Death Penalty USA: 2001 - 2002

Between January 2001 and December 2002, the people of the United States executed 132 men and 5 women for the stated goal of deterring murder and garnering retribution for the victims. Among those executed were five offenders who killed before their eighteenth birthday, two who did not actually murder, and 23 condemned inmates who ultimately volunteered to die, including the notorious Oklahoma City Bomber, Timothy McVeigh; and America s first female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos.

Described herein are the gruesome details of all 137 capital crimes and their prosecution by the State. This inventory of recent capital executions provides insight into the fabric of American society and the notion of whether the State s irrevocable extinction of life contributes toward a discernible social or public purpose.