At this point, roughly speaking, about one US state a year decides to end the penalty. So which state is mostly likely to be next in 2022? The answer might surprise you.
Most coastal and liberal-leaning states have already outlawed the practice by law or executive moratorium, leaving 24 states, mostly in the South and Mountain West, with active execution chambers. In 2021, against all odds, Virginia became the first state in the South to ban it, a watershed moment given the state’s past as a site of racial violence and prolific executions and lynchings.
