WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Courts in the United States are turning to life in prison as an alternative to execution as states stop the procedure and the Supreme Court limits it.
A report by the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center shows 96 death sentences were handed down in the first nine months of 2005, compared to 125 in all of 2004 and 276 in 1999.
There were 60 executions in 2005, one more than 2004 but 38 less than 1999.
Many developments have changed the landscape of the death penalty in 2005. Texas, long a leader in death sentences, began allowing life-without-parole sentences as an alternative.
The death penalty was not renewed in New York or Kansas after it was found unconstitutional there. Many other states have modified or commissioned studies on its death penalty practice.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this year the execution of juveniles is unconstitutional and commented on the importance of racial fairness on juries regarding the death penalty.
