" Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have banned the death penalty . Thirty - one states , including Ohio , still have the death penalty . According to the National Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty justice.judicialconsequences.na , since 1973 , 156 people have been executed on death row and later set free . Since 1976 , 1,414 people have been executed in the US . That 's 11 % of Americans who were sentenced to die , but later exonerated and freed .