The number of executions in the United States has dropped to the lowest in 20 years

The number of executions in the United States has dropped to the lowest in 20 years (Alberta Times) An organization that tracks death penalty statistics said that 9 states in the United States have carried out executions this year, the lowest number in 20 years...

The number of executions in the United States has dropped to the lowest level in 20 years (Alberta Times) An organization that tracks death penalty data said that 9 states in the United States have carried out executions this year, the fewest in 20 years. The Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center released the data Tuesday in its annual report. The organization said that in 2012, more than two-thirds of executions were concentrated in four states, with 15 executions in Texas, six in Arizona, Oklahoma and Mississippi. The organization said that a total of 43 prisoners were executed in the United States this year, the same as in 2011. Since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1976, capital punishment has been a controversial issue. The organization said that more than half of the 50 states in the United States currently do not have the death penalty or have not carried out an execution in the past five years.