Wyoming's judicial branch consists of a supreme court with a chief justice and 4 other justices, district courts with a total of 222 judges, and county judges and justices of the peace. Supreme court justices are appointed by the governor but must stand for retention at the next general election; once elected, they serve eight-year terms.
Wyoming's prison population totaled 1,679 in June 2001, a decrease of 2.5% from the previous year. The state's incarceration rate stood at 340 per 100,000 population. Wyoming's total crime rate in 2001 was 3,517.6 per 100,000 persons, including a total of 1,272 violent crimes and 16,120 crimes against property in that year. Wyoming has a death penalty, and as of 2003 there were two persons under sentence of death. Wyoming executed one inmate between 1977 and 2003.