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Capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
in
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
was formally abolished in 2024. However, it had not been enforced after Delaware’s capital punishment statues were declared unconstitutional by the
Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, ...
on August 2, 2016. The ruling retroactively applies to earlier death sentences, and remaining Delaware
death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...
inmates had their sentences commuted to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
. The capital statute for
first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...
under Title 11, Chapter 42, Section 09, of the Delaware Code was fully repealed on September 26, 2024. Delaware has the fourth highest number of executions
per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". Social statistics The term is used in a wide variety of social science, social sciences and statistical research conte ...
between 1976 and 2023, behind
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
Sixteen people were executed in the state after the ''
Gregg v. Georgia ''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the ...
'' decision of 1976. The last person executed in the state was 28-year-old Shannon Johnson, who was executed on April 20, 2012. As of 2015, 64 percent of Delawareans oppose capital punishment, compared to 30 percent who support it. In June 2024, the
Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...
and
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
passed a bill to abolish the death penalty in statute, which would make the Delaware Supreme Court's ruling legally irrelevant. In September 2024, Governor John Carney signed the bill, fully repealing the death penalty in Delaware.


Former status


Legal process

Delaware was one of the four states, along with
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, and
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, where the judge may override a jury decision. The statute was struck down in 2016 because the judge decided not only the sentence itself, but also some factual findings necessary to make the defendant eligible for capital punishment. The Governor was allowed to grant a commutation of the death sentence, but only after receiving a recommendation of clemency from a board or advisory Group. The only post-Furman pardon was granted by Gov.
Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician and diplomat. He had served the United States ambassador both to Italy and to San Marino. He had served as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-oper ...
on January 17, 2012. It was the first time the board had recommended a death sentence be commuted since the re-instatement of capital punishment in 1974.


Capital crimes

Murder was punishable by death when it involved at least one of the following aggravating factors: # The murder was committed by a person in, or who has escaped from, the custody of a law enforcement officer or place of confinement. # The murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing an arrest, or for the purpose of effecting an escape from custody. # The murder was committed against any
law enforcement officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, ...
, corrections employee, firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, fire marshal, or fire police officer, while such victim was engaged in the performance of official duties. # The murder was committed against a judicial officer, a former judicial officer, Attorney General, former Attorney General, Assistant or Deputy Attorney General, or former Assistant or Deputy Attorney General, State Detective or former State Detective, Special Investigator or former Special Investigator, during, or because of, the exercise of an official duty. # The murder was committed against a person who was held or otherwise detained as a shield or
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...
. # The murder was committed against a person who was held or detained by the defendant for ransom or reward. # The murder was committed against a person who was a witness to a crime, and who was killed for the purpose of preventing the witness's appearance or testimony in any grand jury, criminal, or civil proceeding involving such crime, or in retaliation for the witness's appearance or testimony in any grand jury, criminal, or civil proceeding involving such crime. # The defendant paid or was paid by another person, or had agreed to pay or be paid by another person, or had conspired to pay or be paid by another person for the killing of the victim. # The defendant was previously convicted of another murder or manslaughter or of a felony involving the use of, or threat of, force or violence upon another person. # The murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of, or attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to commit any degree of rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, arson, kidnapping, robbery, sodomy, burglary, or home invasion. # The defendant's course of conduct resulted in the deaths of 2 or more persons where the deaths are a probable consequence of the defendant's conduct. # The murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind, use of an explosive device or poison, or the defendant used such means on the victim prior to murdering the victim. # The defendant caused or directed another to commit murder or committed murder as an agent or employee of another person. # The defendant was under a sentence of life imprisonment, whether for natural life or otherwise, at the time of the commission of the murder. # The murder was committed for pecuniary gain. # The victim was
pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
. # The victim was particularly vulnerable due to a severe intellectual, mental, or physical disability. # The victim was 62 years of age, or older. # The victim was a child 14 years of age, or younger, and the murder was committed by an individual who is at least 4 years older than the victim. # At the time of the killing, the victim was, or had been, a non-governmental informant, or had otherwise provided any investigative, law enforcement, or police agency with information concerning criminal activity, and the killing was in retaliation for the victim's activities as a non-governmental informant or in providing information concerning criminal activity to an investigative, law enforcement, or police agency. # The murder was premeditated and the result of substantial planning. Such planning must be as to the commission of the murder itself, and not simply as to the commission or attempted commission of any underlying felony. # The murder was committed for the purpose of interfering with the victim's free exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, or immunity protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, or because the victim has exercised or enjoyed said rights, or because of the victim's race, religion, color, disability, national origin, or ancestry.


Method

On June 13, 1986, the state adopted
lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...
as the default method of execution in Delaware.
Hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
was an alternative for those whose offense occurred prior to that date, but in July 2003, no remaining death row inmates were eligible to choose this alternative, and Delaware dismantled its gallows. The last judicial execution by hanging in the United States was carried out in Delaware, on January 25, 1996, against convicted murderer Billy Bailey.


Death row

Delaware's
death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...
for males was located at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near
Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
. Female death row prisoners were housed at the Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Institution near New Castle.Death Row Fact Sheet
." Delaware Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
There were 13 inmates on death row when the state Supreme Court invalidated the capital scheme in 2016. All of their sentences were modified, and the last two inmates were re-sentenced to life in prison in March 2018.


Public opinion

As of 2015, 64 percent of Delawareans oppose the death penalty with an alternative of life in prison, compared with 30 percent who support. With regards to demographics, opposition stands at 69 percent with women, 57 percent with men, 72 percent with Democrats, 58 percent with independents, and 70 percent with
African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
.


Legislation after Supreme Court ruling

In 2017, a bill was proposed by Rep. Steve Smyk to reinstate the state death penalty by limiting the number of aggravating factors warranting the death penalty, and limiting a judge's authority on the decision. The proposal gained some support after the murders of police officer Stephen Ballard and of corrections officer Steven Floyd Sr., in a February 2017 riot at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in
Smyrna, Delaware Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover metropolitan statistical area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2020, the population of the town is 12,883. The international juri ...
, though the man who killed Ballard was later killed by law enforcement in a shootout. However, the bill failed to get a committee hearing in the Senate. In May 2019, Smyk introduced a similar bill.


Full repeal

In June 2024, the Delaware House of Representatives passed a bill to abolish the death penalty in Delaware's statute by a vote of 33 to 8, which would effectively make the Supreme Court's ruling irrelevant. Later in the month, the Delaware Senate also passed the bill by a vote of 14 to 7. On September 26, 2024, Governor John Carney signed the bill, fully repealing the death penalty in Delaware.


See also

* List of people executed in Delaware * Crime in Delaware


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capital Punishment in Delaware 1974 establishments in Delaware 2016 disestablishments in Delaware
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...