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US Death Sentences in 2009 Lowest in Decades

Washington - The number of death sentences in the US this year dropped to the lowest number in 33 years, according to a report released Friday by the Death Penalty Information Center.US courts meted out 106 death sentences in 2009, down from the highest number of 328 death sentences given out by judges in 1994.The study covered the period of time since 1976, when the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty with strict guidelines.The drop represented the seventh straight year of decline in death sentences. The number for 2009 was 60 per cent less than in the 1990s, Richard Dieter, DPIC director said in a press release.New Mexico became the 15th state to abolish the death penalty, where Governor Bill Richardson observed that life in prison without parole was 'a strong punishment' and noted that the cost of maintaining the death penalty was 'a valid reason (for repeal) in this era of austerity and tight budgets...continue to full post

Full post as published by Lethal Injection on December 20, 2009 (boomark / email).