<P> In the United States , prisoners may wait many years before execution can be carried out due to the complex and time - consuming appeals procedures mandated in the jurisdiction . The time between sentencing and execution has increased relatively steadily between 1977 and 2010 , including a 22 % jump between 1989 and 1990 and a similar jump between 2008 and 2009 . In 2010 , a death row inmate waited an average of 178 months ( roughly 15 years ) between sentencing and execution . Nearly a quarter of inmates on death row in the U.S. die of natural causes while awaiting execution . </P>
<P> In the United States , prisoners may wait many years before execution can be carried out due to the complex and time - consuming appeals procedures mandated in the jurisdiction . The time between sentencing and execution has increased relatively steadily between 1977 and 2010 , including a 22 % jump between 1989 and 1990 and a similar jump between 2008 and 2009 . In 2010 , a death row inmate waited an average of 178 months ( roughly 15 years ) between sentencing and execution . Nearly a quarter of inmates on death row in the U.S. die of natural causes while awaiting execution . </P>
how long is an inmate on death row
how long is an inmate on death row
an average of 178 months ( roughly 15 years ) between sentencing and execution
an average of 178 months ( roughly 15 years ) between sentencing and execution