Publications & Testimony
Testimony and Statements on the Death Penalty
FROM DPIC
For testimony by former Executive Director Robert Dunham and former Executive Director Richard C. Dieter, please visit our page DPIC Testimony.
FROM RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
- News Brief: Pope Francis Calls for Prayer to Abolish the Death Penalty (September 1, 2022)
- Jewish Congregation Renews Request for Department of Justice to Drop Death Penalty in Tree of Life Synagogue Killings (June 24, 2021)
- Orthodox Church Patriarch Calls Death Penalty Incompatible with Christian Beliefs (October 20, 2020)
- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — Statement on the Federal Death Penalty (August 5, 2019)
- Louisiana Christian Faith Leaders Call for State to Abolish Death Penalty (April 25, 2019)
- Pittsburgh Rabbi’s Wife Opposes Death Penalty for Tree of Life Synagogue Killings (March 18, 2019)
- Orthodox Jewish Organization Calls for an End to Capital Punishment in the U.S. | Death Penalty Information Center (February 17, 2016)
- Baptist Theologian Says Death Penalty Does Not Fit With Christian Theology (March 8, 2016)
- Civil and Human Rights: Death Penalty — Church & Society, The United Methodist Church
- Religious Views: Over 150 Catholic Theologians Call for Repeal of the Death Penalty (September 27, 2011)
- Power Over Life and Death — The Power to Save a Life (January 15, 2005)
- Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice (November 2000)
- The Challenge of Holiness: A Sermon on the Death Penalty (January 10, 2000)
- General Assembly of the Texas Conference of Churches — Resolution Opposing the Death Penalty (February 24, 1998)
- Statement by Catholic Bishops of Texas on Capital Punishment (October 20, 1997)
- Catholic Church Expresses Strong Opposition to Capital Punishment in Catechism (September 9, 1997)
- Catholic Bishops of Iowa Issue Statement on Death Penalty (February 4, 1998)
- To End the Death Penalty: A Report of the National Jewish/Catholic Consultation
- Transcript of Dr. Pat Robertson’s Speech on the Role of Religion and the Death Penalty at The College of William and Mary
- Collection of Official Catholic Statements on the Death Penalty (1980)
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
- UN experts call for universal abolition of the death penalty | OHCHR (October 9, 2023)
- Zambia Becomes 25th Sub-Saharan African Nation to Abolish Death Penalty (December 23, 2022)
- Belgium Wants a World Without the Death Penalty (October 20, 2022)
- As France Prepares to Assume Presidency of European Union, Emmanuel Macron Announces Initiative for Worldwide Abolition of Death Penalty (October 11, 2021)
- U.N. Secretary-General, European Union Ambassador Call for Abolition of “Barbaric” Death Penalty (October 11, 2017)
- European Union Calls for Abolition of Capital Punishment as World Coalition Hosts International Death Penalty Conference (June 27, 2017)
- U.N. Investigator Talks About the Future of Solitary and the Death Penalty (November 7, 2016)
- World Congress Against the Death Penalty Renews Call for Global Moratorium, Pope Sends Message of Support (June 27, 2016)
- Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the 400th execution in Texas from the Council of the European Union (August 21, 2007)
- Resolution Supporting Worldwide Moratorium on Executions from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (April 1999)
- Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights — Message to the Press Conference organized by the Death Penalty Information Center for the release of the report, “International Perspectives on the Death Penalty” (October 12, 1999)
- Status of the International Covenants on Human Rights from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (April 1998)
FROM ADVOCACY GROUPS
- Advocacy Group Tells Supreme Court that Negative Stereotypes Distort Perception that Latinos in Death-Penalty Cases Pose Future Danger to Society (April 15, 2022)
- Disability Rights Groups, Legal Experts, and Conservative Advocates Urge Supreme Court to Strike Down Georgia’s Uniquely Harsh Proof Requirements in Death-Penalty Intellectual Disabilities Cases (January 11, 2022)
- NAACP Reaffirms Its Support of Abolishing the Death Penalty (2022)
- More Than 80 Civil Rights and Advocacy Organizations Urge President Biden to End Federal Executions | Death Penalty Information Center (February 9, 2021)
- More Than 250 Conservative Leaders Join Call to End Death Penalty (October 29, 2019)
- National Alliance on Mental Illness: The Death Penalty
- Florida League of Women Voters Calls for Halt to Executions (May 28, 2007)
