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 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…

DPIC Year-End Reports

Dec 14, 2017

The Death Penalty in 2017: Year End Report

Public Support for Death Penalty Drops to 45-Year Low as Four More Death-Row Prisoners Exonerated in 2017. (Washington, D.C.) Executions and death sen­tences remained near his­tor­i­cal­ly low lev­els in 2017, as pub­lic sup­port for the death penal­ty fell to its low­est lev­el in 45 years, accord­ing to a report released today by the Death Penalty…

DPIC Special Reports

Dec 08, 2017

Background on Arkansas April 2017 Executions

Stayed by Arkansas Supreme Court based on pend­ing Supreme Court deci­sion in McWilliams v. 4/​17/​17Don Davis10/​12/​903/​6/​9227WhiteWhiteStayed by Arkansas Supreme Court based on pend­ing Supreme Court deci­sion in McWilliams v.