Since 1999, the number of executions under the death penalty have dropped 57%, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). The number of executions in 2007 was 42, compared to 98 in 1999. 37 states currently have a death penalty, although executions were carried out in only ten states last year. 86 percent of the executions in 2007 were carried out in southern states, mainly in Texas, with 62% of the total executions nationwide. Executions outside the South were conducted in Arizona, South Dakota, Indiana, and Ohio.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a moratorium on executions in September 2007, in order to decide whether lethal injections constitute uncontitutional cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. This month the Court decided that the method doesn’t violate the Eighth Amendment, and stays imposed on executions pending the court’s ruling have been lifted. Therefore, this month’s decision may lead to an increase in executions in 2008.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/18/death.penalty.decline/index.html