- Victims Organizations Issue Joint Statement for National Victims’ Rights Week (April 19, 2007)
FROM JUDGES, LEGISLATORS, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
- Republican-led Oklahoma committee considers pause on executions amid death case scrutiny (October 5, 2023)
- Former Pro-Death Penalty District Attorney Explains Why He Now Supports Abolition, and Fears Political Promises to Expand the Use of the Death Penalty (August 20, 2023)
- Pressley, Durbin Reintroduce Bill to End the Federal Death Penalty (July 13, 2023)
- The Lancet Editorial: Physician Involvement in Executions Violates Medical Ethics | Death Penalty Information Center (May 20, 2023)
- APA calls for extending ineligibility for the death penalty to adolescent offenders younger than age 21 (August 4, 2022)
- Why some Republicans are turning against the death penalty | Ron Ferguson | Ohio House of Representatives (March 8, 2022)
- Eight years on Texas’ highest criminal court turned Elsa Alcala into a death penalty skeptic. How will the court change without her? (January 26, 2019)
- AMA to Supreme Court: Doctor participation in executions unethical (August 22, 2018)
- Former Governor Bill Richardson: Death Penalty Is Bad for Business, Out of Step With World’s Views (June 16, 2017)
- Capital Punishment and Nurses’ Participation in Capital Punishment (2016)
- Former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro Says Death Penalty Unfixable, “Not Worth It Any More” (September 12, 2016)
- Resolution Supporting Repeal of the Death Penalty, National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (August 11, 2016)
- Retired Police Captain Says Repealing Death Penalty Is “Smart on Crime” (November 24, 2014)
- Resolution Supporting Abolition of the Death Penalty, Natl. Assoc. of Black Psychologists (2012)
- The Road to Justice and Peace by New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak (February 1, 2009)
- Statement On The Federal Death Penalty System by Senator Feingold (June 7, 2001)
- Statement on the Need for a Federal Moratorium on the Death Penalty Senator Feingold (October 29, 2000)
- Death Penalty: The Torah and Today (August 23, 2000)
- Press Release for Senator Russ Feingold’s Introduction of Senate’s First Death Penalty Moratorium Bill (April 20, 2000)
- Amnesty International Southern Regional Conference: Orlando, Florida Remarks by Former Florida Chief Justice Gerald Kogan (October 23, 1999)
- American Bar Association Resolution on the Death Penalty (February 3, 1997)
FROM MURDER VICTIMS’ FAMILY MEMBERS
Items: 191 — 200
Oct 21, 2025
Despite Serious Concerns about Trial’s Fairness and Anthony Boyd’s Innocence, Alabama Plans to Execute Him Using Nitrogen Gas
Anthony Boyd is scheduled to be executed in Alabama on October 23, 2025, for his role in the 1993 kidnapping and murder of Gregory “New York” Huguley. Mr. Boyd was convicted based solely on eyewitness testimony with no physical evidence linking him to the crime, and he has maintained his innocence. Alabama will execute Mr. Boyd using nitrogen gas, the seventh time state has used this controversial method since January 2024, when the state executed Kenneth Smith in the first-ever execution of…
Read MoreOct 20, 2025
DPI Podcast 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Maha Jweied of The Responsible Business Initiative for Justice Discusses Intersection of Business and the Legal System
In October 2025’s episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI managing director Anne Holsinger interviews Maha Jweied. Ms. Jweied, the CEO of The Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ), is an internationally recognized expert on the role of the private sector in justice systems and an advocate for improved access to justice worldwide. During the podcast, Ms. Jweied describes RBIJ’s mission of working with business leaders to push for criminal justice reform. Along with death…
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Oct 16, 2025
Governor Newsom Signs Major Amendments to California’s Racial Justice Act into Law
On October 13, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the latest set of amendments to California’s Racial Justice Act (CRJA) into law, strengthening a groundbreaking piece of legislation that prohibits criminal convictions and sentences based on race, ethnicity, or national origin. Under this law, capitally convicted prisoners can pursue meaningful relief, beyond just the reversal of a death sentence, if the state is found to have violated these protections. “With these clarifications of the…
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Oct 15, 2025
