Death sentences continue to decline

This AP report has the near-final tally on total death sentences imposed last year, and it spotlights that the "number of death sentences handed out in the United States dropped in 2006 to the lowest level since capital punishment was reinstated 30 years ago."  Here are the notable stats:

Death sentences fell in 2006 to 114 or fewer, according to an estimate from the [Death Penalty Information Center].  That is down from 128 in 2005, and even lower than the 137 sentences the year after the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.  It is also down sharply from the high of 317 in 1996.

The article discusses various reasons for this decline, and also reviews the chaotic state of death penalty admininstration as we head into 2007.