Publications & Testimony

Select pages of DPIC’s Web site are now available in Spanish, German and French. DPIC’s Death Penalty Fact Sheet and other information are in Spanish. DPIC’s Innocence List Case Descriptions are availabile in German. DPIC’s 1998 Report The Death Penalty in Black & White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides is available in French. Spanish- Hechos Sobre la Pena de Muerte. German- Unschuldige und ihre Faelle In Kuerze. French- Le Peine de Mort en Noir et Blanc: Qui Vit, Qui Meurt, Qui Decide. See…

The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in the Troy Davis case on October 14, despite his claim of innocence. Davis had petitioned the Court to intervene in his case after seven of the nine non-police witnesses against him recanted their testimony. His lawyers said the new evidence demonstrated his innocence and that another man had even confessed to the killing. The Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles could still review its earlier decision to deny clemency to Davis. (G. Bluestein, “High…

In June 2008, the Office of Defender Services of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts published a report analyzing the cost, quality and availability of defense representation in federal death penalty cases. The report determined that federal capital trials in which the death penalty was sought were substantially more expensive than non-death penalty federal trials; however, a death sentence was handed down in only one-quarter of the cases. In addition, defense expenditures in a federal…

As many countries prepare to mark the international World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10, recent trends indicate that the world is shifting away from capital punishment. According to a report published by Reprieve, an organization that represents death row prisoners around the world, 91 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes by the end of 2007, followed by three more so far in 2008. Even in Central Asia where executions are part of a long tradition, several…

In her new book, Execution’s Doorstep: The True Stories of the Innocent and Near Damned, author Leslie Lytle provides a compelling narrative recounting the harrowing journeys of five innocent men who spent many years on death row. Through extensive research and interviews, Lytle has succeeded in revealing the deep pain and suffering that such injustice yields, putting a human face to the recurring problem of innocence on death row. The book explores all aspects of the cases, from the crime and…

There have been 24 executions so far in 2008. Executions resumed on May 5 after the U.S. Supreme Court approved Kentucky’s lethal injection process in Baze v. Rees. One hundred percent of the executions have been in the South, including 9 in Texas, 4 in Virginia, and 3 in Georgia. At least 12 cases have been granted stays of executions in the past two months, including Troy Davis, whose execution in Georgia was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court. As of orders issued on October 6, 2008, the Court…