9 States Executed People in 2012, a 20-Year Low

US states executed 43 people this year, the same as last year, but a group that opposes the death penalty says 2012 stats show capital punishment is on the wane across the country. Some highlights from AFP and the AP:

• Nine states executed people this year, the smallest number in 20 years.
• Four states accounted for more than three-fourths of the executions: Texas (15), Arizona (6), Mississippi (6), and Oklahoma (6).
• Seventy-eight people have gotten death sentences this year, down from 315 in 1996. The new sentences were concentrated mostly in Texas, California, Florida, and Alabama.
• Connecticut became the 17th state to abolish the death penalty, bringing to 29 the number of states that either have no capital punishment or haven't executed anyone in five years.