Report: Veterans are 10 percent of nation's death row population

By Kelly Cohen, Kelly Cohen

Published December 20, 2015

One-tenth of prisoners currently on death row are military veterans, according to a new report released on the eve of Veterans Day.

Many of these veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder, something that was not factored into their sentences, the new report by the Death Penalty Information Center found.

The death penalty is being used less in the United States; so far this year, only 25 people have been executed, which could be the lowest number in nearly 25 years. But of the country's population of more than 3,000 death-row inmates, about 300 have served in the military.

The Death Penalty Information Center argues that a person's military service should be factored into a possible sentence, especially if the person has shown signs of trauma and could be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to data from the Death Penalty Information Center, four out of five Vietnam veterans reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder 20-25 years after the war. In addition, more than 300,000 veterans form the Afghanistan and Iran wars have post-traumatic stress disorder, even though only about half have received treatment in the past year.