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: 6531 — 6540
Mar 27, 2002
Seventeen an Awkward Age, N.H. Juvenile Justice Finds
By PAMELA FERDINAND Special to The Washington Post BOSTON — The kid was a domestic terror. He beat his younger brother. He shoved his single mother down the stairs, and he put his fist through the doors and walls of their rented house in Concord, N.H. Last fall at school, he assaulted a student. By then he had turned 17, and because he lived in New Hampshire, he went to the adult county jail for two weeks before being released on probation. As a juvenile, he had received psychological…
Read MoreMar 21, 2002
Rules for Military Tribunals
New York Times Thursday, March 21, 2002 A comparison of some rules for military tribunals for terrorism suspects with courts-martial and civilian courts. RIGHT TO COUNSEL COMPOSITION OF JURY VOTE REQUIRED TO CONVICT RULES OF EVIDENCE VENUE FOR APPEALS CIVILIAN FEDERAL COURTS Accused chooses own lawyer, or one is provided if the accused cannot afford one. 12 members drawn at random. Unanimous decision to convict and to impose sentence, including the death penalty. Strict federal rules of…
Read MoreJan 03, 2002
99th DEATH ROW EXONEREE TO BE FREED IN FLORIDA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, January 3, 2002 CONTACT: BRENDA BOWSER (202) 293‑6970 cell — (301) 906‑4460 99th DEATH ROW EXONEREE TO BE FREED IN FLORIDA Prosecutors drop all charges after Judge rules that State withheld critical evidence WASHINGTON, DC — Juan Roberto Melendez will become the 99th innocent person to walk free from death row since 1973, according to an announcement made today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Prosecutors dropped all charges against Melendez…
Read MoreJan 01, 2002
2002 Presidential Candidates’ Views on the Death Penalty
by Richard C. Dieter Introduction To understand the rapid evolution in the views of the Presidential candidates regarding the death penalty, it is essential to look at the sweep of events of the past few years as the public became more aware of the problems within the capital punishment system. Few could have predicted the sea-change in the overall perception on this issue. While the candidates originally said very little about the death penalty and perhaps assumed that the similarity of their…
Read MoreDec 31, 2001
Costs News and Developments: 2001 — 1998
Smaller Arizona Counties Lack Resources for Capital Cases The Arizona Supreme Court recently remanded a death penalty case for re-sentencing to a county that does not have the resources to pay for it. By law, counties are required to fund a specialist to gather mitigating evidence for the defense to use at the sentencing phase. Some jurisdictions, however, do not have the money to pay for pre-sentencing investigation. The situation puts smaller counties in the position of choosing to pursue…
Read MoreDec 31, 2001
International News and Developments: 2001
Pakistani President Musharraf announced on December 13 that he will commute the death sentences of approximately 100 young offenders to life imprisonment. (Amnesty International, 12/13/01) President Emile Lahoud of Lebanon expressed his commitment to imposing a moratorium on executions while he is in office. (Amnesty International, 12/13/01) Yugoslavia Abolishes the Death Penalty The Yugoslav Parliament abolished the death penalty on November 5th, when it adopted a revised penal code. The…
Read MoreDec 31, 2001
Juveniles News and Developments 2001
Kentucky Governor Supports Ban on Executing Juvenile Offenders Governor Paul Patton stated that he would support a bill to ban the execution of those who committed capital crimes as juveniles. “The death penalty is for cases that cry out for it,” said Patton. “It’s not for every case.” Dennis Fleming, Patton’s general counsel, stated that the governor “questions whether 16 or 17-year-olds are capable of fully understanding the consequences of their actions.” The proposed legislation may also…
Read MoreDec 31, 2001
Excerpts from the Final Report of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System
The following excerpts are from the death penalty chapter of the Final Report of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System. The blue-ribbon Committee, appointed in 1999, used a wide variety of sources to draw its conclusions and formulate the recommendations found in its report. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS The Committee made a series of 23 recommendations to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, to the Legislature, to the state’s Attorney General and District…
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Dec 31, 2001
Resources: Studies and Additional Resources (1998 – 2001)
The latest edition of the Angolite, published by the inmates at the Louisiana state penitentiary, contains articles about the death penalty, including the cover story on a new movie, “Monsters Ball,” which was filmed at Angola earlier this year and will star Sean “Puffy” Combs, Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, and Heath Ledger. (The Angolite, June/July/August 2001) American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has released two new publications: “In a Time of Broken Bones: A Call for Dialogue on…
Read MoreDec 31, 2001
Choosing Mercy: A Mother of Murder Victims Pleads to End the Death Penalty
Written in the spirit of “Dead Man Walking,” this book by Antoinette Bosco conveys both the powerful personal experience of a mother whose son was murdered and a wealth of information about the criminal justice system in America. (Orbis Books, 2001) For more information, or to read an excerpt, visit her website.
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