In-Depth Reports
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Jul 01, 2024
Lethal Election: How the U.S. Electoral Process Increases the Arbitrariness of the Death Penalty
Elected supreme court justices in Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio are twice as likely to affirm death penalty cases during an election year than in any other year. This effect is statistically significant when controlling for the number of cases each year. Changing public opinion means that zealous support for the death penalty is no longer a litmus test for elected officials in many death penalty jurisdictions. Today’s elections feature viable candidates who criticize use…
Read MoreSep 15, 2020
Enduring Injustice: the Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty
(Washington, D.C.) As social movements pressure policymakers to redress injustices in the criminal legal system and to institute reforms to make the process more fair and equitable, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) today released, “Enduring Injustice: the Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty.” This report provides an in-depth look at the historical role that race has played in the death penalty and details the pervasive role racial discrimination continues…
Read MoreNov 20, 2018
Behind the Curtain: Secrecy and the Death Penalty in the United States
During the past seven years, states have begun conducting executions with drugs and drug combinations that have never been tried before. They have done so behind an expanding veil of secrecy laws that shield the execution process from public…
Read MoreNov 10, 2015
Battle Scars: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty
In many respects, veterans in the United States are again receiving the respect and gratitude they deserve for having risked their lives and served their country. Wounded soldiers are welcomed home, and their courage in starting a new and difficult journey in civilian life is rightly applauded. But some veterans with debilitating scars from their time in combat have received a very different reception. They have been judged to be the “worst of the worst” criminals, deprived of mercy,…
Read MoreOct 01, 2013
The 2% Death Penalty: How a Minority of Counties Produce Most Death Cases at Enormous Costs to All
Contrary to the assumption that the death penalty is widely practiced across the country, it is actually the domain of a small percentage of U.S. counties in a handful of states. The burdens created by this narrow but aggressive use, however, are shifted to the majority of counties that almost never use…
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