Death Penalty Laws by State (2026)
How each state handles death penalty, from each state's code and official agencies.
| State | Death penalty |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama has the death penalty. Capital offenses include murder committed during a kidnapping, robbery, rape, sodomy, burglary or arson; murder of an on-duty police officer or prison guard; murder for hire; murder of two or more people in one act or scheme; and other listed murders, plus first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and sexual torture when the victim is under 12. After a capital conviction a separate sentencing hearing decides between life without parole and death. Executions are carried out by lethal injection unless the person elects electrocution or nitrogen hypoxia. Ala. Code 1975 §§ 13A-5-40(a), 13A-5-45(a), 15-18-82(a) |
| Alaska | Alaska does not have the death penalty. Alaska's sentencing chapter (AS 12.55) authorizes no death sentence; the most serious crime, first-degree murder, is punished by a definite term of imprisonment of at least 30 years but not more than 99 years, and by a mandatory term of 99 years in listed cases, such as the murder of a uniformed or clearly identified peace officer, firefighter or correctional employee on duty, a prior murder conviction, substantial physical torture of the victim, or a murder during a robbery. AS 12.55.125(a); AS 12.55 (whole chapter reviewed); AS 11.41.100 |
| Arizona | Arizona has the death penalty for first degree murder. When the state files a notice seeking death, an adult convicted of premeditated murder or murder of a law enforcement officer is sentenced to death or natural life (no release of any kind), and for felony murder the options are death, life or natural life; the trier of fact chooses between death and life by weighing aggravating and mitigating circumstances. A defendant under 18 cannot be sentenced to death. Executions are by lethal injection under the Department of Corrections; a person sentenced for an offense committed before November 23, 1992 may choose lethal injection or lethal gas, and lethal injection is used if no choice is made. A.R.S. §§ 13-751(A), (E); 13-757(A)-(B) |
| Arkansas | Arkansas has the death penalty. Capital murder (for example premeditated and deliberated murder, murder during listed felonies such as rape, kidnapping, robbery or burglary, murder for hire, and premeditated murder of law enforcement officers and other listed officials) is punished by death or life imprisonment without parole for defendants 18 or older; defendants under 18 face life with parole eligibility after at least 30 years. Under Act 662 of 2025, capital rape of a child 13 or younger under listed aggravating circumstances can also be punished by death or life without parole if the defendant was 18 or older. Act 302 of 2025 (approved March 18, 2025) allows executions by lethal injection or nitrogen gas, with electrocution if both are invalidated by a final court order, and provides that a death sentence is not reduced if a method is declared unconstitutional. Ark. Code § 5-10-101(a), (c); § 5-4-615 and § 5-4-617(a), (m), (n) as amended by Act 302 of 2025; Act 662 of 2025 (§ 5-14-114) |
| California | The death penalty remains in California law, but executions are on hold under a governor's moratorium. On March 13, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order instituting a moratorium in the form of a reprieve for everyone sentenced to death; the order also called for repealing the lethal injection protocol and immediately closing the execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison, and it does not release anyone or change any conviction or sentence. People sentenced to death are held in state prison; under Proposition 66 (2016) they may be housed at any state prison with sufficient security. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Capital Punishment page (citing Executive Order of March 13, 2019, Proposition 66 and Penal Code § 3600) |
| Colorado | Colorado has abolished the death penalty for offenses charged on or after July 1, 2020: for those cases death is not a sentencing option for a class 1 felony, which is punished by life imprisonment. The repeal does not commute or alter sentences for offenses charged before July 1, 2020, and any death sentence in effect on that date remains valid; the older capital sentencing procedure still covers class 1 felonies charged before that date. C.R.S. §§ 16-11-901, 18-1.3-1201(1)(a), 18-1.3-801(1)(e) |
