Final answer:
The United States experienced a moratorium on executions from 1972 to 1976, when the Supreme Court ruled executions as they were carried out to be unconstitutional, but resumed executions after 1977 with changes in the law.
Step-by-step explanation:
Yes, the United States had a moratorium on executions from 1972, following the Furman v. Georgia Supreme Court ruling, until the decision was essentially overturned by the Gregg v. Georgia ruling in 1976. During this period, the Supreme Court found that execution methods at the time constituted cruel and unusual punishment, rendering them unconstitutional.
However, political shifts towards law and order saw the resumption of executions post-1977. The use of capital punishment peaked in 1998 when executions rose to 98, which subsequently declined due in part to the revelation of wrongful convictions aided by improved DNA testing techniques, eventually leading some states to abolish the death penalty.