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: 201 — 210
Oct 01, 2025
North Carolina Legislature Passes Sweeping Criminal Law Legislation in Effort to Restart Executions
On September 23, 2025, North Carolina lawmakers approved and forwarded to Governor Josh Stein for signature House Bill 307 — also known as “Iryna’s Law” — which proposes sweeping changes to the state’s criminal laws. HB 307 imposes stricter pretrial release conditions, requires involuntary mental health evaluations for defendants under certain circumstances, shortens the timeline for capital case appeals, and provides an alternative to the current method of execution — lethal injection. North…
Read MoreSep 30, 2025
DPI Podcast 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Katherine Judson of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences Speaks on Flawed Forensics and Robert Roberson
In the September 2025 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI’s managing director Anne Holsinger interviews Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) expert Katherine Judson. Ms. Judson is Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences and former Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma Litigation Coordinator for the Wisconsin Innocence Project. In the episode, Ms. Judson provides the history behind Shaken Baby Syndrome, and why it is now known by experts as “junk science.”
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Sep 29, 2025
Counsel Seeks to Challenge Rare Execution of 72-Year-Old Florida Prisoner on Constitutional Grounds in Florida Supreme Court
With just weeks remaining before his scheduled execution, attorneys for 72-year-old Samuel Lee Smithers are appealing the dismissal of their motion filed September 19, 2025, arguing that executing an elderly person violates both Florida and the U.S. Constitutions’ prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and fails to meet any valid penological justification. On September 22, 2025, the Hillsborough County Circuit Court denied Mr. Smithers’ request for an evidentiary hearing to consider…
Read MoreSep 25, 2025
Iran Hits 1000 Execution Mark, Highest Total in Three Decades
Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) has reported that at least 1000 people have been executed in Iran between January 1 and September 23, 2025 — a thirty year high. This is the fifth consecutive year that Iran has experienced an increase in executions, with the biggest year-over-year increase (43%) occurring in 2023, in the aftermath of the “Women, Life, Freedom” nationwide protests. Most executions continue to be carried out for offenses that do not meet the international legal threshold…
Read MoreSep 24, 2025
Mangione’s Counsel Challenge Constitutionality of Federal Death Penalty as Arbitrary
In a motion filed September 20, 2025, attorneys for Luigi Mangione, indicted in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, have filed a broad challenge to the constitutionality of the federal death penalty, arguing that it is applied arbitrarily, in violation of Fifth Amendment’s due process protections and the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments. They are asking the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York to dismiss the…
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Sep 23, 2025
New Book of Interest: SHAKEN: The Rush to Execute an Innocent Man by John Grisham
Acclaimed novelist and former criminal defense lawyer John Grisham is set to release a new book titled SHAKEN: The Rush to Execute an Innocent Man on June 9th, 2026. The book is a non-fiction account of the contentious case of Robert Roberson, the Texas man who has been on death row for over twenty years and is now facing execution in Texas in October 2025, despite strong evidence of his innocence. “Robert Roberson is innocent because the evidence developed in recent proceedings, but so far…
Read MoreSep 22, 2025
Victims’ Families in Kirk and Berry Cases Cite Religious Reasons for Opposition to the Death Penalty
Murder victims’ family members hold a wide range of views about what justice means. For some, the death penalty holds the promise of closure, while for others, it is a source of continued trauma and uncertainty. In two recent cases, victims’ family members have publicly expressed their opposition to the death penalty, citing their religious views and need to forgive. Will Berry was just 11 years old when Geoffrey West shot and killed his mother, Margaret Parrish Berry, during a gas station…
Read MoreSep 18, 2025
Spotlight on Utah’s Death Penalty
The capital charges filed against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on September 10th, have drawn new attention to Utah’s death penalty. Although Utah was among the first states to reinstate the death penalty after it was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972, and the first to perform an execution in the modern era, executions have been rare over the last 50 years. Just eight people have been executed in Utah since 1977. In 2024, the…
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Sep 17, 2025
Autopsy Points to Reason Behind Byron Black’s Painful Execution in Tennessee
Byron Black was executed in Tennessee by lethal injection on August 5, 2025. During his execution, Mr. Black unexpectedly and repeatedly groaned over the course of several minutes and audibly told his spiritual advisor that he was in pain. An autopsy released September 10, 2025, provides some explanation. It found evidence of “pulmonary congestion and edema”– defined as an abnormal buildup of fluid in the lungs which can produce sensations of “doom, panic, drowning, and asphyxiation” according…
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Sep 16, 2025
Two Scheduled Executions of People with Intellectual Disability in Florida Raise Serious Concerns
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia established that the Eighth Amendment prohibits executing people with intellectual disability. The Court later clarified that rigid IQ cutoffs were not permissible and also required states to consider meaningful evidence of intellectual disability, including scientifically valid expert testimony and adaptive functioning deficits. Despite this unequivocal constitutional protection, two death-sentenced prisoners — David Pittman and Victor…
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