In 2013 the use of the death penalty continued its steady decline by almost every measure, according to a report released in December by the Death Penalty Information Center. Executions in the United States dropped by about 10 percent from 2012, to 39 from 43, marking only the second time in the past 19 years the number was below 40. Executions in 2013 were carried out in nine states, the center reports, with 59 percent occurring in Texas (16) and Florida (7). Most death penalty states had no executions in 2013 or 2012. The D.P.I.C. reports that the number of new death sentences was also near its lowest level since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s. Maryland became the latest state to repeal the death penalty (for future offenses), as the number of states that used capital punishment decreased to 32. Public support for the death penalty, measured in an annual Gallup poll, declined to 60 percent, its lowest level in 40 years.

This article appears in January 6-13 2014.