DPI 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 DPI. 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 DPI’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 DPI’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: 71 — 72
Mar 01, 1992
Killing Justice: Government Misconduct and the Death Penalty
Twelve years ago, when Jimmy Carter was in the White House, Gary Nelson was convicted and sentenced to die for the 1978 rape and murder of a 6‑year-old child in Chatham County, Georgia, the kind of high-visibility crime that exerts great pressure on police and prosecutors to solve…
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Jan 01, 1991
Chattahoochee Judicial District: BUCKLE OF THE DEATH BELT: The Death Penalty in Microcosm
Nearly 20 years after the Supreme Court held the death penalty unconstitutional – largely because of racial discrimination – the death penalty in America continues to reflect the worst aspects of our judicial system: racism, unequal treatment of the poor, a shamefully inadequate legal defense system and abuse of discretion by ambitious prosecutors and other politicians seeking higher…
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