Capital Punishment in the United States, 1973-1987

• NCJ Number: 131319
• Date Published: June 1989
• Publication Type: Publication

Annotation

Annual data is presented on prisoners under a sentence of death, prisoners who had their sentences commuted or vacated, and prisoners who were executed over the 1973-1987 period.

Abstract

Basic sociodemographic classifications were examined including age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital status at time of imprisonment, level of education, and State and region of incarceration. Criminal history information covers prior felony convictions and prior convictions for criminal homicide and the legal status at the time of the capital offense. The dataset consists of three parts: the combined file which consists of 3,842 records, the historical file which contains 1,743 records, and the current file which includes 2,099 records and provides information on inmates who received a second death sentence by year end 1987 as well as those who already were on death row. The death penalty was authorized by the statutes of 37 States and by Federal statute at year end 1987. 1 appendix and 3 tables