The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) released its yearly report on capital punishment on November 4, 2003. The figures reported were for the year 2002. (See also DPIC’s Year End Report 2002). The BJS reported that death sentences in the U.S. have declined for four straight years, dropping by almost 50% since 1998. DPIC will release a report with 2003 figures in mid-December 2003. Read Capital Punishment, 2002.