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: 61 — 70
Jan 09, 2025
Worldwide Monthly Roundup: Abolition in Zimbabwe, Global Moratorium Gains Support; Known Executions Rise in Limited Number of Countries
Progress towards global abolition of the death penalty continues with Zimbabwe’s end-2024 decision to nearly eliminate the practice, only preserving the right to impose death when the country is under a declared public emergency. Zimbabwe’s last execution…
Read MoreJan 07, 2025
Aaron Gunches Asks for February Execution Date, Raising New Concerns About Arizona’s Lethal Injection Protocol and the Execution of “Volunteers”
No jury has ever learned about Aaron Gunches’ life history and experiences, nothing about his childhood, mental and physical health, or trauma — the mitigation evidence that the Supreme Court has said is essential to a constitutional death sentence. Arizona courts judged Mr. Gunches competent to represent himself in two separate trials for the murder of his ex-girlfriend’s husband, and he presented no defense in either proceeding. Jurors twice sentenced him…
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Jan 06, 2025
Military Appeals Court Rules 9/11 Defendants Can Plead to Avoid Death Sentences
On December 30, 2024, a military appeals court upheld a lower court ruling rejecting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s attempt to throw out plea deals reached for three men charged in the September 11 terrorism attacks. The court affirmed Judge Colonel Matthew N. McCall’s ruling in November 2024 that the plea agreements reached in July 2024 are valid. Col. McCall stated at the time that he would proceed with the…
Read MoreJan 03, 2025
Tennessee to Resume Executions with Single-Drug Lethal Injection Protocol
On December 27, 2024, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) completed a multi-year lethal injection protocol review and announced that instead of the previous three-drug cocktail, lethal injection executions will use a single-drug barbituate, pentobarbital. Ohio was the first state to use pentobarbital, in the March 2011 execution of Johnnie Roy Baston. State officials now use single drug protocols in 14 states, including Tennessee, as well as in…
Read MoreJan 02, 2025
In Wake of President Biden’s Federal Commutations, North Carolina Governor Cooper Grants Clemency to 15 Death-Sentenced Prisoners, the Largest Grant of Capital Clemency in State History
Governor…
Read MoreDec 20, 2024
Texas Attorney General’s Office Refuses to Cooperate with Committee Subpoena for Robert Roberson, Blocking His Testimony for the 2nd Time
Robert Roberson with daughter Nikki. Courtesy of the…
Read MoreDec 19, 2024
DPI Year End Report 2024: Death Sentences and Executions Remain Near Historic Lows Amid Growing Concerns about Fairness and Innocence
This year marked the tenth consecutive year during which fewer than 30 people were executed (25) and fewer than 50 people were sentenced to death (26), while high profile cases of death-sentenced people attracted significant attention and new, unexpected supporters. In most U.S. states, the death penalty is a relic of another era. According to DPI’s 2024 Year End Report, just four states (Alabama, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) were responsible for more than…
Read MoreDec 18, 2024
4th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Legal Challenge to South Carolina’s Restriction on Media Access to Prisoners
U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth…
Read MoreDec 17, 2024
Indiana’s First Execution in 15 Years Raises Serious Constitutional Concerns
If Joseph Corcoran had been sentenced to death just a few miles to the east, across the border in Ohio instead of in Fort Wayne, Indiana, it’s likely that a court would have barred his execution. Ohio law prevents a person with a serious mental illness (SMI) at the time of their crime, defined as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or delusional disorder, from being put to death. Mr. Corcoran, who has a long history of paranoid…
Read MoreDec 16, 2024
Florida Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments Challenging Non-Unanimity Sentencing Standard
Urbantallahassee, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by— sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia…
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