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Press Releases

Note: Inclusion of press releases and media advisories not released by Death Penalty Information Center does not imply the Center’s endorsement of the views expressed.
 

Press Releases 2014 – present

DateTypeTitleReleased By
9/26/24Media Advisory1600th Scheduled Execution Demonstrates Disconnect Between Elected Officials and Declining Public Support for the Death PenaltyDPI
7/3/24Press Release200th Death Row Exoneration Underscores Flaws in U.S. Criminal Legal SystemDPI
12/1/23Press ReleaseOnly Five States Conducted Executions and Seven States Imposed New Death Sentences in 2023, the Lowest Number of States in 20 YearsDPI
5/15/23Press ReleaseNew DPIC Director Robin M MaherDPI
1/30/23Press ReleaseRobert Dunham to Leave Death Penalty Information Center After 8 Years as Executive Director, Board Names Richard Dieter as Interim DirectorDPI
12/17/22StatementStatement by Robert Dunham, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center, on the Murder of Death-Row Exoneree Christopher WilliamsDPI
12/16/22Press Release2022 Saw Record Number of Botched ExecutionsDPI
11/21/22StatementStatement by Robert Dunham, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center On Governor Kay Ivey’s Call for an Investigation of Alabama’s Execution FailuresDPI
10/14/22Press ReleaseNew Report Places Oklahoma’s Death Penalty in its Historical Context of Lynchings and Mass Violence Against Black Oklahomans and the Forced Migration of Native AmericansDPI
6/28/22Press ReleaseDeath Penalty Information Center Launches First Comprehensive Database of Every Death Sentence Handed Down Between Court’s Ruling in Furman and Jan. 1, 2021DPI
12/16/21Press ReleaseExecutions and Death Sentences Near Record Lows in 2021, as Virginia Becomes First Southern State to Abolish the Death PenaltyDPI
3/24/21StatementStatement by Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, on Virginia’s Abolition of Capital PunishmentDPI
2/18/21Press ReleaseDeath Penalty Information Center Adds 11 People to Innocence ListDPI
12/16/20Press ReleaseExecutions and Death Sentences Drop to Historic Lows in 2020, even as Federal Government Ramps Up ExecutionsDPI
9/15/2020Press ReleaseDPIC Releases Report Placing Death Penalty in Historical Context as a “Descendant of Slavery, Lynching, and Segregation”DPI
7/13/20StatementStatement by Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, on the Federal Executions of Daniel Lewis Lee, Wesley Ira Purkey, and Dustin Lee Honken the Week of July 13th – 17thDPI
6/8/20StatementStatement of Death Penalty Information Center Staff Concerning the Death of George FloydDPI
3/23/20StatementStatement by Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center on Colorado’s Repeal of Its Death-Penalty StatuteDPI
12/17/19Press ReleaseDeath Penalty Erodes Further in 2019 as New Hampshire Abolishes and California Imposes MoratoriumDPI
9/3/19StatementStatement by DPIC Executive Director Robert Dunham Concerning Federal Proposal for Reduced Appellate Review of Murders Involving Mass Shootings or Deaths of Police OfficersDPI
6/26/19Press ReleaseCHARLES RAY FINCH EXONERATED IN NORTH CAROLINA 43 YEARS AFTER BEING SENTENCED TO DEATHDPI
5/30/19StatementStatement by Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center on New Hampshire’s Repeal of Its Death-Penalty StatuteDPI
5/28/19StatementStatement by Death Penalty Information Center Executive Director Robert Dunham Regarding the Death of Exoneree Harold WilsonDPI
3/13/19Press ReleaseCalifornia Governor Announces Moratorium on Executions One-Third of U.S. Death Row Prisoners Now Under MoratoriumDPI
12/14/18Press Release2018 Marked the Fourth Consecutive Year with Fewer than 30 Executions and Less than 50 Death SentencesDPI
11/29/18Press ReleaseInvolvement of Tainted Pharmacy in Texas Executions Highlights Risk of Death-Penalty Secrecy LawsDPI
11/20/18Press ReleaseDeath Penalty Information Center Releases Comprehensive Study of State Secrecy LawsDPI
12/17/17Press ReleaseU.S. Sees Second Fewest Death Sentences and Executions in 25 YearsDPI
8/22/17Press ReleaseStatement of Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, on Marcellus Williams’ Stay of ExecutionDPI
7/10/17Press ReleaseExecutions, New Death Sentences Remain Near Historic Lows in First Half of 2017DPI
4/19/17Press ReleaseRodricus Crawford Exonerated from Louisiana Death RowDPI
