Who Uses Lethal Injection?
Lethal injection is the world’s newest method of execution, and is quickly becoming the most common one. In 1982, the United States became the first country to use lethal injection as a means of carrying out capital punishment. Lethal Injection in the United States Lethal injection was originally proposed as a means of execution in 1888 in New York, but the state chose electrocution instead. In 1977, Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal-injection legislation. Five years later, Texas performed the first execution by lethal injection. Of the 38 U.S. states that have a death penalty, 34 use lethal injection as the primary form of execution. The U.S. federal government and the U.S. military also use lethal injection. In 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, 59 people were executed in the United States, and all but one of those died by lethal injection. The number of states authorizing lethal injection increased from 27 in 1994 to 37 in 2004.
