Publications & Testimony

A July 7, 2024 op-ed in the Tennessean argues that the recent enaction of SB 1834, which makes the rape of a child punishable by death, “does more harm than good.” Sarah McGee (pictured), coordinator for Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, explains that during her work as a victim-witness coordinator for Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, probation officer, and assistant public defender, she “learned that when child service providers and experts, the people caring for…

A July 10, 2024, National Public Radio (NPR) investigation has revealed that Rite Away, a small chain of pharmacies located around San Antonio and Austin, Texas, compounded and provided pentobarbital for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) between 2019 and late 2023 to carry out lethal injection executions. During the same time period, records at the Texas Board of Pharmacy and federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) indicate the pharmacy was cited for multiple safety and cleanliness…

On June 21, 2024, China announced that courts, prosecutors, public, and state bodies should use the death penalty against Taiwan separatists. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the new guidelines recommend “severely punish[ing] Taiwan independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession crimes in accordance with the law, and resolutely defend national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.” Critics say that the vagueness of the legal language in the new…

This July, in honor of Disability Pride Month, the Death Penalty Information Center is posting a weekly feature highlighting issues related to the death penalty and disability, as well as individuals who have played key roles in changing the laws to protect prisoners with disabilities. This year, at least 4 of the 9 individuals executed presented strong evidence of serious mental health impairments. In light of longstanding concerns from experts and defense counsel, some state legislatures…

On Wednesday, July 3^rd, the 200^th death row exoneration was announced. But an unknown number of prisoners with compelling innocence claims remain on death row, unable to secure relief either because they lack access to competent legal representation for their appeals, are barred from accessing the courts because of procedural legal barriers, or due to the incalcitrance of elected officials. For some of these prisoners, execution dates have been set. Significant developments have occurred…

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Furman v. Georgia (1972), 200 death-sentenced men and women across 30 states have been exonerated. Analysis from the Death Penalty Information Center reveals these individuals have collectively spent 2,621 years in harsh prison conditions for crimes they did not commit. On average, death row exonerees spent 13 years under the sentence of death before their exonerations, with some individuals spending more than 40 years fighting to prove their…

Larry Roberts, the 200^th exoneree, was wrongfully convicted in 1983 for the murder of a fellow prisoner and prison guard at the California Medical Center in Vacaville, California. The only witnesses to these stabbings were fellow prisoners who testified against Mr. Roberts; he was sentenced to death for both killings. Years later, the California Supreme Court overturned Mr. Roberts’ conviction for the death of the prison guard but left his death sentence in place. After 41 years, the California…

Connecticut-based company Absolute Standards, which was identified as the source of lethal injection drugs used in 13 federal executions in 2020 and 2021, has said it will no longer produce the drug used in executions — pentobarbital. In a letter to two Connecticut lawmakers, John Criscio, president of Absolute Standards, said the company ceased producing pentobarbital in December 2020, and has “no intention to resume any production or sale of pentobarbital.” Mr. Criscio’s letter explains that…

Today, July 1, 2024, the Death Penalty Information Center releases a new report, Lethal Election: How the U.S. Electoral Process Increases the Arbitrariness of the Death Penalty. Using new data and analysis on appellate rulings and grants of clemency, as well as individual stories and case studies from across the country, the report examines how electoral politics distort the fairness and accuracy of capital punishment. The United States is the only country in the world that elects local…

In honor of Pride Month and commemorating the 55^th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the Death Penalty Information Center is pleased to present a new resource about how use of the death penalty affects LGBTQ+ people. We take a comprehensive look at topics ranging from America’s history of punishing queer sex with execution, to discriminatory comments made against queer defendants in capital trials, to the challenges of gender transition on death row. As early as 1636, the American…