3/7/17Press ReleaseStatement of Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, on the release of the National Registry of Exonerations’ reports Exonerations in 2016 and Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United StatesDPI
12/21/16Press ReleaseDeath Sentences, Executions Drop to Historic Lows in 2016DPI
5/23/16Press ReleaseStatement of Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Foster v. ChatmanDPI
1/27/16Press ReleaseWindows on Death Row: Art from Inside and Outside the Prison WallsWindows on Death Row
12/15/15Press ReleaseDeath Penalty Use in 2015 Declines Sharply: Fewest Executions, Fewest Death Sentences, and Fewest States Employing the Death Penalty in DecadesDPI
11/10/15Press ReleaseNew Report Shines Light on Military Veterans Facing the Death PenaltyDPI
6/9/15Press ReleaseTexas Man Becomes 154th Exonerated from Death Row; Charges Dropped Against Alfred Dewayne Brown in Killing of Houston Police Officer After Prosecution Withheld Key Alibi EvidenceDPI
5/28/15Press ReleaseStatement by Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), on Nebraska’s repeal of the death penaltyDPI
5/04/15Press ReleaseMississippi Man is Exonerated from Death Row | Willie Manning Becomes 153rd Person Added to the Death Penalty Information Center’s Innocence List; May Have Been Wrongfully Convicted of Two Sets of MurdersDPI
4/29/15Media AdvisoryU.S. Supreme Court to Hold Oral Argument on Lethal Injection Challenge on WednesdayDPI
4/3/15Press ReleaseALABAMA EXONERATES MAN WHO SPENT 30 YEARS ON DEATH ROW FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT;DPI
4/2/15Press ReleaseEqual Justice Initiative Wins Release of Anthony Ray HintonEqual Justice Initiative
3/27/15Press ReleaseU.S. Supreme Court to Hold Oral Argument in Case where Man was Found Intellectually Disabled, But Continues to Face ExecutionDPI
3/23/15Press ReleaseDEBRA MILKE EXONERATED FROM ARIZONA DEATH ROW: USA’s 151st Death-Row ExonerationDPI
3/9/15Press ReleaseTHE DEATH PENALTY INFORMATION CENTER WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR | Long-Time Director Assumes New Role, as Organization Expands ResourcesDPI
3/5/15Press ReleaseMurder Victims’ Families, State Legislators to File Briefs Affirming California’s Death Penalty is Broken Beyond RepairAttorneys for Ernest Jones
1/19/15Press ReleaseFederal Court Asked to Prevent Ohio’s Secrecy Law from Taking Effect - Death Row Prisoners Seek Preliminary Injunction of New Statute which Silences Speech for One Side of Lethal Injection DebateAttorneys for Ron Phillips
11/20/14Press ReleaseOHIO EXONERATES FORMER DEATH ROW INMATE 39 YEARS AFTER CONVICTIONDPI
11/19/14Press ReleaseWorldwide Support Grows for Clemency for Scott Panetti, A Paranoid Schizophrenic Scheduled for Execution on December 3rdTexas Defender Service
11/12/14Press ReleaseDozens of Mental Health Organizations and Experts, Former Prosecutors, Evangelicals and the American Bar Association Urge Texas Governor to Commute Death Sentence of Severely Mentally Ill Man Facing Imminent ExecutionTexas Defender Service
10/09/14Press ReleaseInnocent Man Released from Prison after Nine Years, Four on Death RowACLU Capital Punishment Project
9/3/14Press ReleaseTHIRTY YEARS AFTER TWO BLACK TEENAGERS WERE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN NORTH CAROLINA, JUDGE DECLARES THEM INNOCENTDPI
9/2/14Press ReleaseDNA evidence frees two innocent N.C. men 30 years after wrongful convictionAttorneys for Leon Brown and Henry McCollum
8/4/14Press ReleaseNewly Formed Marshall Project Details New Evidence of Prosecutorial Misconduct Resulting in Likely Wrongful Execution of Cameron Todd WillinghamMarshall Project
7/6/14Press ReleaseStatement from Attorneys for Hank Skinner in Response to State District Court’s RulingAttorneys for Hank Skinner
6/26/14Press ReleaseArizona Death Row Prisoners Sue State Officials Alleging Human Experimentation in ExecutionsAttorneys for Arizona Death Row Inmates
6/25/14Press ReleaseOklahoma Death Row Prisoners Sue State Officials to Avoid Future Problems with ExecutionsAttorneys for Oklahoma Death Row Inmates
4/28/14Press ReleaseNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY POINTS TO HIGH RATE OF INNOCENCE ON DEATH ROWDPI
3/12/14Press ReleaseNEW HAMPSHIRE HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY VOTES TO REPEAL DEATH PENALTYDPI
3/12/14Press ReleaseLOUISIANA INMATE EXONERATED AND FREED FROM DEATH ROW AFTER 30 YEARSDPI