The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2021 recommended, among other measures, that Belarus must ensure the independence of the judiciary; and respect for the presumption of innocence.174 1.2. United States At the end of the reporting period (31 March 2021), 27 American states still retained the death penalty, as well as the federal government and the military. Military authorities have not carried out an execution since 1961.175 More than two-thirds of the United States (35 states) have either abolished capital punishment (23 states) or not carried out an execution in at least ten years (another 12 states). This includes the three states in which governors have formally imposed moratoria on executions. Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Wyoming, Louisiana and Utah, while retentionist, have not carried out an execution for ten years or more.176 During 2020, and for the first time in United States history, the majority of executions were carried out at the federal level. Only five states performed executions, which constitutes the lowest number of state executions in 37 years. This reporting period saw the lowest number of new death sentences passed and only two states that carried out executions.177 The COVID-19 pandemic was an important factor in this reduction, resulting in many executions and court proceedings being halted.178 A poll initiated by Gallup in October 2020 across all 50 states found that almost half of Americans do not support the death penalty, which would represent the highest level of opposition since the 1960s.179 The United States continued to defend its stance on the death penalty during the reporting period, emphasizing at the OSCE Permanent Council the legality of the death penalty when imposed. The United States also argued that capital punishment 174 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, A/75/173, 17 July 2020, pp. 3 and 20. 175 Amnesty International Global Report, 2020, op. cit., note 152, p. 19. 176 Death Penalty Information Center, State by State. 177 Death Penalty Information Center, The Death Penalty in 2020: Year End Report, p. 2. See also table below. 178 Ibid.; and, Amnesty International Global Report, 2020, op. cit., note 152, p., 18. 179 Gallup has measured Americans’ beliefs about the moral acceptability of the death penalty and numerous other social issues each May since 2001. Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted 1–13 May 2020, with a random sample of 1,028 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia; Death Penalty Information Center, Gallup Poll: Public Support for the Death Penalty Lowest in a Half-Century, 24 November 2020. 44