About Us
Death Penalty Information Center
1701 K Street NW, Suite 205 | Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-289-2275
Email: [email protected]
*Please direct media inquiries to 202-289-4022
The Death Penalty Information Center is a national non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. Founded in 1990, the Center promotes informed discussion of the death penalty by preparing in-depth reports, conducting briefings for journalists, and serving as a resource to those working on this issue. The Center releases an annual report on the death penalty, highlighting significant developments and featuring the latest statistics. The Center also produces groundbreaking reports on various issues related to the death penalty such as arbitrariness, costs, innocence, and race. We offer a wide variety of multimedia resources, such as our free, online educational curricula and our podcast series, DPIC on the Issues.
The Center is funded through the generosity of individual donors and foundations, including the Roderick MacArthur Justice Center; the Open Society Foundations; M. Quinn Delaney; and the Tides Foundation. Read more about our Staff and Board of Directors. If you would like to support the Center, donate here.
DPIC Honors and Awards
The U.S. Library of Congress selected DPIC’s website for inclusion in its digital archives.
The Giving Library included DPIC on its website that helps donors connect with non-profits. Watch this video to learn more about DPIC’s background and mission.
The Death Penalty Information Center was ranked among the Top Criminal Justice Nonprofits by Philanthropedia in 2011. An expert review offered the following assessment of DPIC:
“The Death Penalty Information Center is the primary information and communications vehicle to educate the public and shape the national conversation about the death penalty in the U.S. DPIC’s reports and research reach millions of people through the media. The DPIC opens the public’s eyes to the incredible flaws that underpin America’s death penalty.”
The Death Penalty Information Center website received a 5-star educational website rating from MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching). MERLOT is a program of the California State University, in partnership with higher education institutions, professional societies, and industry.
In 2016, DPIC received a Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust Award for our report Battle Scars: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty, which put a spotlight on the plight of death-sentenced veterans across the United States. DPIC’s Executive Director, Robert Dunham, accepted the award from Congresswoman Corrine Brown during ceremonies at the Rayburn House Office Building. (Photograph by Richard Dieter, RDieter Communications.)
Richard Dieter, then DPIC’s Executive Director, received Death Penalty Focus’s 2010 Abolition Award “for exemplary leadership and unprecedented commitment to fostering human rights and advancing public awareness about the fundamental injustice of the death penalty.”
