The US saw a slight increase in new death sentences in 2024 while executions remained near historic lows, according to a year-end report released Thursday by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Twenty-six new death sentences were handed down in 2024, up from the previous year, though the overall death row population continued its decades-long decline from its 2000 peak, according to the report. States carried out 25 executions across nine jurisdictions, marking the tenth consecutive year with fewer than 30 executions.

The year saw several notable developments, including Alabama becoming the first state to execute a prisoner using nitrogen gas. Utah, South Carolina, and Indiana resumed executions after more than a decade-long pause.

Public support for capital punishment remained at a five-decade low of 53%, with opposition particularly strong among younger Americans aged 18-43, the report found. The percentage of Americans who found the death penalty morally acceptable dropped to 55% from 60% last year.

There were 200 death row exonerations in 2024, with high-profile cases like those of Marcellus Williams, Robert Roberson, and Richard Glossip drawing significant attention to innocence claims.

While six states enacted legislation to limit capital punishment or modify execution procedures, efforts to reintroduce the death penalty failed in eight states. The report noted that 144 countries have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice, though global executions increased for the third straight year, driven largely by Iran.