During 1994, 13 states executed 31 prisoners: 14 in Texas; 5 in
Arkansas; 2 in Virginia; and 1 each in Delaware, Florida,
Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, North
Carolina, and Washington. All were men. Eighteen of the executed
prisoners were non-Hispanic whites; 10 were non-Hispanic blacks;
1, a white Hispanic; 1, white — Hispanic ethnicity undetermined;
and 1, black — Hispanic ethnicity undetermined. Twenty-three of
the executions were carried out by lethal injection, 6 by
electrocution, 1 by lethal gas, and 1 by hanging. (See Table 1.)
From January 1, 1977, to December 31, 1994, a total of 4,557
persons entered state and federal prisons under sentences of
death, among whom 51 per cent were white, 40 per cent were
black, 7 per cent were Hispanic, and 2 per cent were of other
races. During this 18-year period, a total of 257 executions
took place in 24 States. Of the inmates executed, 140 were
white, 98 were black, 17 were Hispanic, and 2 were Native
American. Also during 1977-94, 1,790 p