You’d think the answer to how many states in america use the death penalty would be a simple number. A quick "yes" or "no" for each of the 50 states. But it’s actually a total mess. Politics, court battles, and a literal shortage of execution drugs have turned the map into a patchwork of "sorta" and "not really."
As we sit here in 2026, the official count is 27. Twenty-seven states still have the death penalty on their books. But that number is a massive lie. If you look at who is actually carrying out executions, it’s a tiny, shrinking club.
Honestly, the distance between having a law and actually using it has never been wider.
The 27 States: A Breakdown of Who Still Has It
Technically, 27 states, the federal government, and the U.S. military keep capital punishment as a legal option. But "legal" doesn't mean "active." For instance, California has the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere. Yet, they haven't executed anyone since 2006.
Governor Gavin Newsom essentially locked the execution chamber and threw away the key back in 2019. He issued a moratorium, which is basically a fancy way of saying "not on my watch." Pennsylvania and Oregon are in the same boat. Their governors have put a hard pause on the whole process.
Then you have states like Ohio. They want to do it, but they can't find the drugs. Big pharmaceutical companies don't want their products associated with killing people, so they’ve cut off the supply. This has created a "de facto" moratorium in several states where the law says "yes" but the pharmacy says "no."
If you want to know who is actually moving the needle, look at Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Florida. In 2025, these few states were responsible for the vast majority of executions in the country. Florida, in particular, has been ramping things up lately. Governor Ron DeSantis signed laws to make it easier to get a death sentence, even without a unanimous jury.
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The Abolition Wave: 23 States and Counting
On the flip side, 23 states have completely scrapped the death penalty. Virginia was the big one recently. In 2021, they became the first Southern state to abolish it. That was huge. Virginia used to be second only to Texas in the number of people it executed.
Delaware officially joined the "no" list in 2024, cleaning up its statutes after the state Supreme Court had already called the practice unconstitutional years prior.
Washington state did the same in 2023. They formally removed the laws from their books after a 2018 court ruling. It's a clear trend: the Northeast is almost entirely death-penalty-free, and the West Coast is effectively done with it.
Why the Map is Shifting
It isn't just about "mercy." It's about money and mistakes.
Executions are incredibly expensive. It costs way more to execute someone than to keep them in a cell for life because of the endless legal appeals required by the Constitution.
Also, the "innocence" factor is terrifying people. Since 1973, at least 196 people have been exonerated from death row. They were innocent. That's a scary statistic for a juror to hold in their head.
How Many States in America Use the Death Penalty Right Now?
If you're looking for the "active" list—the states that have actually executed someone in the last couple of years—it’s a very short list.
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- Texas: Still the leader, though even their numbers are dropping compared to the 90s.
- Oklahoma: They had a massive backlog and have been trying to clear it with a high frequency of scheduled dates.
- Alabama: They made headlines recently for using nitrogen gas, a controversial new method, because they couldn't get the lethal injection drugs to work right.
- Florida: Actively expanding who can be sentenced to death.
- Missouri: Continues to carry out executions regularly.
- South Carolina: Recently restarted after a long pause by making the firing squad a legal backup method.
The federal government is the wildcard. Under the Biden administration, there was a moratorium. But in early 2025, the Trump administration took over and immediately moved to restart federal executions. Attorney General Pamela Bondi issued a memo in February 2025 lifting the pause. This means the federal government is back in the business of capital punishment, specifically targeting cases involving the murder of police officers or crimes by undocumented individuals.
The Method Crisis: Firing Squads and Nitrogen
Because lethal injection drugs are so hard to get, states are getting... creative. It's kinda grim.
Alabama used nitrogen hypoxia for the first time in 2024. It involves making the person breathe pure nitrogen until they suffocate. Supporters say it's painless; witnesses of the first one said it looked pretty rough.
Idaho and Mississippi have authorized firing squads. Yes, in 2026, we are talking about firing squads. Tennessee and South Carolina are looking at the electric chair again. It feels like a weird jump back into the 19th century because modern medicine has essentially "quit" the death penalty.
Misconceptions About Public Opinion
Most people think Americans are 50/50 on this. They aren't. While a slim majority still supports the death penalty in theory for "the worst of the worst," that support vanishes when you offer "Life Without Parole" as an alternative.
Younger generations—Gen Z and Alphas—are overwhelmingly against it. As they become the primary pool for juries, it’s getting harder for prosecutors to get a death sentence. In many "death penalty states," juries are simply choosing life sentences instead.
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The Real-World Impact
If you live in a state like California or Pennsylvania, the death penalty is basically a legal ghost. It exists on paper, it costs taxpayers millions in legal fees, but nobody actually dies.
In the South, it’s a very different reality. The legal process moves faster, and the political will to carry out executions is much stronger.
What You Should Do Next
If you're tracking this for a paper, a vote, or just because the news is confusing, here is how to stay informed:
- Check the Execution Chamber: Don't look at the state law; look at the execution calendar. The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) keeps a live list of scheduled dates. If a state hasn't had a date in 10 years, the law is effectively dead there.
- Follow State Supreme Court Rulings: This is where the real action happens. More often than not, it’s a court—not a governor—that ends the death penalty.
- Watch the Federal Moves: Federal law can override state trends. With the 2025 shift in the White House, we are seeing a push to make the death penalty a "national priority" again, which could clash with states that have abolished it.
The question of how many states in america use the death penalty is less about a number and more about a "vibe" that varies wildly depending on which side of the state line you're standing on.
Actionable Insight: If you want to see where your specific state stands, search for your state's "Department of Corrections Capital Punishment" page. They are required to list the current status of their death row and whether any executions are actually scheduled for 2026.