2007 in Review: Decline in U.S. Executions

CNN.com: [h/t Sentencing Law & Policy]:

The number of American executions fell to its lowest level in about 15 years, putting it fifth in the world with 42, Amnesty officials said.

What they fail to note is that there has been a de facto moratorium in place pending the Supreme Court decision on Baze v. Rees since last September which has certainly had an impact on the decline in executions.

These statistics are from a just-released report by Amnesty International: Death Sentences and Executions in 2007 (pdf here).