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: 4611 — 4620
May 14, 2009
NEW VOICES: Missouri Republicans Raise Death Penalty Concerns
Missouri’s Republican House Majority Leader Steven Tilley says Governor Jay Nixon should commute the death sentence of Dennis Skillicorn, who is scheduled to be executed on May 21. Citing revelations that another suspect committed the murder while Skillicorn was unaware of the murder plan, Tilley said, “Certainly, that would be enough reasonable doubt for me that I would be very concerned if this state executed that individual.” Tilley’s suggestion to the Governor was made during Missouri’s…
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May 13, 2009
Racial Justice Act Moves Closer to Passage in North Carolina
On May 12, the North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill to prevent racial bias in the administration of the death penalty. The senate’s action came just hours after a House panel passed a nearly identical bill, known as the Racial Justice Act. The bill allows those convicted or accused of capital murder to argue through the use of statistical studies that race played a role in their death sentence or a prosecutor’s decision to seek the death penalty. If that bias is proven, a…
Read MoreMay 12, 2009
EXONERATIONS: Charges Dropped Against Former Tennessee Death Row Inmate
The state of Tennessee has dropped all charges against Paul House, a death row inmate first convicted in 1986. House was accused of the rape and murder of Carolyn Muncey based largely on circumstantial evidence. DNA evidence used against him at trial was later found to belong to Muncey’s husband. In House v. Bell, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the new DNA tesing and questions about blood stains on House’s clothes. In 2006, the Court held that no reasonable juror would have found House…
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May 11, 2009
With Death Penalty System Bogged Down, Connecticut Considers Abolition
On March 8, Connecticut held a legislative hearing about what should be done with the state’s death penalty. The Judiciary Committee has already approved a bill to abolish capital punishment. Connecticut has carried out only one execution since 1973, and that was with an inmate who waived his appeals and volunteered for execution. The Chief State’s Attorney, Kevin T. Kane submitted a proposal to reform the system, but it would curtail the appeals process used to protect against mistakes. Kane…
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May 08, 2009
NEW RESOURCES: Death Row U.S.A. Winter 2009 Released
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has released the latest Death Row U.S.A. report, covering death penalty statistics through January 1, 2009. The total number of death row inmates decreased from 3,309 a year earlier to 3,297. The states with the largest number of death row inmates were California with 678, Florida with 402, and Texas with 358. The states (with 10 or more inmates) with the highest percent of minorities on death row were Texas at 70%, Connecticut at 70%, and…
Read MoreMay 07, 2009
Colorado Continues Death Penalty With Legislators Evenly Split on Repeal
A bill to repeal the death penalty and use the funds saved to investigate unsolved murder cases in Colorado was defeated in the state senate by a vote of 18 – 17 on May 6. The House had earlier approved the bill by a vote of 33 – 32. On May 4, the senate had approved an amendment, dropping the repeal of the death penalty and funding the cost of investigating cold cases through a $2.50 fine to convicted felons. However, the conference committee restored the repeal provision and the senate rejected…
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May 06, 2009
NEW RESOURCES: Amnesty International Report Focuses on Executions in Texas
Amnesty International has released a new report entitled, “Too much cruelty, too little clemency: Texas nears 200th execution under current governor.” It examines many of the nearly 200 executions that have occurred during Governor Rick Perry’s term in office, as well as a few cases where executions are imminent. The organization states that the Governor is not solely responsible for the fate of those on death row, but notes that Perry has “rarely exercised his power of reprieve, or used his…
Read MoreMay 05, 2009
Texas Judge Recommends New Trial in Death Penalty Case where Judge and Prosecutor Had Secret Affair
A judge in Texas has recommended that the claim of an unfair trial brought by death row inmate Charles Hood should go forward because the trial judge and prosecutor had a secret romantic relationship that they hid from the defendant before, during, and after his trial. CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen reported on the story, writing, “Hood’s judge and prosecutor lied, over and over again, to hide their affair. Any blame for the delay in bringing justice to Hood is their fault, not his, and…
Read MoreMay 05, 2009
Arbitrariness in Nebraska
By the numbers in Nebraska: 205 Nebraska murder cases have been eligible for the death penalty since 1973. 31 of those resulted in death sentences. 3 resulted in executions. 4 death-row occupants died in prison. 10 men now sit on death row. Death sentence was overturned in the rest. [source: 2007 study by Jerry Soucie of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy] (“Death penalty pits costs vs. closure,” May 3, 2009, Omaha World-Herald)
Read MoreMay 04, 2009
North Carolina Supreme Court Overrules State Medical Board’s Ban on Doctor Participation in Executions
The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled 4 – 3 that physicians cannot be punished by the State Medical Board for taking part in executions. The Medical Board had adopted a policy in January 2007 that their physician’s code of ethics would be violated by a doctor taking part in an execution, subjecting practitioners to having his or her medical license revoked. This policy conflicted with the state law that requires a physician’s presence at all executions, effectively putting North Carolina’s…
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