Since the 1970s, more than 9,700 people on death row have been executed in the USA. The death penalty is legal in 30 states, with around 2,000 prisoners pending execution. The numbers have significantly dropped in the last two decades, most of which have been centered in a handful of states and a small number of outlier counties. 

Indiana is one of the states where capital punishment is still legal. Nevertheless, over a decade has passed without any state executions, with the most recent being that of Matthew Wrinkles on December 11th, 2009. 

No executions have been scheduled for the people on state death row housed in maximum security at Indiana State Prison. Although state executions have yet to resume, Indiana will see many executions on its home turf since the federal death penalty has been reinstated as of July 2020. The men’s federal death row is located in the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Supreme Court reached a 5-4 decision, making Daniel Lewis Lee the first to be put to death by lethal injection after 17 years without federal execution in the US. Within three months, seven more have been executed, with more inmates scheduled for lethal injection before the year’s end. 

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, only three were executed among the 78 inmates on federal death row between 1988 and 2018. 

The question for debate is, should Indiana support death sentences to be carried out in Terre Haute?