Death row

The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ("being on death row"), even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.

Opponents of capital punishment claim that a prisoner's isolation and uncertainty over their fate constitute a form of psychological abuse and that especially long-time death row inmates are prone to develop a mental disorder, if they do not already suffer from such a condition.

There have been some calls for a ban on the imposition of the death penalty for inmates with mental illness[2] and also case law such as Atkins v. Virginia to further this.

[4] In the United States, prisoners may wait many years before execution can be carried out due to the complex and time-consuming appeals procedures mandated in the jurisdiction.

[9] Brandon Astor Jones spent 36 years on death row (with a brief period in the general prison population during his re-sentencing trial) before being executed for felony murder by the state of Georgia in 2016, at the age of 72.

[11] ADX Florence, Fremont County, Colorado (Timothy McVeigh, Joseph Edward Duncan, Kaboni Savage, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev) MCFP Springfield, Missouri[12] (Marvin Charles Gabrion) Notes: Nearly all European countries have abolished capital punishment.

[48] There have even been instances of other countries citing human rights laws against the United States, or refusing to extradite incriminating material, in fear of their citizens being put on death row.

[51] The Home Secretary had the power to exercise the Sovereign's royal prerogative of mercy to grant a reprieve on execution and change the sentence to life imprisonment.

Essentially the speedy process from conviction to execution, re-sentencing or reprieve meant that there were low numbers, (if any) prisoners under sentence of death at any one time and so there was no need for a 'death row'.

Assistant executioner Syd Dernley used the term "death row" in his 1990 memoir The Hangman's Tale to refer to the situation at Wandsworth Prison in April 1951 where, as only up to two persons could be hanged at one time, the execution of murderer James Virrels had to await the prior double execution of murderers/robbers Joseph Brown and Edward Smith a day earlier, before going ahead on April 26.

The issue has sparked debates on various aspects, including human rights, the efficacy of the death penalty, and the treatment of individuals awaiting execution.

The absolute number of people on death row, in 2024, per US State as of September 12, 2024
United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute houses most male death row prisoners sentenced by the U.S. federal government .
Allan B. Polunsky Unit houses the male death row prisoners sentenced by the U.S. state of Texas .
Louisiana State Penitentiary , which houses the male death row prisoners sentenced by the State of Louisiana
The Mississippi State Penitentiary , which houses male death row prisoners sentenced by the State of Mississippi
Oklahoma State Penitentiary , which houses male death row prisoners sentenced by the state of Oklahoma
A special condemn cell at Cellular Jail , Port Blair , India