Below are summaries of each of the cases in the United States in which death sentences were imposed since January 1, 2004.  Juries were involved in the imposition of most of these sentences.

You may also might find it useful to focus on the importance of jury trials to our American democracy. Click here for a short excerpt written by two eminent constitutional law scholars on the fundamental nature of jury trials to our system of government.

To access 2007 and later sentences, click here.

2006 death sentence case summaries (complete)

2005 death sentence case summaries  (complete)

2004 death sentence case summaries (complete)

Below are appendices to Professor David McCord’s 2005 article in the Brooklyn Law Review. These appendices contain information and analysis concerning every death-eligible case identified for 2004.

Brooklyn Law Review Appendices
     Appendix D contains every one of the 146 death sentences for the year;
     Appendix E contains 120 defendants spared from death by sentencers; and
     Appendix F contains 323 defendants who were spared from death by prosecutors.

The defendants in each Appendix are listed in order from the most depraved to the least depraved, according to Professor McCord's method of assessment, as explained in the Brooklyn Law Review article.