Executions In US Drop Close To 20-Year Low In 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — A non-profit group says America is relying less on the death penalty.

The Death Penalty Information Center, which opposes capital punishment, says there have been 39 people executed in the U.S. this year, and it's only the second time in 19 years that fewer than 40 people have been put to death.

The group also says the number of new death sentences is near its lowest level since capital punishment was reinstated in the 1970s.