| Connecticut | Connecticut does not have the death penalty for crimes committed on or after April 25, 2012. The most serious form of murder, called murder with special circumstances (for example killing a police officer, murder for hire, killing two or more people, or killing a child under 16, by someone 18 or older), is a class A felony punished by life imprisonment without the possibility of release, meaning the rest of the person's natural life. The statutes still contain the death-sentence hearing procedure, but only for a 'capital felony committed prior to April 25, 2012.' Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 53a-54b, 53a-35a(1), 53a-35b, 53a-46a |
| Delaware | Delaware no longer has the death penalty in its statutes. First-degree murder committed by an adult is punished by imprisonment for the rest of the person's natural life, without probation, parole or any other reduction; the former death-sentence subsections of the murder sentencing statute (§ 4209(b) to (h)) are repealed, and the section no longer mentions a death sentence. 11 Del. C. § 4209(a) |
| District of Columbia | The District of Columbia does not have the death penalty under the D.C. Code; it was repealed by the District of Columbia Death Penalty Repeal Act of 1980 (D.C. Law 3-113), which amended the murder penalty statute. First-degree murder is punished by 30 years up to life imprisonment without release, and a person convicted of first-degree murder cannot be released before serving 30 years; second-degree murder carries up to life. D.C. Code § 22-2104(a)-(c); D.C. Law 3-113 |
| Florida | Florida has the death penalty. Capital felonies include first-degree murder, capital sexual battery of a child, capital drug trafficking and capital human trafficking of vulnerable persons for sexual exploitation, each with its own sentencing procedure; a person who was under 18 at the time cannot be sentenced to death. After a separate penalty hearing, the jury must unanimously find at least one aggravating factor; if at least eight jurors vote for death, the jury recommends death and the judge may impose death or life without parole, and if fewer than eight do, the recommendation is life. A death sentence is carried out by lethal injection unless the person elects electrocution, or by any method not deemed unconstitutional. Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082(1), 921.141(1)-(2), 921.142, 921.1425, 921.1427, 922.10, 922.105 |
| Georgia | Georgia has the death penalty. Except for treason and aircraft hijacking, a death sentence requires the jury to find at least one statutory aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt (for example murder of a peace officer, corrections employee or firefighter on duty, murder for money, murder during another capital felony, or murder that was outrageously vile and involved torture) and to recommend death; if the jury cannot reach a unanimous sentencing verdict, the judge must choose life imprisonment or life without parole. Death sentences are carried out by lethal injection. O.C.G.A. §§ 17-10-30, 17-10-31, 17-10-38(a) |
| Hawaii | Hawaii's most severe sentence is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, which applies to first-degree murder committed by someone 21 or older (raised from 18 by Act 152 of 2025); the court must also start an application to the governor to commute the sentence to life with parole eligibility after 20 years. Second-degree murder carries life with the possibility of parole, with life without parole available as an enhanced sentence. The murder sentencing section does not provide for a death sentence. Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 706-656, 706-657 |
| Idaho | Idaho has the death penalty. First-degree murder is punished by death or life imprisonment, but death can be imposed only if the prosecutor filed a notice of intent to seek it and a jury (or the judge if a jury is waived) finds at least one statutory aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt. Idaho law also makes aggravated lewd conduct with a child twelve or under punishable by death, which requires at least three statutory aggravating circumstances. By statute the method is the firing squad when the director of the Idaho Department of Correction certifies it is available, otherwise lethal injection. Idaho Code §§ 18-4004, 19-2515(1), (3), 19-2716 |
| Illinois | Illinois does not have the death penalty. It was abolished effective July 1, 2011, by Public Act 96-1543, which added the death-penalty abolition section to the Code of Criminal Procedure. Pub. Act 96-1543 (725 ILCS 5/119-1), as stated in People v. Simms, 2018 IL 122378, n.4 |
