How Many Innocent People Have Been Executed? (39 Shocking Death Penalty Statistics)

How many innocent people have been executed on death row in the US?

In this article, you’ll learn about:

the death penalty statistics
how many innocent people have been executed
how many people on death row today are innocent
how many states have the death penalty
the most famous death penalty cases
what crimes lead to the death penalty

Let’s dig in.

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Death Penalty Statistics

4.1% of people on death row are innocent.
63 innocent death row people have been executed.
1,543 executions have taken place in the United States since 1976.
There have been 8,800 people sentenced to death since 1976 (DPIC).
1,543 executions have taken place in the United States since 1976.
2.16% of death row inmates have been exonerated.
There is 1 exoneration for every 8 executions.
2,719 death row inmates have been exonerated of their death row penalty
There are 2,414 death row inmates in the US right now.
Blacks make up 42% of the death row population.
Blacks make up 34% of death row executions.
Whites make up 13% of the death row population.
190 death row inmates have been exonerated of their death row penalty.
78% of people think there are wrongfully convicted cases on death row.
Inmates spend 11.2 years on average on death row before execution.
The five ways of execution are lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, and firing squad.
In 2020, 17 death row executions took place in the United States.
2.16% of death row inmates have been exonerated.
24 states have capital punishment, while 23 have banned it.

How Many Innocent People Have Been Executed?

4.1% of people on death row are innocent.
1,543 executions have taken place in the United States since 1976.
63 innocent death row people have been executed (per the 4.1% calculation).

The death penalty raises concerns about executing innocent people.

Since 1976, the U.S. has conducted over 1,500 executions.

A small percentage of death row inmates might be innocent.

This estimate suggests that about 63 innocent people may have been executed.

This troubling number underlines:

the need to carefully examine the death penalty
the risk of irreversible mistakes

How Many People Have Died From The Death Penalty?

1,532 people have been executed in the US since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

How Many People Have Been Wrongly Executed?

Knowing how many people have been wrongly executed is tough due to:

varying legal systems
record-keeping practices

Since 1973, at least 186 people in the US have been exonerated from death row.

This indicates that innocent people have been executed.

But how many innocent people have been executed remains uncertain.

How Many People On Death Row Are Innocent?

4.1% of people on death row are innocent.
There are 2,414 death row inmates in the US right now.
99 people currently on death row are innocent.
1,543 executions have taken place in the United States since 1976.
63 innocent death row people have been executed (per the 4.1% calculation).
There have been 8,800 people sentenced to death since 1976.
360.8 innocent people have been sentenced to death since 1976.

Determining the exact number of innocent people executed in the US is challenging.

Wrongful convictions for being sentenced to death can occur for several reasons.

The reasons innocent people have been executed include:

flawed evidence
mistaken eyewitness identification
false confessions
misconduct by prosecutors

Researchers and advocacy groups have made estimates, but the true number is still unknown.

The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) is a non-profit organization.

It examines capital punishment issues in the US.

As of September 2021, it documented 185 death row exonerations since 1973.

These cases involve innocent people getting released from death row.

They were released due to evidence of innocence or significant doubt about guilt.

This does not include those who were executed.

A 2014 study estimated 4.1% of death row inmates in the US were wrongfully convicted.

(That study on innocent death row victims was from the National Academy of Sciences.)

Death Row Inmates Found Innocent After Execution

Some of the death row inmates who were exonerated after death execution are:

George Stinney Jr. (1944): Executed in South Carolina at the age of 14 for the murder of two young girls. In 2014, a judge vacated Stinney’s conviction, stating that his trial was fundamentally unfair and that he had not received proper legal representation.
Joe Arridy (1939): Executed in Colorado for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. In 2011, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter granted Arridy a posthumous pardon, citing evidence that his confession was coerced and that another man was likely the sole perpetrator.
Timothy Evans (1950): Executed in the United Kingdom for the murder of his wife and daughter. In 1966, Evans received a posthumous pardon when it was discovered that another man, serial killer John Christie, had likely committed the murders.
Timothy Cole (1999): Died in a Texas prison while serving a 25-year sentence for a rape he did not commit. In 2009, ten years after his death, Cole was posthumously exonerated based on DNA evidence that proved his innocence.

But there were also death row inmates found innocent after execution.

These next set of death row inmates were not exonerated, though.

There was strong evidence that pointed to being proven innocent after the death penalty.

