If you want to know what states in America have the death penalty, you're looking at a map that's basically a moving target. Honestly, it’s a weird patchwork. You’ve got states where it’s totally legal but hasn't been used since the Clinton administration, and then you have places like Florida and Texas where the execution chamber stays busy.
As of early 2026, 27 states still have capital punishment on the books. But "having it" doesn't mean "using it."
Some governors have literally just said "no" through executive moratoriums. Others want to use it but can't find the drugs. And a huge chunk of the country—23 states plus D.C.—has wiped it off the law books entirely. It’s a mess of legal jargon, political posturing, and high-stakes ethics.
The Active 27: Where Capital Punishment Still Stands
Legally, capital punishment is authorized in 27 states, the federal government, and the U.S. military. Here is the current breakdown of those states:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
But wait.
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If you live in California, Oregon, or Pennsylvania, your state has the death penalty, but you're living under a governor-imposed moratorium. No one is actually being walked to the chamber there right now. California, for example, has the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, yet they haven't executed anyone since 2006. Governor Gavin Newsom even ordered the dismantling of the execution chamber at San Quentin a few years back. It's a "legal" penalty that effectively doesn't exist in practice for those three states.
The Heavy Hitters
A small group of states does most of the "heavy lifting" when it comes to actual executions. In 2025, we saw a massive surge. Florida alone executed 19 people last year—a state record. Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma followed closely behind. These four states accounted for about 76% of all executions in the country recently.
Texas remains the king of the tally, having executed nearly 600 people since 1976. Oklahoma and Florida aren't far behind in their historical counts. If you’re looking at the map of what states in America have the death penalty, the Southern "death belt" is where the law meets the needle most often.
The Federal Flip-Flop
The federal death penalty is its own beast. For years, it sat dormant. Then, the Trump administration ramped it up in 2020. Then, Biden paused it. Now, in 2026, the federal government is back in the business of seeking death sentences.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi recently lifted the Garland-era moratorium. This means federal prosecutors are once again pushing for the ultimate price in cases involving the murder of law enforcement or certain high-profile federal crimes. It’s a stark reminder of how much this policy depends on who is sitting in the White House.
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Methods of Execution: It’s Not Just Lethal Injection
Most people think it's just a gurney and an IV. That’s the primary method in 28 jurisdictions, but the "secondary" list is getting wild because states are struggling to buy the chemicals.
- Nitrogen Hypoxia: Alabama made headlines in late 2024 and 2025 by using nitrogen gas. It’s a controversial method where the inmate breathes pure nitrogen until they suffocate.
- The Firing Squad: South Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah have this on the books. In South Carolina, if the state can't get lethal injection drugs, the inmate can actually choose the firing squad or the electric chair.
- Electrocution: Still a secondary option in several states, including Tennessee and Florida.
Idaho recently joined the firing squad club because they simply couldn't find a reliable source for pentobarbital. Pharmaceutical companies don't want the PR nightmare of their products being used for "state-sponsored killing," so they’ve largely cut off the supply.
Why Some States Said "Enough"
The list of states without the death penalty is growing. Since 2009, a wave of states has abolished it: New Mexico, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, Colorado, and most recently, Virginia in 2021.
Virginia's move was a huge deal. They were historically the second-most active execution state in the country. Their pivot to abolition signaled a major shift in the South.
The reasons are usually the same:
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- Cost: It’s way more expensive to execute someone than to keep them in prison for life because of the endless appeals.
- Innocence: Since 1973, at least 200 people have been exonerated from death row. That "oops" factor is too high for many lawmakers.
- Racial Disparity: Statistics consistently show that if the victim is white, the defendant is much more likely to get the death penalty.
The 2026 Landscape: What to Watch
If you're tracking what states in America have the death penalty, keep an eye on Ohio and Tennessee. Ohio has a massive backlog of executions that keep getting delayed because of drug shortages and legal challenges. Tennessee is also navigating a complicated mess with their lethal injection protocols that led to a temporary pause.
Also, watch the courts. State Supreme Courts in places like Washington and Delaware have been the ones to strike down the penalty, rather than the politicians. They often rule that the way the law is applied is unconstitutional, even if the penalty itself isn't.
Actionable Insights: How to Track the Data
If you need to stay updated on this, the landscape changes monthly. Here is how you can stay informed:
- Check the DPIC: The Death Penalty Information Center is the gold standard. They track every execution, stay, and legal change in real-time.
- Monitor State Legislatures: Bills to abolish or reinstate the death penalty are introduced every single year. In 2025 alone, over 60 new laws were enacted addressing these systems.
- Look at the Warrants: Execution dates are set months in advance. Texas and Oklahoma already have dates on the calendar for late 2026.
The U.S. is currently one of the only "developed" nations that still uses the death penalty. Whether that continues depends entirely on the state lines you're standing behind.