Changes

At the state level, 17 states and the [[District of Columbia]] prohibit the death penalty.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2113102,00.html</ref>  In the ''Furman'' case, the Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty in 1973 (and all inmates had their sentences automatically commuted to life in prison), but in 1977 (after intervening changes in state laws) once again allowed it in the ''Gregg'' series of cases.<ref>One of the companion cases to ''Gregg'' involved a Texas inmate.  After ''Furman'', Texas dramatically changed its laws to limit by statute what murders would qualify for the death penalty; the Supreme Court noted that Texas' statutory scheme would make the death penalty "an available sentencing option -- even potentially -- for a smaller class of murders in the state", somewhat ironic given that in the intervening years Texas has far and away carried out more executions than any other state.</ref>

At the state level, 17 states and the [[District of Columbia]] prohibit the death penalty.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2113102,00.html</ref>  In the ''Furman'' case, the Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty in 1973 (and all inmates had their sentences automatically commuted to life in prison), but in 1977 (after intervening changes in state laws) once again allowed it in the ''Gregg'' series of cases.<ref>One of the companion cases to ''Gregg'' involved a Texas inmate.  After ''Furman'', Texas dramatically changed its laws to limit by statute what murders would qualify for the death penalty; the Supreme Court noted that Texas' statutory scheme would make the death penalty "an available sentencing option -- even potentially -- for a smaller class of murders in the state", somewhat ironic given that in the intervening years Texas has far and away carried out more executions than any other state.</ref>

Even in those states which still have death penalty statutes on the books, executions may be few and far between: [[Pennsylvania]] has hundreds of people on [[death row]], though only three inmates have been executed since the reinstatement of capital punishment laws, and all three essentially "volunteered" by dropping their appeals.  Ultra-liberal [[California]] also has death penalty statutes on the books, but hasn't executed anyone since 2006 notwithstanding two failed state initiatives to abolish the death penalty in the state.  On the other end of the spectrum is [[Texas]], which has (as of July 2018) executed over 550 inmates, more than any other state since ''Gregg'' reinstituted the death penalty and roughly 1/3 of the total nationwide.<ref>A rare exception in Texas of a death row inmate not receiving swift execution is a man who was on death row for 31 years (at the time the Los Angeles Times wrote an article on his story; the inmate would die three years later while still in custody). [https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-deathrow28jan28,1,1271967.story?coll=la-headlines-nation LA Times article]</ref>

Even in those states which still have death penalty statutes on the books, executions may be few and far between: [[Pennsylvania]] has hundreds of people on [[death row]], though only three inmates have been executed since the reinstatement of capital punishment laws, and all three essentially "volunteered" by dropping their appeals.  Ultra-liberal [[California]] also has death penalty statutes on the books, but hasn't executed anyone since 2006 notwithstanding two failed state initiatives to abolish the death penalty in the state.  On the other end of the spectrum is [[Texas]], which has (as of September 2024) executed 590 inmates, more than any other state since ''Gregg'' reinstituted the death penalty and roughly 1/3 of the total nationwide.<ref>A rare exception in Texas of a death row inmate not receiving swift execution is a man who was on death row for 31 years (at the time the Los Angeles Times wrote an article on his story; the inmate would die three years later while still in custody). [https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-deathrow28jan28,1,1271967.story?coll=la-headlines-nation LA Times article]</ref>

Frivolous appeals (often repetitive, making the same arguments previously rejected) and overly cautious stays of execution can create a backlog on death rows in many states.

Frivolous appeals (often repetitive, making the same arguments previously rejected) and overly cautious stays of execution can create a backlog on death rows in many states.