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 17, 2002
As in almost every year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the South led the U.S. Texas carried out 33 executions this year, nearly half of the country’s total executions (71) and nearly 5 times as many as Oklahoma, the next leading state with 7. since the death penalty was reinstated, 13 (62%) have been in Texas.
DPIC Year-End Reports
Dec 12, 2001
For the first time since the death penalty was reinstated, the number of people on death row also appears to be decreasing. A drop in the number of executions in the leading death penalty states of Texas and Virginia contributed to the first two-year decline since the death penalty was reinstated. The number of people on death row also declined,…
DPIC Year-End Reports
Dec 19, 2000
A broad change in the way the American public views capital punishment was precipitated by a steady sequence of eye-opening events, including releases from death row, reports on the unfairness of the process, and governmental action to limit or halt the death penalty.
DPIC Year-End Reports
Dec 01, 1999
Such mistakes in the application of the death penalty have resulted in proposals from state legislators, judges, and religious and international leaders to impose a moratorium on the death penalty. Legislation to reform or stop the death penalty progressed further than at any time in recent years.
Oct 01, 1999
ignores these appeals and even the more moderate steps called for by the international human rights community. This violation alone has resulted in multiple adverse decisions from the International Court of Justice, in repeated criticism from our closest allies, and by apologies from our Secretary of State, even as the lethal injections take…
