The newly-released report from the Death Penalty Information Center reveals what many have suspected: that the support and use of capital punishment in the United States is declining.
Citing the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois, the moratorium in Oregon, and the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia, DPIC breaks down the reasons for numbers such as: new death sentences reaching an all-time low, dropping below 100 in 2011. This is a first in the modern era of capital punishment in America.
While 34 states retain the death penalty at the time of this writing, DPIC outlines reasons that the heyday of the death penalty in this country may be over. The report concludes that:
Many of those challenging the death penalty now had defended it in the past, including people
who introduced death penalty legislation or presided over executions. The multitude of problems
associated with the death penalty is gradually convincing Americans that it can no longer be
sustained.
The report may be viewed here.