Death Penalty Information Center

Pulling back the curtain on the death penalty for more than 35 years.

Data. Analysis. Context.

The death penalty is complicated,
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Created Sept 25

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The Death Penalty in 2025: Majority of Capital Juries in 2025 Rejected Death Sentences Read Now

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Latest News

Methods of Execution May 28, 2026 DPI Podcast 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Naomi Yavneh Klos on Gas Executions, Holocaust Memory, and Common Ground

International May 27, 2026 Article of Interest: Academic Chapter Examines the Use of Neuroscience Evidence in Brain Injury Cases Across 6 Countries

Botched Executions May 26, 2026 Tennessee’s Botched Execution of Tony Carruthers Raises Questions About Medical Qualifications Among Concerns with Innocence and Due Process

Race May 21, 2026 NEW DPI Racial Justice Report Examines Racially Disparate Impact of the Death Penalty in South Carolina

Mental Illness May 20, 2026 130,000 People Urge Clemency for Tony Carruthers in Advance of Tennessee’s Planned Execution

Costs May 19, 2026 City of Austin to Pay $35 Million to Compensate Men Wrongfully Convicted in Decades-Old Murder Case

Representation May 18, 2026 What to Know: DOJ Seeks to Fast-Track Appeals for Death-Sentenced Prisoners Through “Opt-In” Certification Process Without Considering Opposing Views

Innocence May 15, 2026 Former Death-Sentenced Prisoner Richard Glossip Released on Bail After 29 Years in Prison

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Explore our databases

Innocence Database Since 1973, at least 202 people wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated.

Execution Database 1668 men and women have been executed in the United States since the 1970s

Death Penalty Census The Census currently lists more than 9966 sentences imposed between 1972 and January 1, 2025.

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Methods of Execution Read Now

Intellectual Disability Read Now

12:01 The Death Penalty in Context

Naomi Yavneh Klos on Gas Executions, Holocaust Memory, and Common Ground

In the May 2026 episode of 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context, DPI Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Dr. Naomi Yavneh Klos, Dean of the...

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Naomi Yavneh Klos on Gas Executions, Holocaust Memory, and Common Ground

Featured Research & Reports

Federal Death Penalty May 5, 2026 New Analysis: In Seeking Firing Squad, Electrocution, and Nitrogen Gas Executions, DOJ Misrepresents American History and Law

Race April 30, 2026 "The Miscarriage of Batson v. Kentucky": Forty Years Since the Landmark Ruling Challenging Racial Imbalance in Jury Selection Proceedings

Innocence April 14, 2026 Tennessee Scheduled to Execute Tony Carruthers Despite Untested DNA Evidence, Innocence Concerns, and Mental Illness

Innocence April 3, 2026 James Duckett’s Warrant Will Expire Without His Execution as Florida Supreme Court Issues New Briefing on Request to Analyze DNA Evidence

Year-End Reports December 15, 2025 The Death Penalty in 2025

In-Depth Reports November 10, 2025 Forgotten Service, Lasting Wounds: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty

Racial Justice Reports November 14, 2024 Fool's Gold: How the Federal Death Penalty Has Perpetuated Racially Discriminatory Practices Throughout History

Racial Justice Reports June 16, 2023 Doomed to Repeat: The Legacy of Race in Tennessee's Contemporary Death Penalty