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: 4861 — 4870
Jun 24, 2008
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Two Death Penalty Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on June 24 to hear two death penalty cases, both from Tennessee. The first case, Cone v. Bell, No. 07 – 1114, focuses on whether federal courts can consider issues that state courts dismissed on state procedural grounds. The petitioner, Gary Cone, had claimed that his use of drugs mitigated his guilt in the underlying murder of which he was accused. The prosecution at trial denied that there was any evidence of the defendant’s drug use, and Cone was sentenced to…
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Jun 23, 2008
Police Chief Given Life after Victim’s Family Speaks Against Death Sentence
A former Pennsylvania police chief was sentenced to life without parole on June 20, 2008, for the murder of his 31-year old ex-wife after the victim’s family spoke against a death sentence at the penalty hearing. The district attorney had planned to seek the death penalty against Richard Curran, just as he had for every murder case in the last 13 years. However, Bonnie Smith, the victim’s mother, testified at the penalty phase that her family wanted him to be given life in prison. “Smith made…
Read MoreJun 23, 2008
Police Chief Given Life after Victim’s Family Speaks Against Death Sentence
A former Pennsylvania police chief was sentenced to life without parole on June 20, 2008, for the murder of his 31-year old ex-wife after the victim’s family spoke against a death sentence at the penalty hearing. The district attorney had planned to seek the death penalty against Richard Curran, just as he had for every murder case in the last 13 years. However, Bonnie Smith, the victim’s mother, testified at the penalty phase that her family wanted him to be given life in prison. “Smith made…
Read MoreJun 23, 2008
Police Chief Given Life after Victim’s Family Speaks Against Death Sentence
A former Pennsylvania police chief was sentenced to life without parole on June 20, 2008, for the murder of his 31-year old ex-wife after the victim’s family spoke against a death sentence at the penalty hearing. The district attorney had planned to seek the death penalty against Richard Curran, just as he had for every murder case in the last 13 years. However, Bonnie Smith, the victim’s mother, testified at the penalty phase that her family wanted him to be given life in prison. “Smith made…
Read MoreJun 20, 2008
NEW RESOURCES: “Lessons from New York’s Recent Experience with Capital Punishment”
Prof. James Acker has published an article in the latest edition of the Vermont Law Review entitled, “Be Careful What You Ask For: Lessons from New York’s Recent Experience with Capital Punishment.” The article explores the various standards by which the death penalty was evaluated during the last decade in New York. The public debate first addressed the question of, “Is it right?” with a focus on retribution, morality and religion. The second set of questions addressed was, “Is it useful? Is…
Read MoreJun 19, 2008
European Union Reasserts Its Opposition to the Death Penalty in All Countries and All Cases
On June 16, 2008, the Council of the European Union (EU) meeting in Luxembourg released a statement on General Affairs and External Relations. The document contained a restatement of its 1998 Human Rights Guideline on the death penalty. The Council, consisting of almost all Foreign Ministers in the EU, stated that it “reaffirms that working towards universal abolition of the death penalty constitutes an integral objective of the EU’s human rights policy.” The Council reasserted the “opposition…
Read MoreJun 18, 2008
CONFLICT OF INTEREST RAISED IN UPCOMING TEXAS EXECUTION
UPDATE: The Texas District Court judge that set Charles Hood’s execution date has withdrawn the warrant for execution and recused himself from the case, thereby likely delaying the execution indefinitely. Hood’s attorneys filed a motion for discovery of information about the affair between the judge and prosecutor at Hood’s trial. (Dallas Morning News, June 17, 2008). Hood was granted a 30-day reprieve by the governor. Charles Hood is scheduled to be executed in Texas on June 17. His attorneys…
Read MoreJun 18, 2008
Texas Inmate Granted Execution Reprieve After Confusion in the Courts
Charles Hood was placed in the death chamber several times on June 17 before Texas announced that it would be unable to follow its lethal injection protocol prior to midnight when the execution warrant expired. The day was filled with appeal filings, court decisions, and dismissals right until the midnight deadline. The controversy began a week ago when Hood’s attorneys filed motions asserting that the presiding judge and lead prosecutor had a romantic relationship during his murder trial. The…
Read MoreJun 17, 2008
NEW RESOURCES: Why Some Countries Have the Death Penalty and Others Do Not
A new study has been released that explores the correlations between countries’ legal, political, and religious systems and their use of the death penalty. Professors David Greenberg from New York University and Valerie West of John Jay College examined data from 193 nations to test why some countries regularly use capital punishment while others have abandoned it altogether. They found, “In part, a country’s death penalty status is linked to its general punitiveness towards criminals.
Read MoreJun 16, 2008
NEW VOICES: Another Texas Death Penalty Official Has Second Thoughts
Larry Fitzgerald served as the official spokesman for Texas executions for eight years. He represented the state through 219 lethal injections. Retired in August 2003, Fitzgerald left with what he refers to as a, “PhD in prison life.” Due to his expertise with the Texas prison system, defense attorneys have been utilizing his testimony in death penalty cases to describe to the jury why the prison system offers a suitable alternative to a death sentence. He testifies about inmate life…
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