Overview
Tragically, every capital murder case involves at least one deceased victim. Vindication for victims and closure for victims’ families are often held out as primary reasons for supporting the death penalty. However, many people in this circumstance believe that another killing would not bring closure and that the death penalty is a disservice to victims.
The families and associates of the victims (sometimes called “covictims”) can play a key role in how a case proceeds in the courts. The prosecution may consult with the families on whether to seek the death penalty or to accept a plea to a lesser sentence. If death is pursued, family members may be asked to testify at the sentencing phase to describe the impact the murder has had on their own lives. Victims’ families often speak at legislative hearings on the death penalty, both in favor of and in opposition to a death penalty statute.
Statistically, the race of the victim can be relevant to the issues of arbitrary application and racial discrimination in the death penalty. Studies have shown that death cases disproportionately involve white victims in the underlying murder.
The Issue
Victims’ family members who oppose the death penalty are sometimes ignored if the prosecution is intent on seeking the most extreme punishment. In addition, victim impact statements at sentencing proceedings can be so dramatic and powerful as to overwhelm any mitigating factors presented about the defendant’s life history.
What DPIC Offers
DPIC keeps track of the race and gender of all victims in cases where there has been an execution. The voices of victims’ families are highlighted as offering an important and unique perspective on the death penalty.
News & Developments
News
Jan 26, 2023
Family Members of Murder Victims Call on North Carolina, Nevada to Commute States’ Death Rows

In North Carolina and Nevada, family members of murder victims are speaking out against the death penalty, encouraging officials in both states to commute their death row.
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Nov 17, 2023
Victims’ Families, Retired Judge, and Former Correctional Director Publicly Express Support for Ohio Abolition Bill
Victims’ families, retired Judge James Brogan, and former Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Gary Mohr have publicly expressed support for legislation pending in both the state Senate and House that would abolish the death penalty in Ohio.
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Oct 17, 2023
Victim’s Sister, Faith Leaders, and Others Plead for Clemency for Will Speer, Faith Based Coordinator on Texas’ Death Row
On Friday, October 13, the sole surviving family member of murder victim Gary L. Dickerson joined dozens of faith leaders and others in asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for clemency for Will Speer. Mr. Speer is set to be executed on October 26, 2023. After a childhood of horrific abuse, a life sentence by age 18, and a judgment of death by age 23, Mr. Speer devoted himself to the study of Christianity and has become a prominent prison minister. “In my heart, I feel that he…
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Oct 04, 2023
LA District Attorney Won’t Pursue the Death Penalty Because it “Doesn’t Serve as a Deterrent” and “Does Not Bring People Back”
On September 26, 2023, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he would not seek the death penalty in the case of slain Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer. “If I thought that the death penalty was going to stop people from committing brutal murders, I would seek it. But we know that it won’t,” said Gascón at a news conference, “The reality is that the death penalty doesn’t serve as a deterrent, and the death penalty does not bring people back. …What I can assure you is that we’re…
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Sep 07, 2023
9/11 Victims’ Family Members, Members of Congress Urge Biden Administration to Abandon Plea Negotiations with Guantanamo Detainees
Family members of some of the victims of 9/11 have asked the Biden Administration to abandon current plea negotiations with Guantánamo detainees that would remove the possibility of death sentences for the men accused of planning the 9/11 terror attacks. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants have been held for more than twenty years, first at CIA black sites where they were subject to “enhanced interrogation techniques” and then at Guantánamo, but none has proceeded to trial. The request came after family members were notified by the Pentagon on August…
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Aug 21, 2023
Brain Scans of Tennessee Man Who Admits to Killing Eight Convince Prosecutors to Drop Death Penalty
On August 16, 2023, Michael Cummins, who was facing the death penalty for the 2019 killings of eight individuals in rural Tennessee, pled guilty to all eight counts of first-degree murder in exchange for life in prison without parole. Sumner County District Attorney Ray Whitley told the press that he had reversed his decision to seek a death sentence and agreed to the plea based on new evidence regarding Mr. Cummins’ mental health. That evidence included Mr. Cummins’ brain scans, which showed “significant problems” and impairment of brain activity. DA…
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Jul 19, 2023
Alabama Plans to Resume Executions After Series of Botches; Oklahoma Execution Scheduled for Same Day
Two of the nation’s highest-use death penalty states have scheduled executions for July 20, 2023. Alabama is set to execute James Barber (pictured, left), resuming executions after Governor Kay Ivey halted them in November 2022 in response to three consecutive botched executions. Oklahoma plans to execute Jemaine Cannon (pictured, right), one of the 25 people included in the two-year execution spree announced in 2022.
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Jun 13, 2023
BOOKS: “Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy”
In Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy, author Alex Mar presents an in-depth account of a violent homicide and its impact on a racially divided community and the individuals involved. Mar not only discusses the fears associated with modern crime and punishment but also addresses the human capacity for compassion and forgiveness. In the prologue, Mar writes that “this is a story that asks what any community is willing to accept as just consequences — as justice — for harm done. It is a difficult question, one…
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May 30, 2023
Victims’ Families are Divided Over Death Penalty as Bowers Trial Begins
On May 25, 2023, 12 death-qualified jurors and six alternates were selected in the federal capital trial of Robert Bowers, who is charged with killing 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018. Prosecutors struck all the Black, Hispanic, and Jewish venire members. As testimony begins on May 30, some victims’ family members have expressed support for capital punishment, while others have objected.
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Dec 08, 2022
BOOKS: “Shattered Justice: Crime Victims’ Experiences with Wrongful Convictions and Exonerations”
In Shattered Justice: Crime Victims’ Experiences with Wrongful Convictions and Exonerations, released in August 2022, University of North Carolina-Wilmington sociology and criminology professor Kimberly Cook explores how crime victims and their family members experience and process the trauma associated with the crime itself, the legal process, and the exoneration of the person they once believed to be the perpetrator.
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Sep 07, 2022
Family Members of Buffalo Mass Shooting Want Focus on Preventing Racial Violence, Not Death Penalty
As federal prosecutors consider what punishment to seek against the accused gunman in the May 2022 mass shooting at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, survivors and family members of victims of the shooting are concerned that pursuing the death penalty will further spread the racial hatred that fueled the massacre and divert attention from meaningful action to combat white supremacist violence.
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