This report presents statistics on persons who were under sentence of death or were executed in 2018, and on state and federal death-penalty laws. In 2018 there were 2,628 prisoners under the death penalty across 30 states - a decline in this number for the 18th consecutive year. The author also explains how after a person is convicted, there is a separate sentencing hearing and each jurisdiction determines the offenses for which the death penalty can be imposed. Some interesting data included: In 2018, Washington and Delaware removed their remaining death-row prisoner from a previously imposed death sentence; At year-end 2018, 56% of prisoners under death sentences were white and 42% were black; Federal prisoners are executed by lethal injection.

Bureau of Justice Statistic collects, analyzes, publishes, and disseminates information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. These data are critical to federal, state, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is a component of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice.

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^{Keywords: Prison, Death Sentence, Execution, Sentencing hearing, Death-row}

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