2026 through 7 October.
The state performed the first lethal-injection execution in the country, on 7 December 1982. Its death row of 168 is the third largest.
3. Alabama: Seven Nitrogen Executions Since 2024
2025: 5 · 2026: 2 · Since 1976: 85 · Death row: 159
Four of Alabama’s five executions in 2025 used nitrogen gas, and the other used lethal injection. Both 2026 executions used injection.
Alabama carried out the first nitrogen execution in the country on 25 January 2024 and has used the method seven times. It is also one of only two states that allow death sentences on a 10-to-2 jury vote, and its death row of 159 is the fourth largest.
4. Oklahoma: Five Executions and Four Methods on the Books
2025: 2 · 2026: 3 · Since 1976: 132 · Death row: 27
Oklahoma has carried out 132 executions since 1976, third behind Texas and Florida, with the first on 10 September 1990. It executed two people in 2025 and three in 2026, the latest on 13 August.
Lethal injection is the primary method, with electrocution, nitrogen gas and the firing squad authorised as alternatives. Oklahoma is one of five states that authorise nitrogen and one of five that authorise the firing squad.
5. South Carolina: Three Firing-Squad Executions in 2025
2025: 5 · 2026: 0 · Since 1976: 50 · Death row: 25
South Carolina carried out five executions in 2025, three of them by firing squad on 7 March, 11 April and 14 November. The 7 March execution was the first by firing squad anywhere in the country in 15 years.
Electrocution is the default method, and prisoners can elect lethal injection or the firing squad. The state has carried out 50 executions since its first on 11 January 1985 and none so far in 2026.
6. Tennessee: Four Executions, the Latest on 13 August 2026
2025: 3 · 2026: 1 · Since 1976: 17 · Death row: 42
Tennessee carried out three executions in 2025, on 22 May, 5 August and 11 December, and one in 2026, on 13 August. It has carried out 17 since its first, on 19 April 2000.
Lethal injection is the primary method and electrocution is the backup. State law allows any constitutional method if both are unavailable or held unconstitutional, and the state’s death row stands at 42.
7. Arizona: Three Executions and Gas Authorised
2025: 2 · 2026: 1 · Since 1976: 43 · Death row: 111
Arizona carried out two executions in 2025, on 19 March and 17 October, and one in 2026, on 20 May. It has carried out 43 since 1976, the first on 6 April 1992.
It authorises lethal gas alongside lethal injection. Its death row of 111 is the seventh largest in the country, behind California, Florida, Texas, Alabama, North Carolina and Ohio.
8. Mississippi: Two Executions in 2025, None in 2026
2025: 2 · 2026: 0 · Since 1976: 25 · Death row: 35
Mississippi carried out two executions in 2025, on 25 June and 15 October, and has had none in 2026 through 20 October. It has carried out 25 since its first, on 2 September 1983.
A 2022 law lets corrections officials choose lethal injection, electrocution, the firing squad or nitrogen. In 2026 the state also made child sexual offenses capital crimes, a law that challenges Kennedy v. Louisiana.
9. Indiana: Executions Resumed After a 15-Year Pause
2025: 2 · 2026: 0 · Since 1976: 23 · Death row: 5
Indiana resumed executions on 18 December 2024 after a 15-year hiatus and carried out two in 2025, the second on 10 October.
Lethal injection is its only method, and a fresh execution is scheduled for 5 November 2026.
10. Missouri: One Execution, Tied With Louisiana
2025: 1 · 2026: 0 · Since 1976: 102 · Death row: 8
Missouri carried out one execution in 2025, on 14 October, and none in 2026 through 20 October. Its total of 102 since 1976 is fifth in the country.
The state authorises lethal gas in addition to lethal injection and holds eight people on death row. Louisiana also has one, by nitrogen on 18 March 2025, but fewer since 1976 (29).
The Four Moratorium States: California, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania
Four of the 27 states have a governor’s hold. California’s governor ordered a halt on 13 March 2019, and the last execution there was on 17 January 2006. California has the largest death row in the country, at 578. Pennsylvania’s last execution was on 6 July 1999, and its governor continued the hold begun by his predecessor.
Ohio last executed someone on 18 July 2018. Its governor said on 13 February 2025 that he does not anticipate executions during his term, which ends in January 2027, and warrants scheduled into 2029 are being reprieved. Oregon commuted all 17 death sentences on 13 December 2022, leaving its death row at zero, and the hold continues. A change of governor can end any of these holds.
