Publications & Testimony

In this month’s episode of Discussions with DPI, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Beth Shelburne, a jour­nal­ist who has report­ed on the crim­i­nal legal sys­tem for over 25 years and cre­ator of the pod­cast Earwitness. Released in 2023 to crit­i­cal acclaim, Earwitness tells the sto­ry of Toforest Johnson, a death-sen­­tenced man who is fac­ing exe­cu­tion in Alabama despite strong evi­dence of his inno­cence. On November 14, 2024, Mr. Johnson filed…

Alabama is sched­uled to exe­cute Carey Grayson by nitro­gen hypox­ia on November 21, 2024, for his involve­ment with three oth­er teens in the death of a hitch­hik­er in 1994, when he was 19 years old. Mr. Grayson’ exe­cu­tion would be Alabama’s sixth exe­cu­tion in 2024, and the third by nitro­gen hypox­ia. The state acknowl­edged Mr. Grayson was not the most cul­pa­ble of the group, yet he is the only one of the four teens to face an exe­cu­tion. Mr. Grayson, and three oth­ers, were…

Robert Roberson with daugh­ter Nikki. Courtesy of the…

On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) announces the launch of its updat­ed web­site and new visu­al iden­ti­ty. The refreshed, more intu­itive nav­i­ga­tion bar is the first phase of improve­ments that will make it eas­i­er for vis­i­tors to access DPI’s data, reports, analy­sis, and resources. Visitors will also find DPI’s new logo and oth­er changes to update the organization’s visual brand…

According to October 2024 polling pro­duced by Gallup, sup­port for cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment remains at a five-decade low in the United States. Overall, Gallup found 53% of Americans in favor of the death penal­ty, but that num­ber masks con­sid­er­able dif­fer­ences between old­er and younger Americans. More than half of young adults aged 18 to 43 now oppose the death penal­ty. Among those express­ing a polit­i­cal affil­i­a­tion, sup­port for the death penal­ty fell marked­ly in all groups…

Melissa…

On Thursday, the Death Penalty Information Center (“DPI”) released a new report detail­ing the trou­bling racial his­to­ry of the fed­er­al death penal­ty. Fool’s Gold: How the Federal Death Penalty Has Perpetuated Racially Discriminatory Practices Throughout History doc­u­ments how racial dis­crim­i­na­tion has been a through­line in the appli­ca­tion of the fed­er­al death penal­ty since the 1800s. The report explains that, despite often being…

On November 6, 2024, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) vot­ed 6 – 3 to grant death-sen­­tenced pris­on­er Randy Halprin a new tri­al. The TCCA decid­ed that the orig­i­nal tri­al judge, Vickers Cunningham,​“was actu­al­ly biased against him at the time of tri­al because Halprin is Jewish.” The Court wrote in its rul­ing that the​“uncon­tra­dict­ed evi­dence,” includ­ing tes­ti­mo­ny from friends and fam­i­ly of Judge Cunningham regard­ing his use of deroga­to­ry and racial slurs…