Publications & Testimony

On April 24, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report proposing an expansion of the federal death penalty, including adding firing squad, electrocution, and lethal gas as execution methods. The DOJ characterizes the Biden Administration’s moratorium on executions as “an unprecedented break from the [DOJ]’s longstanding approach to the death penalty,” while casting this new effort as a return to form. The DOJ further claims that the three alternative methods of execution have a…

On April 27, 2026, counsel for Oklahoma death-sentenced prisoner Brenda Andrew, the only woman on the state’s death row, filed a petition asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to reconsider whether her constitutional right to a fair trial was violated by the prosecution’s use of “rampant gender bias” during her trial. In January 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a per curiam decision, remanded the case for consideration of whether the state’s gendered evidence was so unduly…

Today, the state of Texas plans to execute James Broadnax, a Black man who challenged the state for its discriminatory use of peremptory strikes to exclude every Black juror at his trial, in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Batson v. Kentucky (1986). Barring a last-minute stay, Mr. Broadnax’s execution will coincide with the 40^th anniversary of Batson that put race at the forefront of the jury selection process. Racial bias in jury selection has been a feature of…

In the April 2026 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Sherrerd Hartness, a writer and speaker who advocates for victims’ families and co-victims of murder. In 1977, Ms. Hartness’s sister, Carlotta, was killed — an experience that shaped her understanding of the long-term emotional impact of violent crime on families and communities. Her work now focuses on raising awareness about the needs of co-victims and the emotional challenges they…

On April 24, 2026, Pope Leo XIV delivered a video message offering his support and blessings to those working “for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States of America and around the world.” His message was shared at DePaul University in the Pope’s home city of Chicago, for an event titled “A Beacon of Light in Darkness,” marking the 15^th anniversary of Illinois’ abolition of the death penalty. Among those participating in the event were noted author and activist Sister Helen…

Saturday April 25^th is National DNA Day, marking the anniversary of the 1953 discovery of DNA’s double helix structure and the 2003 completion of the Human Genome Project. Today, the Death Penalty Information Center is pleased to present a new resource examining the controversial role of “junk science” in capital cases. When DNA testing became one of the most rigorously validated tools in forensic science, its development also prompted greater scrutiny of other forensic techniques. Many…

DPI’s “What to Know” series examines capital punishment from multiple angles, one topic at a time. Each installment provides essential facts and data on specific aspects of the death penalty. Why it Matters: In 2002, the United States Supreme Court held that executing individuals with intellectual disability is unconstitutional. (Atkins v. Virgina). Before that decision, dozens of people with intellectual disabilities were legally executed. In Atkins, the Supreme Court explained that people…

By the time 21-year-old Clarence Curtis Jordan shot a man during a grocery store burglary in 1977, he had been struggling for most of his life with hallucinations and intellectual deficits. His IQ score placed him in the bottom 0.5% of the population. He identified the president as “John Hill” and said he often saw “old, weird, burnt-up looking people” watching him. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) found him incompetent to be executed in 1988. But Mr. Jordan then fell through the…