Missouri Executes Prisoners at a High Rate. Blacks are 37% of Its Death Row, Despite being Only 11% of the State Population

For more than two decades, Vincent McFadden has been sitting on Missouri’s death row. He’s watched a steady stream of his friends get marched off to their executions — and he’s waiting for his own as he fights in court to spare his life.

So it came as no surprise to him that Missouri is among the most prolific states to execute those facing capital punishment since the practice was reinstated in the U.S. 50 years ago. The state has executed more than half the people it has sentenced to death compared with 18% nationwide, ranking second behind Virginia, according to a Marshall Project analysis of data on state death sentences from 1972 to 2025. The data, which excluded states with fewer than 10 total death row prisoners, was compiled by Frank Baumgartner, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor, and researchers at the Death Penalty Information Center.

McFadden and critics of the death penalty see the state’s system as inherently broken with racial disparities in jury selection and in which cases prosecutors seek death. Additionally, some Missouri courts have turned a blind eye to the many factors that can impact capital cases, such as a defendant’s mental capacity.

“The state can know something is wrong but they still try to keep the conviction no matter the cost,” McFadden, 46, told The Marshall Project - St. Louis via email from death row. “Missouri has a lot that they need to grow out of and a lot they need to grow in.” [MORE]

37% of the Missouri death row is Black. [MORE]