Oregon still has the death penalty on the books, but in practice no one can be executed there right now. The state’s constitution authorizes capital punishment for aggravated murder, yet death row is empty, the execution chamber at the Oregon State Penitentiary has been dismantled, and successive governors have refused to sign death warrants since 2011. The penalty exists as a legal category without anyone facing it and without the physical means to carry it out.
Why Death Row Is Empty
In December 2022, Governor Kate Brown used her clemency power to commute the sentences of all 17 people then facing execution, converting every death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The commutations took effect on December 14, 2022. Brown also ordered the Department of Corrections to dismantle the execution chamber at the Oregon State Penitentiary.1Governor’s Office. Governor Kate Brown Commutes Oregon’s Death Row
No one has been executed in Oregon since 1997, when Douglas Franklin Wright was put to death. Only two executions have taken place in the state since 1976.
The Governor’s Moratorium
The current pause on executions began in November 2011, when Governor John Kitzhaber blocked the scheduled execution of Gary Haugen and declared he would sign no death warrants during his time in office. He called the system “neither fair nor just.” Kitzhaber did not commute sentences or seek legislative abolition; he simply refused to authorize any execution.
Kate Brown continued that moratorium and then went further with the 2022 commutations. Governor Tina Kotek, who took office in January 2023, has kept the moratorium in place.
Because the moratorium is executive policy rather than law, it lasts only as long as the sitting governor chooses to maintain it. A future governor could reverse the position. Doing so would mean rebuilding execution infrastructure from scratch and confronting the legal challenges that would follow.
What Crimes Could Still Trigger a Death Sentence
Aggravated murder is the only death-eligible crime in Oregon, and the legislature sharply narrowed that category in 2019 through Senate Bill 1013.2Oregon State Legislature. SB1013 2019 Regular Session Under ORS 163.095, aggravated murder is now limited to five scenarios:3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 163.095 – “Aggravated Murder” Defined
- Premeditated killing of two or more people with intent to intimidate a civilian population, influence government policy through coercion, or affect government conduct through destruction, murder, kidnapping, or aircraft piracy.
- Premeditated, intentional murder of a person under 14 years of age.
- Killing someone while confined in a correctional facility, where the defendant already has a prior homicide conviction that would qualify as aggravated murder or first-degree murder.
- Premeditated, intentional murder of a police officer related to the officer’s official duties.
- Premeditated, intentional murder of a correctional, parole, or probation officer related to the victim’s official duties.
Many killings that used to qualify as aggravated murder now fall under first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years before any possibility of parole but does not permit a death sentence.4Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 163.107 – Murder in the First Degree Very few current cases reach the death-eligible tier.
If a jury did convict someone of aggravated murder, a separate sentencing proceeding would follow, with three possible outcomes: death, life without any possibility of release, or life with a 30-year minimum. Every “yes” answer on the sentencing questions has to be unanimous, so a single juror opposed to a death sentence blocks it.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 163.150 – Sentencing for Aggravated Murder
The authorized method is lethal injection using a three-drug protocol set out in ORS 137.473.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 137.473 – Means of Inflicting Death; Place and Procedures; Acquisition of Lethal Substance With the execution chamber dismantled, no facility currently exists in Oregon that could carry out that protocol.
Why the Legislature Can’t Just Repeal It
Oregon’s death penalty is written into the state constitution, not just the criminal code. Article I, Section 40 provides that the penalty for aggravated murder “shall be death upon unanimous affirmative jury findings as provided by law and otherwise shall be life imprisonment.”7FindLaw. Oregon Constitution Art. I 40 – Penalty for Aggravated Murder That provision overrides Section 16 of the same article, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, and because Section 40 was enacted by popular vote, it cannot be struck down through ordinary constitutional review the way a statute could.
Permanent abolition requires amending the constitution, which in Oregon means either a legislative referral approved by voters or a citizen-initiated ballot measure. Until voters act, the legal framework stays in place no matter how long a governor maintains a moratorium.
The 2025 Effort to Let Voters Abolish It
Senate Joint Resolution 16, introduced in the 2025 legislative session, proposes a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the death penalty in Oregon. If the legislature approves it, the question would appear on the ballot at the next regular general election.8Oregon State Legislature. SJR16 2025 Regular Session
A public vote is the only path to permanent change. Oregon voters have reversed course on capital punishment repeatedly since 1914, abolishing it and reinstating it through ballot measures more times than any other state. The current constitutional language dates to a 1984 vote reaffirming reinstatement. Whether voters would abolish it in the next election cycle is unresolved.
The Bottom Line for Now
If you are asking whether someone in Oregon can be sentenced to death today, the technical answer is yes for the narrow set of crimes that still qualify as aggravated murder, but the jury unanimity requirement, the executive moratorium, the empty death row, and the absence of a working execution chamber mean the sentence would be symbolic. If you are asking whether Oregon will actually execute anyone in the foreseeable future, nothing in current state policy points that way.