POLITICS

MAP: What States Allow the Death Penalty?

By Kenneth Chamberlain

Updated: April 18, 2012 | 5:53 p.m.
April 18, 2012 | 3:42 p.m.

The National Academy of Sciences announced Wednesday that studies proporting to show whether or not the death penalty deters crime are inconclusive and policymakers should not make decisions based on them. Below are the states that allow the application of the death penalty (in green) and the states that have abolished the death penalty, based on data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Death Penalty Information Center.

Barack Obama, Caren Bohan, Jimmey Kimmel

Play of the Day: Everyone Has Awkward Prom Photos

Obama’s 20 Steps to Counterterrorism

The Cabal That Quietly Took Over the House

No Wonder Republican Criticism of Obama Isn’t Working

The execution room is shown Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, at the Oregon State Penitentiary, in Salem, Ore. The Oregon Department of Corrections is preparing for its first execution in 14 years as death row inmate Gary Haugen faces lethal injection on Dec. 6. Officials are giving reporters a look Friday at the execution room at the state penitentiary in Salem. Haugen was already serving time for one killing when he was sentenced to death in 2007 for killing another inmate. He has said repeatedly he wants to cut the appeals process. Death penalty opponents still hope to head off the execution. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.