Entries by Death Penalty Information Center

The Death Penalty Information Center is pleased to announce that our List of Those Exonerated from Death Row (1973-Present) is now available in a searchable, database format through our new Innocence Database. This resource allows users to search through the list of those freed from death row after their convictions were dismissed by name, year of exoneration, state from which they were released, the inmate’s race, and whether DNA evidence factored into their release. Lists of cases can also be…

DPIC is pleased to announce the completion of our State Information Pages for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These state profiles provide historical and current information on the death penalty for each state, including famous cases, past legislative actions, and links to key organizations and state officials. For frequently updated information, such as execution totals, the size of death row, or the number of exonerations, see our State-by-State Database. Readers are encouraged to…

A recent study by David McCord, Professor of Law at Drake University Law School, titled What’s Messing with Texas Death Sentences?, found five significant causes for the recent decline in death sentences in Texas. McCord sought to explain a 65% drop in Texas death sentences from their peak five-year period of 1992 – 1996 (when there was an annual average of 40 death sentences) to the recent five-year period of 2005 – 2009 (when only 14 death sentences were handed down on average each year). The…

Bob Van Steenburg (pictured), served for 27 years in the military and retired as a United States Army Colonel in 1991. He currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. On Veterans Day, he reflected on how his opposition to the death penalty grew from his commitments as a soldier. He wrote, “A soldier stands for more than just him or herself. A soldier stands for the nation and its citizens. A soldier gives of his or her life to…

The Texas Forensic Science Commission recently closed its inquiry into the case of Cameron Todd Willingham (pictured), who was executed in Texas in 2004. The Commission was told by the Texas Attorney General that it did not have jurisdiction to rule on the Willingham case. Hence, in its final report on October 28 on the matter, it declined to issue any finding regarding allegations of negligence or misconduct by the City of Corsicana or the Texas State Fire Marshal in the Willingham matter. The…

A new article to be published in the American Criminal Law Review explores the constitutionality of the death penalty for those convicted of felony murder, i.e., those who participated in a serious crime in which a death occurred, but were not directly responsible for the death. The article is by Joseph Trigilio and Tracy Casadio, both Deputy Federal Public Defenders in California and is titled “Executing Those Who Do Not Kill.” The authors argue that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Tison…

In a new documentary, titled Into the Abyss: A Tale of Life, A Tale of Death, renowned documentarian Werner Herzog (pictured) examines the case of a triple homicide in Conroe, Texas, exploring why people kill and why states carry out executions. The film features intimate conversations with many of those involved in the case, including 28-year-old death row inmate Michael Perry, who was executed shortly after his interview with Herzog in 2010. The film also includes interviews with Perry’s…

On November 7, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant review to Texas inmate Duane Buck. Buck sought a new sentencing trial because of testimony suggesting he posed a greater danger to society because he is black. During his trial, psychologist Dr. Walter Quijano told the court that Buck’s race increased the likelihood of his future dangerousness. Three of the Justices on the Court (Alito, Scalia and Breyer), which had granted Buck a stay just before his scheduled execution on September 15…

John Garvey (pictured), president of the Catholic University of America, recently discussed the evolution of Catholic teaching on capital punishment. Garvey said that while early Catholic Church leaders supported the use of the death penalty, the prevailing contemporary teaching on the subject clearly calls for “condemnation of executions.” Reflecting on the recent executions of Lawrence Brewer in Texas and Troy Davis in Georgia, Garvey wrote, “The church’s clear contemporary teaching is that…

For some Supreme Court Justices and international courts, the extensive time that many inmates spend on U.S. death rows has raised concerns about cruel and unusual punishment. In a recent dissent regarding the execution of Manuel Valle in Florida, Justice Stephen Breyer argued that Valle should not be executed because the 33 years he already spent on death row amounted to a violation of the Eighth Amendment. In an earlier dissent in 1999, Justice Breyer noted that the Constitution did not…