U.S. Executions Hit 50-Year Low, Deepening Constitutional Questions

Twenty-five people were executed in the United States in 2024—the tenth consecutive year below 30—versus 50–100 annually in the 1950s. This contraction follows the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia ruling that was meant to fix constitutional flaws in capital punishment. Yet the gap between doctrine and practice now raises a question the Supreme Court has not resolved: at what point does rarity itself render a punishment unconstitutional?