Death Penalty Information Center

Pulling back the curtain on the death penalty for more than 35 years.

Data. Analysis. Context.

The death penalty is complicated,
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Created Sept 25

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The Death Penalty in 2025: Majority of Capital Juries in 2025 Rejected Death Sentences Read Now

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Latest News

News March 20, 2026 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Elizabeth Vartkessian on Mitigation and "The Deserving"

Costs March 18, 2026 Ohio Court “Formally Vindicates” Death Row Exoneree 41 Years After Conviction, Opening the Door for Potentially 1 Million Dollars in Wrongful Conviction Compensation

Discrimination in Jury Selection March 17, 2026 U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear State’s Appeal in Michael Sockwell’s Case, Clearing Path for New Trial

Arbitrariness March 16, 2026 The New York Times Editorial Board Condemns Secrecy, Arbitrariness of U.S. Death Penalty

Mental Illness March 12, 2026 Texas Death Row Prisoner Andre Thomas Too Mentally Ill to Attend His Own Competency Hearing, Doctor Warns

Race March 10, 2026 California Racial Justice Act Claim Succeeds in Granting Franklin Lynch a New Trial

Costs March 9, 2026 What to Know: Costs and the Death Penalty

Secrecy March 5, 2026 Media Coalition Presses for Access to Indiana Executions

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Explore our databases

Innocence Database Since 1973, at least 202 people wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated.

Execution Database 1661 men and women have been executed in the United States since the 1970s

Death Penalty Census The Census currently lists more than 9939 sentences imposed between 1972 and January 1, 2025.

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Recent Legislative Activity Read Now

Methods of Execution Read Now

Intellectual Disability Read Now

12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Elizabeth Vartkessian on Mitigation and “The Deserving”

In the March 2026 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Elizabeth Vartkessian (pictured),...

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Elizabeth Vartkessian on Mitigation and "The Deserving"

Featured Research & Reports

Lethal Injection February 23, 2026 Twenty Years Since the Last Scheduled Execution in California and a Focus on the Participation of Physicians in Executions

Race February 19, 2026 What to Know: Race and the Death Penalty

Women February 13, 2026 What to Know: Women and the Death Penalty

Federal Death Penalty February 5, 2026 New Analysis: Why the Death Penalty is Off the Table for Luigi Mangione

Executions February 4, 2026 Bipartisan Support Defeats Indiana House Bill to Add Firing Squad as Execution Method

Year-End Reports December 15, 2025 The Death Penalty in 2025

In-Depth Reports November 10, 2025 Forgotten Service, Lasting Wounds: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty

In-Depth Reports April 30, 2025 Immature Minds in a "Maturing Society": Roper v. Simmons at 20