The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area Method of Execution The methods of execution practiced vary from state to state, although most use lethal injection. There has been no change in methods used since last year’s update. The following alternatives to lethal injection exist: electrocution (in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia), the gas chamber (in Arizona, California, Maryland, Missouri and Wyoming), hanging (in Delaware, New Hampshire and Washington) and firing squad (in Oklahoma and Utah). On 23 June 2011, the Supreme Court of Arkansas halted the executions of three inmates, who had challenged the constitutionality of lethal injections. The three men held that a 2009 state law authorizing the director of the state Department of Correction to choose the drugs used for lethal injection amounts to an unconstitutional delegation of authority.50 Statistics Death Sentences As of 31 December 2009, the number of inmates on death row was 3,173, which represented a slight decline from the figure of 3,297 provided for the previous year. The most current statistics are provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), a unit of the United States Department of Justice. Data collection by BJS excludes those death row convicts who are awaiting retrial or re-sentencing. Higher figures provided by other sources may include inmates who are awaiting retrial or re-sentencing following a court reversal, or inmates whose court-ordered reversal has not yet been finalized. Executions During the reporting period, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre, 42 individuals were executed in the United States, all by means of lethal injection.51 This number is slightly lower than that for the previous period, with the number of executions in Texas, for example, falling by almost 50 per cent. Of the 42 executions reported, 10 were carried out in Texas, seven each in Ohio and Alabama, four each in Oklahoma and Arizona, three each in Mississippi and Georgia, and one each in Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington.52 50  “High court halts three executions”, Arkansas News, 23 June 2011, <http://arkansasnews.com/2011/06/23/highcourt-halts-three-executions/>. 51  “Facts about the Death Penalty”, Death Penalty Information Centre, Updated 22 July 2011, <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf> 52  Ibid. 12