| Indiana | Indiana has the death penalty. A person who was at least 18 when committing murder may be sentenced to death (or life without parole) instead of a prison term, under the separate death-penalty sentencing procedure, which requires the State to prove listed aggravating circumstances. Executions are being carried out: the Indiana Supreme Court set an execution date of October 10, 2025, for Roy Lee Ward, sentenced to death for a 2001 rape and murder. Ind. Code §§ 35-50-2-3, 35-50-2-9; Ward v. State, Ind. Sup. Ct. No. 25S-SD-167 (order setting execution date, Aug. 27, 2025) |
| Iowa | Iowa does not have the death penalty. The most serious crimes, including first-degree murder, are class A felonies, punished by commitment to the Department of Corrections for the rest of the person's life with no parole unless the governor commutes the sentence to a term of years (people under 18 at the time of a first-degree murder receive one of three life-sentence options set by the court). Iowa Code § 902.1 (Iowa Code 2026); chapters 707 and 902 reviewed |
| Kansas | Kansas has the death penalty for capital murder, which covers specific intentional and premeditated killings: killing during a kidnapping for ransom, murder for hire, killing by a prison or jail inmate, killing the victim of a rape or sodomy, killing a law enforcement officer, killing more than one person in the same act or scheme, and killing a child under 14 during a kidnapping intended to commit a sex offense. The prosecutor must file notice of intent, and a unanimous jury must find aggravating circumstances not outweighed by mitigating circumstances; otherwise the sentence is life without parole. By statute, executions are carried out by intravenous injection of substances chosen by the secretary of corrections. K.S.A. 21-5401, 21-6617, 22-4001 |
| Kentucky | Kentucky has the death penalty. Murder is a capital offense, and a person convicted of a capital offense may be sentenced to death, life without parole, life without parole for 25 years, life, or 20 to 50 years; the jury must find at least one statutory aggravating circumstance to recommend death. By statute, executions are by lethal injection; people sentenced to death before March 31, 1998, may choose electrocution instead. Kentucky's persistent violent felony offender law (2024) also allows death or life without parole for a third violent felony that is a capital offense. KRS 507.020(2), 532.030(1), (4), 532.025, 431.220, 532.029(2)(b) |
| Louisiana | Louisiana has the death penalty in its law. First degree murder is punished by death or life imprisonment at hard labor without parole, probation or suspension of sentence when the district attorney seeks a capital verdict (the jury decides between the two); otherwise the sentence is life without parole. The first degree rape statute also lists death or life without parole when the victim was under 13 and the district attorney seeks a capital verdict. Executions take place at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola by one of three methods chosen by the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections: lethal intravenous injection, nitrogen hypoxia, or electrocution. La. R.S. 14:30(C); R.S. 14:42(D)(2); R.S. 15:569(A) |
| Maine | Maine has no state law that provides for the death penalty. The most serious sentence is for murder: life imprisonment or any term of years of at least 25 years. The list of sentences a court may impose (discharge, fines, probation, imprisonment, supervised release and similar options) does not include death. 17-A M.R.S. §§1502(2), 1603(1); 17-A M.R.S. ch. 61 (§§1501-1504) |
| Maryland | Maryland no longer has the death penalty. It was repealed by Chapter 156 of the 2013 session (Senate Bill 276), effective October 1, 2013, and replaced with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Today a person convicted of first-degree murder is sentenced to life without parole or to life; life without parole may be imposed only if the State gave written notice at least 30 days before trial, and a jury's decision to impose it must be unanimous. Md. Code, Crim. Law §§2-201(b), 2-203, 2-304; 2013 Md. Laws ch. 156 (SB 276) |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts's murder statute does not provide for the death penalty. First-degree murder is punished by life in state prison without parole (for offenders who were 14 to 17 at the time, life with parole eligibility after a term set by the court), and second-degree murder by life with parole eligibility. Older provisions in chapter 279 describing how a death sentence would be carried out (electrocution or, at the prisoner's election, lethal injection) remain in the General Laws, but the current punishment statute for murder lists only life imprisonment. G.L. c. 265, §2; G.L. c. 279, §§57, 60, 68 |
