death penalty

Conviction of first-degree murder is punishable by death, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or life imprisonment.

Democratic-majority legislatures in Colorado, New Hampshire and Virginia have recently done away with the death penalty.

Twenty-eight states still allow the death penalty.

Wyoming has only executed one person since 1965. Mark Hopkinson was put to death in 1992 for ordering the murder of Jeff Green of Mountain View.

The execution early Saturday of Dustin Higgs concludes an unprecedented run of executions since July, when Trump resumed the federal death penalty after a 17-year hiatus.

Wyoming currently has no prisoners on death row.

The state faces an up to $1.5 billion deficit due to economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and downturns in the energy industry.

The new hold on executions came a day after a federal appeals court lifted a hold on the execution of Daniel Lewis Lee, of Yukon, Oklahoma, which is scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT on Monday.

Supporters of the legislation such as Sabrina King of the Wyoming ACLU expressed disappointment but said they will try again to repeal the death penalty in future sessions of the legislature.

Several death-penalty repeal bills have failed to win final approval in the legislature in recent years.