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.
DPIC Year-End Reports
Dec 15, 2013
Death Sentences Remain Near Record Lows, Number of States Repealing Capital Punishment Grows,and Public Support for Death Penalty at 40-Year Low. (Washington, D.C.) With 39 executions in 2013, this year marks only the second time in nearly two decades that the United States executed less than 40 people, according to a report released today by the…
DPIC In-Depth Reports
Oct 01, 2013
Likewise, only 2% of the counties are responsible for the majority of today’s death row population and recent death sentences. To put it another way, all of the state executions since the death penalty was reinstated stem from cases in just 15% of the counties in the U.S. The District Attorney responsible for this aggressive use was recently…
DPIC Year-End Reports
Dec 18, 2012
(Washington, D.C.) Only nine states carried out executions this year, equaling the fewest number of states to do so in 20 years, according to a new report released today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Many death penalty states with histories of high use had no new death sentences or no executions in 2012. “In 2012, fewer states…
DPIC Year-End Reports
Dec 15, 2011
DPIC’s Year End Report: Death Sentences Drop Well Below 100; Lowest Number Since Capital Punishment was Reinstated in 1976. Executions Decline Nationwide; Texas Executions Decrease by Almost Half Over Two Years (Washington, D.C.) New death sentences dropped to 78 in 2011, representing a dramatic decline from last year’s number of 112 and marking…
DPIC In-Depth Reports
Jun 22, 2011
The United States Supreme Court approved the re-instatement of the death penalty 35 years ago on July 2, 1976. A majority of the nine Justices who served on the Supreme Court in 1976 when the death penalty was approved eventually concluded the experiment had failed. Four states have abolished the death penalty in the past four years, and…