| Michigan | Michigan does not have the death penalty. The Michigan Constitution states that no law shall be enacted providing for the penalty of death. Mich. Const. 1963, art. IV, §46 |
| Minnesota | Minnesota has no state law that provides for the death penalty. The sentences a court may impose for a felony are life imprisonment, a fixed term of years, a fine, restitution and related fees; death is not among them. First-degree murder is punished by life imprisonment. Minn. Stat. §§609.10, subd. 1; 609.185(a) |
| Mississippi | Mississippi has the death penalty in law. A person convicted of capital murder is sentenced to death, life imprisonment without parole, or life imprisonment with parole eligibility under § 47-7-3(1)(c)(iii). Capital murder includes killing a peace officer or firefighter on duty, murder for hire, murder by bomb, killing during listed felonies such as rape, robbery, burglary, kidnapping or arson, murder of an elected official, and murder of three or more people in one episode. The statute names lethal injection as the preferred method and also allows nitrogen hypoxia, electrocution or firing squad, chosen by the Commissioner of Corrections. Miss. Code Ann. §§ 97-3-19(2), 97-3-21(3), 99-19-51 |
| Missouri | Missouri has the death penalty in law. First-degree murder (knowingly causing a death after deliberation) is a class A felony punished, for an offender 18 or older, by either death or life imprisonment without probation or parole (release only by act of the governor); offenders under 18 are sentenced under § 565.033. The statute sets the method of execution as lethal gas or lethal injection, carried out by the Department of Corrections. RSMo §§ 565.020, 546.720 |
| Montana | Montana has the death penalty in law. Deliberate homicide (purposely or knowingly killing someone, or a death caused during a forcible felony such as robbery, arson, burglary or kidnapping) may be punished by death, unless the offender was under 18, or by life imprisonment or 10 to 100 years. Aggravated kidnapping may also be punished by death or life under the death-penalty procedures. The judge alone decides a death sentence at a separate hearing on aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The statute sets the method as a continuous intravenous injection of a lethal quantity of an ultra-fast-acting barbiturate combined with a chemical paralytic agent. MCA §§ 45-5-102, 45-5-303(2), 46-18-301, 46-19-103(3) |
| Nebraska | Nebraska has the death penalty in law. First-degree murder (premeditated killing, felony murder during first-degree sexual assault, arson, robbery, kidnapping, hijacking or burglary, killing by poison, or causing an innocent person's execution by perjury) is punished either as a Class I felony (death) or a Class IA felony (life imprisonment), decided under the death-penalty sentencing procedures in §§ 29-2519 to 29-2524. The 2015 law that repealed the death penalty was reversed by the voters in the November 2016 referendum. The statute sets the method as intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a quantity sufficient to cause death, under a Department of Correctional Services protocol. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-303, 28-105, 83-964 |
| Nevada | Nevada has the death penalty in law. First-degree murder (willful, deliberate and premeditated killing, killing by poison, lying in wait or torture, and certain killings during listed felonies, to avoid arrest, at schools or in terrorism) is a category A felony; death may be imposed only if one or more statutory aggravating circumstances are found and the mitigating circumstances do not outweigh them. Otherwise the sentence is life without parole, life with parole eligibility after 20 years, or a definite 50-year term with parole eligibility after 20 years. Aggravating circumstances include killing a peace officer or firefighter on duty, killing during a robbery, burglary, home invasion, kidnapping or arson, murder for hire, torture, and a victim under 14. The statute says 'The judgment of death must be inflicted by an injection of a lethal drug.' NRS 200.030, 200.033, 176.355(1) |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire no longer imposes the death penalty for capital murder: since a 2019 amendment (effective May 30, 2019), a person convicted of capital murder 'shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life without the possibility for parole.' Capital murder is knowingly killing a law enforcement or judicial officer because of their duties, killing during a kidnapping, aggravated felonious sexual assault, certain drug offenses or a burglary of an occupied structure, murder for hire, or murder by someone already serving life without parole; no one under 18 at the time can be guilty of capital murder. The code still contains the older death-sentence procedure section (RSA 630:5). RSA 630:1 (as amended 2019, 42:1, eff. May 30, 2019), 630:5 |
