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.
Reports: 46 — 50
Dec 15, 2004
The Death Penalty in 2004: Year End Report
By every measure, the death penalty in the U.S. has been in decline since 1999 and the evidence from 2004 continues that trend. Whether examining death sentences, executions, the size of death row or public support, capital punishment numbers have dropped in a way not seen in over 30…
Read MoreSep 01, 2004
Innocence and the Crisis in the American Death Penalty
This report catalogs the emergence of innocence as the most important issue in the long-simmering death penalty debate. The sheer number of cases and the pervasive awareness of this trend in the public’s consciousness have changed the way capital punishment is perceived around the country. The steady evolution of this issue since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 has been accelerated in recent years by the development of DNA technology, the new gold standard of forensic investigation.
Read MoreDec 18, 2003
The Death Penalty in 2003: Year End Report
The death penalty continued its recent attrition in 2003, with executions, death sentences, and the death row population all lower than a few years ago. Public support for the death penalty dropped to its lowest level in 25 years. At the same time, exonerations from death row helped spur legislative reforms in the capital punishment…
Read MoreDec 17, 2002
The Death Penalty in 2002: Year End Report
In 2002, the death penalty continued to come under increasing scrutiny and its use became more geographically isolated within the United States. Executions occurred almost exclusively in the South, and one state, Texas, accounted for three times as many as the total in the West, Midwest, and Northeast states…
Read MoreDec 12, 2001
The Death Penalty in 2001: Year End Report
Throughout 2001, growing concerns about capital punishment were reflected in a series of legislative changes to restrict the death penalty, and executions declined sharply for the second straight year. For the first time since the death penalty was reinstated, the number of people on death row also appears to be…
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