Criminal Justice by State: Civil Forfeiture & the Death Penalty

Two of the most consequential powers a state holds are the power to take your property and the power to take your life. They sit at opposite ends of the criminal-justice system — one operates almost entirely without a criminal conviction, the other only after the most demanding one available — and the states have moved in opposite directions on each.

This guide covers civil asset forfeiture, which reaches far more people than most realize, and capital punishment, which reaches fewer every year.

The short version

• Civil forfeiture files the case against the property, not the person — no conviction required.
• Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, and North Carolina have effectively abolished it.
• Where seizure proceeds fund the seizing agency, the incentive problem is structural.
• 27 states allow the death penalty, but only about 21 are positioned to carry one out.
• 23 states plus DC have abolished capital punishment; both sentences and executions have fallen sharply since the 1990s.

Civil asset forfeiture

A proceeding against property alleged to be connected to crime, requiring no conviction — often not even a charge — against the owner.

Criminal forfeiture

Forfeiture imposed at sentencing after a conviction, where the government first proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Equitable sharing

A federal program through which state agencies can route a seizure into federal proceedings, sometimes bypassing stricter state limits.

Moratorium

A governor-imposed pause on executions. The statute remains in force and a later governor may resume.

Abolition

Repeal of the death penalty in law, as distinct from a moratorium.

Civil asset forfeiture: the case against your car

Civil asset forfeiture lets the government take ownership of property it alleges is connected to criminal activity. The defining feature is that the case is filed against the property itself, which is why the case names read the way they do — United States v. $124,700 in U.S. Currency.

Because the action is nominally against an object rather than a person, the owner need not be convicted, and in many cases need not be charged at all. The practical burden frequently lands on the owner to prove the property was not connected to a crime in order to recover it. That inverts the ordinary presumption, and it does so in a proceeding where there is no right to appointed counsel — because it is civil, not criminal.

The contrast with criminal forfeiture is the whole argument. Criminal forfeiture occurs at sentencing, after the government has proved guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil forfeiture proceeds independently of any criminal case, under a far lower standard, with no conviction required.

States that have ended it

A small group has effectively abolished civil forfeiture, requiring a criminal conviction before most property can be permanently taken:

Roughly fifteen more states now require a conviction in most circumstances. That is meaningful progress, with two significant caveats: many still route proceeds back to the seizing agency, and most leave open the federal equitable sharing channel, through which a state agency can hand a seizure to federal partners and receive a share back — sidestepping the state's own restrictions entirely. A state reform that does not address equitable sharing has left the back door open.

Protecting yourself

Forfeiture happens most often at traffic stops and in airports, and cash is by far the most commonly seized asset.

1. Be cautious carrying large amounts of cash. Carrying it is entirely legal and reliably draws scrutiny.
2. You can decline consent to a search — politely, clearly, and without argument.
3. Keep documentation showing the legitimate source of cash or valuables. It is the single most useful thing you can have.
4. Move fast if property is seized. Forfeiture has strict claim deadlines, and missing one can end the matter regardless of the merits. Get a lawyer early.

Forfeiture reform has genuine bipartisan momentum — it is one of the few criminal-justice issues where libertarian and progressive advocacy point the same direction — but protections still vary enormously by state.

The death penalty: legal in more states than use it

Twenty-seven states keep capital punishment as a legal sentence:

It is also legal federally, which can apply in any state for certain federal crimes regardless of what that state has decided.

But the headline number overstates the practice, because several of these states have a moratorium — a governor-imposed pause while the statute remains on the books. California has been halted since 2019, Pennsylvania since 2015, Oregon's executions are on hold, and Ohio anticipates none under its current governor. The practical map is therefore closer to 21 states positioned to actually carry out a death sentence.

Twenty-three states plus the District of Columbia have abolished it outright. Recent abolitions include Virginia in 2021 — the first Southern state to do so — Colorado in 2020, and New Hampshire in 2019.

The decline is unambiguous

Whatever your view of capital punishment, the direction is not in dispute. Both new death sentences and actual executions have fallen dramatically from their 1990s peak, driven by four things at once: more states abolishing or pausing, juries imposing it less often, appeals that are long and extraordinarily expensive, and sustained difficulty obtaining lethal-injection drugs as manufacturers refuse to supply them.

The result is a country splitting into two: a small cluster of active-execution states, led by Texas and Florida, alongside a growing majority that has either abolished the penalty or quietly stopped using it while leaving it on the books.

How states rank

Forfeiture protections are the heaviest single factor in the Fourth Amendment score:

1. 1. Maine —
   9.5/10 (A+).
2. 2. New Mexico —
   9.5/10 (A+).
3. 3. Wisconsin —
   9.0/10 (A+).
4. 4. Missouri —
   8.5/10 (A).
5. 5. North Carolina —
   8.5/10 (A).
6. 6. Maryland —
   8.5/10 (A).
7. 7. Florida —
   6.5/10 (B-).
8. 8. Colorado —
   6.5/10 (B-).
9. 9. Connecticut —
   6.5/10 (B-).
10. 10. Oregon —
    6.5/10 (B-).

See all 50 states ranked on 4th Amendment

Sentencing, incarceration, and due-process protections feed the criminal-justice score:

1. 1. Massachusetts —
   10.0/10 (A+).
2. 2. Maine —
   9.8/10 (A+).
3. 3. New Jersey —
   9.6/10 (A+).
4. 4. Minnesota —
   9.4/10 (A+).
5. 5. New Hampshire —
   9.2/10 (A+).
6. 6. New York —
   9.0/10 (A+).
7. 7. Washington —
   8.8/10 (A).
8. 8. Utah —
   8.6/10 (A).
9. 9. Rhode Island —
   8.4/10 (A-).
10. 10. Vermont —
    8.2/10 (A-).

See all 50 states ranked on Criminal Justice

See all 50 states ranked on criminal justice

Sentencing, incarceration, forfeiture, and due process — the full ranking with a color-coded map.