| New Jersey | New Jersey law does not provide for the death penalty. Under the murder statute, the harshest sentence is life imprisonment without parole, which applies to murder of a law enforcement officer on duty, murder of a child under 18 during a sexual assault, and murder with listed aggravating factors found by a jury (such as a prior murder, torture, murder for hire, or murder of a child under 14). Other murders carry 30 years without parole or a term between 30 years and life with 30 years served before parole. The statute's former capital-sentencing subsections (c through h) were deleted by P.L.2007, c.204. N.J.S. 2C:11-3(b)-(h) |
| New Mexico | New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009. A person convicted of a capital felony (first-degree murder) is sentenced to life imprisonment or life imprisonment without possibility of release or parole, and the death-penalty procedure sections (NMSA 1978, 31-20A-1, -2.1, -3, -4 and -6) were repealed. NMSA 1978, 31-18-14 (2009), as quoted by the New Mexico Department of Justice |
| New York | New York's death penalty is still written into its laws but cannot currently be imposed. Penal Law 60.06 still lists death as a possible sentence for first-degree murder, under the jury sentencing procedure in Criminal Procedure Law 400.27. In People v. LaValle (June 24, 2004), the Court of Appeals held that the jury deadlock instruction in CPL 400.27(10) is unconstitutional under article I, section 6 of the State Constitution and that this defect 'can only be cured by a new deadlock instruction from the Legislature'. The official text of CPL 400.27 (most recent revision 2020) still carries a note that subdivision 10 was declared unconstitutional, so the court-identified defect remains. First-degree murder is otherwise punished by life without parole or a class A-I prison term. N.Y. Penal Law 60.06; N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law 400.27; People v. LaValle, 3 NY3d 88, 2004 NY Slip Op 05484 (Ct. App. June 24, 2004) |
| North Carolina | North Carolina has the death penalty. First-degree murder (a Class A felony) is punished by death or life imprisonment without parole, as decided at a separate sentencing hearing under G.S. 15A-2000; a person who was under 18 at the time of the murder cannot be sentenced to death and is sentenced under separate juvenile provisions. The statute sets the method as intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death; if that method is held unconstitutional by a North Carolina court or is otherwise unavailable, the Secretary must choose a method another state has adopted. G.S. 14-17(a); G.S. 15-187; G.S. 15-188 |
| North Dakota | North Dakota has no state law that provides for the death penalty. Its offense classification law divides all offenses into seven classes, and the most severe, a Class AA felony, carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole (the court decides whether the life sentence allows parole; if it does, the person cannot be considered for parole for thirty years, less good-conduct credit). Murder is a Class AA felony. N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-01(1); N.D.C.C. 12.1-16-01(1) |
| Ohio | Ohio has the death penalty for aggravated murder when at least one listed aggravating circumstance is charged in the indictment and proved beyond a reasonable doubt, such as murder for hire, killing a law enforcement officer, killing a witness, killing a child under 13, killing two or more people, or murder during a kidnapping, rape, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, aggravated arson or terrorism. It is not available for an offender under 18 at the time of the offense or one found to have had a serious mental illness at the time. The statute sets the method as lethal injection of a drug or combination of drugs; if lethal injection is held unconstitutional, another method later prescribed by law is used. The Ohio Attorney General's 2025 Capital Crimes Annual Report states that execution dates have been repeatedly postponed by the Governor's reprieves, mainly because of difficulty obtaining lethal-injection drugs (for example, three execution dates were moved to 2029 in January 2026). R.C. 2929.04(A)-(B) (eff. April 12, 2021); R.C. 2949.22 (eff. Nov. 21, 2001) |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma has the death penalty. First-degree murder is a Class Y felony punished by death, life without parole, or life; when the state seeks death, a separate sentencing hearing is held before the trial jury (or the judge if the jury is waived or the defendant pleads guilty). State law also allows death or life without parole for a repeat conviction of rape, forcible sodomy, rape by instrumentation or lewd molestation of a child under 14. The statute sets the method: lethal injection, then nitrogen hypoxia, electrocution, and firing squad, in that order, if an earlier method is held unconstitutional or is otherwise unavailable. 21 O.S. §§ 701.9(A), 701.10, 843.5(K); 22 O.S. § 1014 |
