Fewer Death Sentences Being Imposed in U.S.

There have been fewer death sentences in the last four years than there has been on average for the last ten years. This is believed to be caused by the awareness of the public that innocent lives may be taken through execution. One report states that 116 innocent people have been released from death row since 1973, but others believe that 20 or 30 is more accurate. The chance that innocent people may be killed instead of the guilty has become the main focus of the death penalty debate.
Other suggestions for the lower rate of death sentences are an increase in the success of defense lawyers and the resources available to them. However, it is not believed that it was the drop in the murder rate, which has decreased in the last ten years, that caused the numbers to decrease.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/national/15death.html