TIMELINE: A History of the Death Penalty George Lavender May 27, 2014 More than 3000 people are on death row in the United States. This exclusive interactive timeline for The Prison Complex charts the history of the death penalty since it was re-instated in 1976. facebook Share twitter Tweet link_1 Copy Link email Email Print George Lavender is an award-winning radio and print journalist based in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @GeorgeLavender. Have thoughts or reactions to this or any other piece that you'd like to share? Send us a note with the Letter to the Editor form.