Over half of U.S. states that authorize the death penalty haven’t used it in at least 5 to 10 years, according to Pew data.

7 states put 22 people to death in 2019, primarily in Texas, according to year-end data from the nonprofit advocacy group Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).

2019 was America’s fifth consecutive year with fewer than 30 executions, per BJS and DPIC data.

Driving the news: Five executions scheduled by the Justice Department are postponed, after the Supreme Court refused to overturn a federal judge’s decision that renewing federal capital punishment could violate the Federal Death Penalty Act, per the Wall Street Journal.