Some of the death row inmates found innocent after execution are:

Carlos DeLuna (1989): Executed in Texas for the murder of Wanda Lopez. Significant doubts about his guilt arose later, with evidence pointing to another individual as the perpetrator.
Cameron Todd Willingham (2004): Willingham was executed in Texas for the arson-murder of his three children. Subsequent investigations into the fire science used in his trial raised serious doubts about the evidence that led to his conviction.
Larry Griffin (1995): Griffin was executed in Missouri for the murder of Quintin Moss. Post-execution investigations suggested that Griffin might have been innocent, and another individual could have been the killer.
Jesse Tafero (1990): Tafero was executed in Florida for the murder of two law enforcement officers. His co-defendant, Sonia Jacobs, had her sentence commuted to life imprisonment and was later exonerated. There was evidence suggesting that another individual present during the crime was the actual shooter.
Gary Graham (2000): Executed in Texas under the name Shaka Sankofa for the murder of Bobby Lambert. His conviction was based on a single eyewitness testimony, and other witnesses later came forward to say that Graham was not the killer.

Proving innocence after death is very difficult for innocent death row inmates that were executed.

Often, debates about an executed person’s guilt or innocence continue without resolution.

Famous Death Penalty Cases

Here are a few famous death penalty cases in the United States:

Gary Gilmore (1977): Gilmore was the first person executed in the U.S. after the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. He insisted on being executed by firing squad in Utah.
Ted Bundy (1989): Bundy, a notorious serial killer, was executed by electric chair in Florida after being convicted of multiple murders.
Timothy McVeigh (2001): McVeigh, responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, was executed by lethal injection in Indiana.
Troy Davis (2011): Davis was executed in Georgia amid controversy and claims of innocence. His case drew international attention and prompted calls for death penalty reform.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (ongoing): Tsarnaev was sentenced to death for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. His death sentence was initially overturned but later reinstated by the Supreme Court.

How Many States Have The Death Penalty?

There are 24 states that have the death penalty.
There are 23 states that do not have the death penalty.
3 states have a governor-imposed moratorium.

A governor-imposed moratorium on the death penalty is a temporary halt of executions ordered by a state’s governor.

This suspension usually aims to:

review the state’s capital punishment system
address concerns about fairness and wrongful convictions

During the moratorium, no executions occur.

But the death penalty remains legal in the state.

The governor or their successor can lift the moratorium, or legislative changes may override it.

What Crimes Are Punishable By Death?

Here are the crimes that are punishable by death:

Killing an on-duty peace officer or firefighter.
Killing during or while attempting certain crimes like kidnapping, burglary, or robbery.
Killing for money or hiring someone to kill for money.
Killing during escape or attempted escape from prison.
Killing a correctional employee or for involvement in a criminal group while in prison.
Killing while in prison for a previous murder conviction.
Killing while in prison serving a life sentence or a 99-year sentence for specific violent crimes.
Killing multiple people during the same crime or following the same plan.
Killing a child under 15 years old.
Killing due to someone’s role or status as a judge or justice in various courts.

FAQs About How Many Innocent People Have Been Executed

Here are other questions we found about how many innocent people have been executed.

How Many Innocent People Are On Death Row?

99 people currently on death row are innocent.

There are 2,414 death row inmates in the US right now.

Death row statistics show that ~4.1% of people are innocent on death row.

That means that 99 people currently on death row are innocent.

How Many Death Row Have Been Inmates Exonerated?

Since 1973, at least 186 death row inmates in the United States have been exonerated.

Meaning they were proven innocent after being sentenced to death.

Or had their convictions overturned due to evidence of wrongful convictions.

What Are Crimes Committed By Death Row Inmates?

The most common crimes committed by death row inmates are murder and aggravated murder.

Death row crimes often involve additional factors such as:

multiple victims
robbery
kidnapping
rape
the killing of law enforcement officers

These crimes are classified as capital offenses.

And they make the perpetrators eligible for the death penalty.

Why Are People For The Death Penalty?

People support the death penalty for various reasons.

Some believe it serves as a deterrent, discouraging potential criminals from committing heinous crimes.

Others argue it delivers justice for victims and their families by ensuring the most severe punishment for the worst offenders.

Additionally, proponents may view the death penalty as a way to maintain public safety by permanently removing dangerous individuals from society.

How Many People Have Been Executed In The US?

~1,532 people have been executed in the US since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

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