| Oregon | Oregon law still provides the death penalty, but only for aggravated murder, which since 2019 is limited to: a premeditated intentional killing of two or more people as an act of terrorism; a murder committed in custody by someone previously convicted of aggravated or first-degree murder; and premeditated intentional murder of a child under 14 or of a police or corrections, parole or probation officer because of the officer's duties. After an aggravated murder conviction, a jury decides between life, life without parole and death in a separate sentencing hearing. The statute sets lethal injection as the method. ORS 163.095, 163.150, 137.473(1) |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania law has the death penalty for first-degree murder (and first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer): the sentence is death or life imprisonment, decided by the jury at a separate sentencing hearing. The statute sets lethal injection as the method. On February 16, 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro announced he will not issue any execution warrants during his term and asked the General Assembly to abolish the death penalty. 18 Pa.C.S. § 1102(a)(1); 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(a); 61 Pa.C.S. § 4304(a) |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island's murder penalty statutes provide imprisonment, not death. First-degree murder is punished by life imprisonment, and for listed aggravated first-degree murders (for example, murder for hire, murder involving torture, or murder of a police officer, corrections employee, judge or firefighter because of their duties) the court may order life without parole; a first-degree murder sentence requires at least 15 years before parole eligibility. Second-degree murder carries 10 years to life. R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-23-2, 11-23-2.1, 11-23-2.2 |
| South Carolina | South Carolina has the death penalty. Murder is punished by death or by a mandatory minimum of 30 years to life; when the state seeks death, a separate sentencing hearing is held, and a statutory aggravating circumstance must be found beyond a reasonable doubt. The law also allows death or life imprisonment for a person convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 11 who has a prior conviction for the same offense. Execution is by electrocution unless the prisoner elects the firing squad or lethal injection (if available) in writing at least 14 days before the execution date; this method law was rewritten in 2021. S.C. Code §§ 16-3-20(A), 16-3-655, 24-3-530 |
| South Dakota | South Dakota has the death penalty. First-degree murder is a Class A felony, punishable by death or life imprisonment (no lesser sentence is allowed). In cases where death may be imposed, the judge or jury must consider mitigating circumstances and statutory aggravating circumstances, such as a prior Class A or B felony conviction, murder for money, or a murder that was especially vile, involving torture. The statute sets the method: intravenous injection of a lethal substance, carried out inside a state correctional facility. SDCL 22-16-12, 22-6-1(1), 23A-27A-1, 23A-27A-32 |
| Tennessee | Tennessee has the death penalty. A person convicted of first degree murder may be sentenced to death, life without the possibility of parole, or life; for an adult convicted of first degree murder under subdivisions (a)(4) and (a)(5) the choices are death or life without parole. Aggravated rape of a child is a Class A felony, and an adult offender must be sentenced to death or to life without the possibility of parole. The method of execution is lethal injection; a person whose offense was committed before January 1, 1999 may choose electrocution by signing a written waiver, and electrocution is used if lethal injection is held unconstitutional or the Commissioner of Correction certifies to the governor that the department cannot carry out a lethal injection. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-202(c); 39-13-531(b); 40-23-114 |
