Conditions of Confinement for Death-Sentenced Individuals in 2019

As the time between sentencing and execution in the United States has increased from years to decades, a greater need for scrutiny has developed pertaining to the isolated conditions of confinement that this subset of over 2,000 individuals is being housed under. Death-sentenced individuals (DSIs) are typically held in a state of permanent solitary confinement, of which many have agreed is akin to cruel and unusual punishment. This research is an exploratory analysis of the conditions of confinement for DSIs at year-end 2019, placed in the context of the demographics that have been closely tied with support for the death penalty. This research was conducted through a combination of surveys sent to representatives from the departments of corrections (DOCs) and DSI advocates, document review, and secondary data analysis. The data shows that, when information is available, most states continue to keep their DSIs in restrictive housing conditions. The data also shows that demographics that relate to support for the death penalty, such as political affiliation, education, and income seem to correlate with DSI states in the expected directions but other expected factors, such as race, gender, and age, do not. A key takeaway of this research is that there is a need for greater transparency in information when dealing with how individuals are housed for decades awaiting their sentences to be carried out.