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Capital punishment is currently authorized in 28 states, by the federal government and the U.S. military. In recent years, New Mexico (2009), Illinois (2011), Connecticut (2012), Maryland (2013), New Hampshire (2019) and Colorado (2020) have legislatively abolished the death penalty, replacing it with a sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility for parole. The Nebraska Legislature also abolished capital punishment in 2015, but it was reinstated by a statewide vote in 2016. Additionally, courts in Washington and Delaware recently ruled that the states' capital punishment laws are unconstitutional. States across the country will continue to debate its fairness, reliability and cost of implementation.

Recent State Enactments
Since 2015, 25 states enacted 65 new laws addressing state systems of capital punishment. Trends include expanding or limiting aggravating factors, modifying execution methods and procedures, changing trial and appellate procedures, modifying laws to comply with litigation outcomes and repealing the practice all together. Search recent enactments by topic, state, year, and keyword with NCSL's Capital Punishment Enactment Database.
Methods of Execution
Lethal injection is currently the primary method of execution in all 29 states that authorize executions. Texas was the first state to use the method, in 1982.
Sixteen states also have a secondary method of execution authorized by statute. Laws in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming provide a secondary option if lethal injection is found to be unconstitutional and/or unavailable. Arizona*, Kentucky, Tennessee and Utah all have a choice of secondary methods for offenders who were sentenced before the introduction of lethal injection. And Alabama, California*, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington have other methods that are available if the offender requests an alternative. Secondary methods of execution include electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, nitrogen hypoxia, and firing squad.
*See case law in each state to determine the constitutionality of secondary methods. For example, see La Grand v. Stewart, 173 F.3d 1144 (1999).
The purple states only have a single method: lethal injection. Blue states have lethal injection and a secondary method. Click on those states to display details on secondary methods. The gray states do not have capital punishment. *Note that Colorado has prospectively abolished capital punishment. The governor commuted the sentences of those on death row, but defendants with pending cases at the time of abolition are still eligible for execution and the execution statute is still valid.