DPIC Reports
Below are reports released by the Death Penalty Information Center since its inception, covering subjects such as race, innocence, politicization, costs of the death penalty, and more. When opening a report, please allow the report page to load fully before selecting links to sections or footnotes. Most of these reports are also available in printed form from DPIC. For a copy of one of these reports, e-mail DPIC. For bulk orders, please download our Resource Order Form.
Reports are separated into Year End Reports, In-Depth Reports, and Special Reports. In-Depth Reports are DPIC's signature long, thorough reports on major death-penalty issues. These include "The 2% Death Penalty," examining geographic arbitrariness in capital punishment, and "Behind the Curtain," covering secrecy in the death penalty system. Special Reports are shorter, and typically address a specific event or question. These include DPIC's explanation of the 2017 spate of executions that were scheduled in Arkansas, and our analysis of the largest number of executions performed on a single day.
Latest
DPIC Year-End Reports
Dec 14, 2018
The Death Penalty in 2018: Year End Report
(Washington, D.C.) With 25 executions and 42 death sentences expected this year, the use of the death penalty remained near historic lows in 2018, according to a report released today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). 2018 marked the fourth consecutive year with fewer than 30 executions and 50 death sentences, reflecting a long-term…
DPIC In-Depth Reports
Nov 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 scrutiny. As pharmaceutical companies have taken action to prevent states from using their medicines…
DPIC Special Reports
Feb 19, 2018
DPIC Analysis: What is the Most Number of Executions Carried Out in a Single Day?
While it is not unusual for multiple states to schedule executions on the same day, it is rare that death warrants for three or more executions remain active the week the execution is scheduled to occur. States have carried out 3 or more executions on the same day 13 times since executions resumed in the United States in 1977, most recently on…
