Publications & Testimony

According to numbers reported by Agence France-Presse, Saudi Arabia executed 303 people in 2024 — the nation’s highest ever total, and currently the second highest known execution total worldwide for this year. November alone saw the execution of more than 100 foreign nationals, nearly triple the number in each of the past two years. UN human rights experts expressed concern following the December 3 execution of three Egyptian nationals, calling on the government to halt the pending…

For nearly 35 years, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) has served the public, the media, policymakers, attorneys, and educators with data and analysis on issues concerning capital punishment and the people it affects. DPI is entirely supported by the generosity of foundations and individual donors, like you. If our work is valuable to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation here or setting up a recurring monthly donation via PayPal. In addition to our annual report…

On November 26, 2024, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced her office will resume seeking execution warrants. AG Mayes’ announcement comes after Governor Katie Hobbs ended the state’s independent review of its execution protocol and processes, dismissing retired federal magistrate David Duncan before he had completed his review. In a letter to Judge Duncan, Gov. Hobbs said his actions during the review went beyond his mandate. The review was launched in 2023, as newly elected Gov.

On November 25, 2024, President Joe Biden pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys, an annual, symbolic tradition that highlights the president’s constitutional authority to issue pardons and commutations. Now, as President Biden sets to leave office in January 2025, 60 members of Congress and many others are urging him to grant clemency to the 40 men currently on federal death row. During his 2020 presidential campaign, President Biden said he would work to abolish the federal death penalty but there…

In a Washington Post op-ed, Chanel Shum, a member of September 11^th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, explains her support of plea agreements that would end decades of legal uncertainty and sentence three of the accused 9/11 defendants to life without parole. Ms. Shum was starting preschool when her father, See Wong Shum, was killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Describing her first time attending hearings at Guantánamo Bay, she writes, “Like many, I assumed that justice had been…

In this month’s episode of Discussions with DPI, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Beth Shelburne, a journalist who has reported on the criminal legal system for over 25 years and creator of the podcast Earwitness. Released in 2023 to critical acclaim, Earwitness tells the story of Toforest Johnson, a death-sentenced man who is facing execution in Alabama despite strong evidence of his innocence. On November 14, 2024, Mr. Johnson filed a petition with the Jefferson County Circuit…

On December 18, Joseph Corcoran is scheduled to be the first person executed by Indiana officials in 15 years. For the first time, the state will use a single drug, pentobarbital, which comes from an unknown source and has been known to cause prisoners “excruciating” pain during executions. But no media witnesses will be present to relay what happens to the public. Indiana is an outlier in its policy decision to completely exclude the press from witnessing executions in the state. But a survey…

Alabama is scheduled to execute Carey Grayson by nitrogen hypoxia on November 21, 2024, for his involvement with three other teens in the death of a hitchhiker in 1994, when he was 19 years old. Mr. Grayson’ execution would be Alabama’s sixth execution in 2024, and the third by nitrogen hypoxia. The state acknowledged Mr. Grayson was not the most culpable of the group, yet he is the only one of the four teens to face an execution. Mr. Grayson, and three others, were convicted of capital murder…

In a November 15, 2024, ruling, the Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for the state to reschedule the execution of Robert Roberson, despite compelling evidence of his innocence and widespread support for a new trial. Mr. Roberson was scheduled to be executed October 17, but on October 16 the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence issued a subpoena for Mr. Roberson to testify on a day after his execution was to occur. A district court temporarily halted the execution so that Mr.

On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) announces the launch of its updated website and new visual identity. The refreshed, more intuitive navigation bar is the first phase of improvements that will make it easier for visitors to access DPI’s data, reports, analysis, and resources. Visitors will also find DPI’s new logo and other changes to update the organization’s visual brand and appearance. The new DPI logo takes the common symbol for “information” – a…