Edward T. Blake, Pioneer of Using DNA to Prove Innocence, Dies at 80
Edward T. Blake, a forensic scientist who helped pioneer the use of DNA analysis in criminal cases and whose work helped exonerate more than 50 people, including those on death row, died in August 2025 at age 80 from pancreatic cancer. Dr. Blake was the first forensic scientist to use polymerase chain reaction testing, or PCR, on crime-scene DNA. The technique allowed Dr. Blake to extract usable genetic information from evidence samples that could not previously be tested because of old age…
Read MoreOct 14, 2025
Missouri Governor Denies Clemency for Lance Shockley Despite Broad Bipartisan Support for Commutation of His Death Sentence
Update: Mr. Shockley was executed by lethal injection on October 14. He was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. Yesterday, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe denied clemency to Lance Shockley, who is scheduled for execution today at 6 p.m. However, a recent survey found that Missouri voters, by a bipartisan two-thirds majority, would prefer to see Mr. Shockley’s death sentence commuted. Dr. Nicholas Scurich of the University of California, Irvine, found that 65% of the 440 registered Missouri voters…
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Oct 09, 2025
Indiana’s Scheduled Third Execution After 15-year Pause Raises Cost and Secrecy Concerns
Indiana is set to execute Roy Lee Ward on October 10, 2025, despite ongoing concerns about the cost of lethal injection and the lack of transparency surrounding the state’s execution protocols in the wake of a suspected botched execution earlier this year. Mr. Ward will be the third individual executed after a 15-year pause in executions in Indiana. In July 2025, Governor Mike Braun said he would not renew the state’s supply of lethal injection drugs, noting the last purchase, made in December…
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Oct 08, 2025
Upcoming Executions Illustrate Persistent Themes and Concerns Around the Death Penalty
October 9, 2025 UPDATE: On October 9, 2025, just a week before his scheduled execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) granted Robert Roberson a stay of execution and remanded his case to the district court for further consideration of his request for relief based upon relief offered in a similar case, Ex parte Roark. Like Mr. Roberson’s case, Ex parte Roark, also involved a conviction based the now discredited “Shaken Baby Syndrome Hypothesis” (SBS) and the CCA granted relief to Mr.
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Oct 07, 2025
New Evidence Revealed in “Dateline” Podcast Points to Judicial Misconduct in Robert Roberson’s Case Just Days Ahead of Execution
October 9, 2025 UPDATE: On October 9, 2025, just a week before his scheduled execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) granted Robert Roberson a stay of execution and remanded his case to the district court for further consideration of his request for relief based upon relief offered in a similar case, Ex parte Roark. Like Mr. Roberson’s case, Ex parte Roark, also involved a conviction based the now discredited “Shaken Baby Syndrome Hypothesis” (SBS) and the CCA granted relief to Mr.
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Oct 06, 2025
Tennessee’s Execution of Christa Pike Would Make Her the First Woman to be Executed in the State in Over 200 Years
In an order dated September 30, 2025, the Tennessee Supreme Court set an execution date for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row. If her execution proceeds as scheduled on September 30, 2026, Ms. Pike will be the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years and the only person executed in Tennessee for a crime committed at age 18, 19 or 20 in the modern death penalty era. “Life imprisonment is a proper punishment for Christa, just as it is for the nearly 200 women…
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Oct 02, 2025
Pope Leo XIV Calls Support for the Death Penalty ‘Not Really Pro-Life’
In comments to reporters on September 30, 2025, Pope Leo XIV said that supporting capital punishment was inconsistent with being pro-life. The Pope was responding to questions about Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich’s plan to honor Senator Dick Durbin for his work on immigrant human rights issues. The announcement drew criticism from several American bishops who objected based on Sen. Durbin’s support for legalized abortion. “Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion’ but says, ‘I’m in favor of the…
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