Prison Statistics

[Moorbey]

In 2008, 37 inmates were executed, 5 fewer than in 2007.

In 2008, 37 persons in nine states were executed -- 18 in Texas; 4 in Virginia; 3 each in Georgia and South Carolina; 2 each in Florida, Mississippi, Ohio, and Oklahoma, and 1 in Kentucky.

Of persons executed in 2008:
-- 20 were white
-- 17 were black

All 37 inmates executed in 2008 were men.

Lethal injection was used in 36 executions in 2008; 1 execution was by electrocution.

Prisoners under sentence of death

At yearend 2007, 35 states and the federal prison system held 3,220 prisoners under sentence of death, 13 fewer than at yearend 2006.

Since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, white inmates have made up more than half of the number under sentence of death.

Prisoners on death row by race, 1968-2007

Of persons under sentence of death in 2007:
-- 1,804 were white
-- 1,345 were black
-- 26 were American Indian
-- 35 were Asian
-- 10 were of unknown race.

Fifty-six women were under a sentence of death at yearend 2007.

The 362 Hispanic inmates under sentence of death at yearend 2007 accounted for 13% of inmates with a known ethnicity.

Among persons for whom arrest information was available, the average age at time of arrest was 29; nearly 1 in 9 inmates were age 19 or younger at the time of arrest.

At yearend 2007, the youngest inmate under sentence of death was 19; the oldest was 92.
____________ _________ _________ __
Summary findings
On June 30, 2008 —

– 2,310,984 prisoners were held in federal or state prisons or in local jails – an increase of 0.8% from yearend 2007, less than the average annual growth of 2.4% from 2000-2007.
– 1,540,805 sentenced prisoners were under state or federal jurisdiction.
– there were an estimated 509 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents – up from 506 at yearend 2007.
– the number of women under the jurisdiction of state or federal prison authorities increased 1.2% from yearend 2007, reaching 115,779, and the number of men rose 0.7%, totaling 1,494,805.
http://www.ojp. usdoj.gov/ bjs/prisons. htm