States That Abolished the Death Penalty and the Year Each Did So
Michigan abolished it in 1847, Wisconsin in 1853, Maine in 1887, Minnesota in 1911, Alaska and Hawaii in 1957, Iowa and West Virginia in 1965, Vermont in 1972 and North Dakota in 1973. Massachusetts and Rhode Island abolished in 1984, New Jersey and New York in 2007 and New Mexico in 2009.
Recent repeals came in Illinois (2011), Connecticut (2012), Maryland (2013), Delaware (2016), New Hampshire (2019), Colorado (2020), Virginia (2021) and Washington (2023). Courts acted first in some: Delaware’s supreme court struck its statute in 2016 and the legislature removed it in 2024, while Washington’s court acted in 2018. Virginia carried out 113 executions after 1976 and 1,277 before it, the most of any state. New Hampshire’s repeal was not retroactive, so one man remains on its death row.
Execution Methods in the United States: Injection, Nitrogen and the Firing Squad
Lethal injection accounts for 1,495 of the 1,686 executions since 1976, followed by electrocution (163), gas (19), the firing squad (6) and hanging (3). All 32 executions in 2026 so far used lethal injection, and the Supreme Court has never found a method unconstitutional.
Nitrogen gas was first used on 25 January 2024 in Alabama, and eight executions have used it: seven in Alabama and one in Louisiana, on 18 March 2025. Five states authorise it: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma. Of the six modern firing-squad executions, Utah carried out three (1977, 1996 and 2010) and South Carolina three in 2025. Idaho made the firing squad its primary method from 1 July 2026, and a military firing-squad execution is scheduled for 3 December 2026.
Supreme Court Cases That Shaped the Modern Death Penalty
Furman v. Georgia (1972) struck down death penalty laws nationwide, invalidating 40 state statutes, in a 5-4 decision. Gregg v. Georgia (1976) upheld Georgia’s revised law by 7-2, and the first execution of the modern era followed on 17 January 1977 in Utah. The Court has read the Eighth Amendment case by case, as it has the First Amendment. Later cases set limits:
- Woodson v. North Carolina (1976): mandatory death sentences are unconstitutional.
- Coker v. Georgia (1977): death is disproportionate for the rape of an adult.
- Atkins v. Virginia (2002): executing people with intellectual disability is barred.
- Roper v. Simmons (2005): executing people who were minors at the time of the crime is barred.
- Baze v. Rees (2008): Kentucky’s lethal injection protocol was upheld.
- Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008): death is barred for child rape where the victim did not die.
- Bucklew v. Precythe (2019): a prisoner challenging a method must propose a feasible alternative.
Where These Execution Counts Come From and What They Leave Out
Status, abolition years and execution counts come from the Death Penalty Information Center’s state pages and execution database, and the 2026 figures run through 20 October. The 2,004 national death row figure is a January 2026 count of active sentences and is not split by state here.
The ranking adds 2025 and 2026 executions, and a tie goes to the state with more executions since 1976. Scheduled dates can be stayed, so no final 2026 total is given.
What to Check About the Death Penalty in Your Own State
Start with the status in the table, then check four things:
- Whether the state is active, under a hold or abolished. A hold depends on the governor, and Ohio’s governor leaves office in January 2027.
- When the last execution happened. Georgia’s was on 20 March 2024 and North Carolina’s on 18 August 2006, and Kansas has nine people on death row but no execution since 1976.
- Which methods are authorised and whether a date is set. Across 9 states and the military, 60 dates were scheduled at 2 November 2026.
- How juries decide. Alabama allows a death sentence on a 10-to-2 vote.
Criminal law often splits by state this way, as with the stand your ground states.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many states have the death penalty in 2026?
Twenty-seven states have it, and 23 have abolished it. Four of the 27, California, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania, have a governor’s hold on executions.
Which state has executed the most people?
Texas, with 603 executions since 1976. Florida is second with 143, then Oklahoma with 132, Virginia with 113 and Missouri with 102.
How many executions have there been in 2026?
There were 32 through 20 October 2026: Florida 18, Texas 7, Oklahoma 3, Alabama 2, and Arizona and Tennessee 1 each. The 2025 total was 47.
What is nitrogen hypoxia and who has used it?
It is an execution method using nitrogen gas. Eight executions have used it, the first on 25 January 2024 in Alabama, which accounts for seven, and Louisiana for one.
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