What States Still Allow the Death Penalty? The 27 States and Methods Used

Twenty-seven states still allow the death penalty, though only a small group of them actually carries out executions with any regularity. The rest keep capital punishment in their statutes but execute rarely, or not at all, often because of lengthy appeals, drug shortages, or governor-imposed pauses. The federal government and the U.S. military also maintain their own death penalties, separate from state law.1Death Penalty Information Center. State by State

The 27 States That Authorize Capital Punishment

These states currently authorize the death penalty, almost always for aggravated murder or similarly severe offenses:1Death Penalty Information Center. State by State

  • 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
  • Wyoming

As of mid-2024, roughly 2,200 people were on death rows or facing capital resentencing proceedings across the country, a number that has been steadily declining.2Death Penalty Information Center. Death Row Overview California holds by far the largest death row, yet it has not carried out an execution since 2006.

Which States Actually Execute People

Having the law on the books and using it are two different things. Texas and Florida carry out the bulk of the nation’s executions. Florida alone accounted for 19 of the 47 executions nationwide in 2025.3Death Penalty Information Center. The Death Penalty in 2025 States like Kansas, Oregon, and Wyoming have death penalty statutes but have not executed anyone in years or even decades. Reasons vary: lengthy appeals, difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs, and shifting political will all play a role.

The national picture has grown increasingly concentrated. A handful of states conduct nearly all executions, while most states with capital punishment on their books rarely or never use it. New death sentences and executions have both fallen dramatically from their peaks in the 1990s, even as 2025 saw an uptick driven almost entirely by Florida.

States With Active Moratoriums

Four of the 27 states have paused all executions through executive action.1Death Penalty Information Center. State by State A moratorium does not change the underlying law or vacate anyone’s sentence. People remain on death row, new death sentences can still be imposed, but no one is executed while the pause holds.

California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania each have governor-declared moratoriums. California’s Governor Newsom imposed his in 2019, calling the state’s death penalty system “a failure” that “has discriminated against defendants who are mentally ill, black and brown, or can’t afford expensive legal representation.”4Death Penalty Information Center. Statements from Governors Imposing Moratoria on Executions Oregon’s moratorium dates back to 2011 and has continued under successive governors. Pennsylvania’s began in 2015.

Ohio’s situation is slightly different. Governor DeWine has stated that no executions will take place during his governorship, which runs through 2026, and he has been issuing reprieves that push execution dates years into the future. In January 2026, he rescheduled three executions from 2026 to 2029, citing ongoing problems with pharmaceutical suppliers refusing to provide lethal injection drugs.5Office of the Governor of Ohio. Governor DeWine Issues Reprieves Ohio has not executed anyone since 2018.

Moratoriums are fragile. They last only as long as the current governor chooses to maintain them. A new governor can lift one on the first day in office and resume scheduling executions with no legislative action required.

Federal and Military Death Penalty

Even in states that have abolished capital punishment, the federal government can seek a death sentence for federal capital offenses committed within those borders. Federal capital crimes fall into three broad categories: homicide offenses, espionage and treason, and certain drug trafficking crimes involving death.6Department of Justice Archives. CRM 69 – The Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994

Federal policy swings with administrations. The Trump administration carried out 13 federal executions between July 2020 and January 2021 after a 17-year hiatus. President Biden’s Justice Department imposed a moratorium in July 2021, and in December 2024, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people then on federal death row. President Trump signed Executive Order 14164 on January 20, 2025, directing the Attorney General to pursue the death penalty “for all crimes of a severity demanding its use.”7The White House. Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety The Attorney General formally lifted the moratorium on February 5, 2025.8Department of Justice. Reviving the Federal Death Penalty and Lifting the Moratorium on Federal Executions Federal death row is housed at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The U.S. military retains its own death penalty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Military capital offenses go well beyond murder and include desertion in wartime, mutiny, sedition, misbehavior before the enemy, aiding the enemy, espionage involving nuclear weapons or war plans, and spying during wartime.9Defense.gov. Part IV – Punitive Articles Many of these offenses are death-eligible only during wartime, but espionage involving critical defense systems and mutiny carry the death penalty at any time. No U.S. service member has been executed since 1961.

How Executions Are Carried Out

Lethal injection remains the dominant method, authorized in 28 states as well as by the federal government and the military.10Death Penalty Information Center. Methods of Execution Most states designate it as the primary method, with alternatives available if lethal injection becomes unavailable or is ruled unconstitutional. Backup methods vary by state:

  • Electrocution is authorized in nine states. South Carolina is the only state where it is the default rather than a backup.
  • Lethal gas is authorized in nine states as an alternative, though traditional hydrogen cyanide gas has largely given way to nitrogen hypoxia.
  • Firing squad is authorized in five states: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. Idaho’s law makes the firing squad its primary method effective July 2026.
  • Nitrogen hypoxia is authorized in five states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. Alabama pioneered its use in 2024.

Method matters more than it used to because of a practical crisis. Pharmaceutical companies have broadly refused to sell drugs for use in executions, disrupting lethal injection programs across the country. States that want to keep executing have responded by authorizing new methods. Idaho moved the firing squad to its primary method. Alabama developed the first nitrogen hypoxia protocol and has carried out three executions using it. Louisiana has also used nitrogen hypoxia. Indiana’s legislature considered a bill in 2026 to add both firing squad and nitrogen hypoxia options.11IN.gov. Execution Methods

Where Things Stand

Of the 27 states that still allow the death penalty, only a few use it with any regularity. Four have paused executions through governor action, several more have gone decades without an execution despite keeping the law active, and the rest sit somewhere in between. With the federal moratorium lifted and states developing new execution methods to work around drug shortages, capital punishment remains active law in slightly more than half of the country, even as its actual use grows more concentrated by the year.