| Texas | Texas has the death penalty. A person found guilty of a capital felony in a case where the state seeks death is punished by life without parole or death; if the state does not seek death, the sentence is life without parole (life, if the offender was younger than 18). Capital murder is murder with a listed aggravating circumstance, such as killing a peace officer or firefighter on duty, murder during a kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault or arson, murder for hire, killing more than one person, or killing a child younger than 15. Executions are carried out by intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity, supervised by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Tex. Penal Code §§ 12.31(a), 19.03; Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 43.14(a) |
| Utah | Utah has the death penalty. Aggravated murder (an intentional or knowing killing with a listed aggravating circumstance) is a capital felony when the prosecutor files a notice of intent to seek death; otherwise it is a noncapital first degree felony. For an offender 18 or older, a capital felony is punished by death, an indeterminate prison term of at least 25 years that may be for life, or life without parole (death and life without parole do not apply to an offender under 18 sentenced on or after May 10, 2016). Lethal intravenous injection is the method of execution; a firing squad is used if a court holds the defendant has a right to it, if lethal injection is held unconstitutional, or if the court finds the state cannot lawfully obtain the drugs at least 30 days before the execution date. Utah Code §§ 76-5-202(3), 76-3-206(2); 77-18-113; 77-19-10 |
| Vermont | Vermont's homicide statutes do not provide a death sentence. The most serious penalty is for aggravated murder (murder with a listed circumstance, such as killing a law enforcement officer, firefighter or corrections worker on duty, murder for hire, multiple murders, or murder during a sexual assault): life imprisonment with no lesser term, no parole, and no probation or suspended sentence. First degree murder carries a minimum of 35 years (adjustable by the jury to between 15 years and life without parole) and a maximum of life; second degree murder a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life. 13 V.S.A. §§ 2303, 2311 |
| Virginia | Virginia law does not provide a death sentence. The most serious crime, aggravated murder (a willful, deliberate and premeditated killing in listed circumstances, such as killing a law enforcement officer, murder for hire, multiple killings, or killing a child under 14 by an adult 21 or older), is a Class 1 felony punished by life imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000. An offender who was 18 or older and is sentenced to life for a Class 1 felony is not eligible for parole, good conduct or earned sentence credits, or conditional release; killing a law enforcement officer carries a mandatory minimum of life. Va. Code §§ 18.2-10(a), 18.2-31 |
| Washington | Washington law no longer provides a death sentence. Aggravated first degree murder, the most serious crime, is punished by life imprisonment without possibility of release or parole, and the sentence may not be suspended, deferred or commuted by a judge or reduced by the sentence review board. An offender who was under 18 at the time must receive a maximum of life with a minimum term of at least 25 years. The legislature removed the death-sentence provision in 2023 (chapter 102, Laws of 2023). RCW 10.95.030; RCW 9.94A.570 (reviser's note) |
| West Virginia | No. West Virginia abolished the death penalty: capital punishment is abolished for all offenses against the laws of the State of West Virginia, and no person convicted of any offense in violation of those laws shall be executed, regardless of whether the crime, conviction or sentence came before or after the section was enacted. W. Va. Code § 61-11-2 |
| Wisconsin | No. Wisconsin's criminal code has no death sentence. Its most serious felony class, Class A (which includes first-degree intentional homicide), is punished by life imprisonment. Wis. Stat. §§ 939.50(3)(a), 940.01(1)(a) |
| Wyoming | Yes, in law. First-degree murder is punishable by death, life imprisonment without parole or life imprisonment; a person who was under 18 at the time of the offense can only receive life imprisonment, and a death sentence requires the separate sentencing procedure in W.S. 6-2-102 when the state seeks it. The statute sets the method as lethal injection, with lethal gas if lethal injection is held unconstitutional. W.S. 6-2-101(b)-(c), 7-13-904 |
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.