Executions decreased nationwide by 12 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year and have decreased 50 percent since 1999, the Death Penalty Information Center reports.
In a study released today, the center reports that only 12 states, including Mississippi, carried out executions in 2010. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, 82 percent of executions have been performed in the South.
The center predicts that the number of new nationwide death sentences carried out will be 114 for 2010, slightly exceeding last year's number of 112.
In 2010, Mississippi carried out three executions: Paul Woodward, Gerald Holland and Joseph Burns.
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