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
Jul 14, 2026
Nearly 71 Years After Her Execution, Ruth Ellis, the Last Woman Executed in the UK, Receives Conditional Pardon from King Charles
On July 8, 2026, King Charles, following the advice of Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, granted a posthumous conditional pardon to Ruth Ellis, converting her death sentence to a term of life imprisonment. Ms. Ellis was originally sentenced to death for the April 10, 1955 murder of her romantic partner David Blakely, and she was the last woman hanged in the United Kingdom on July 13, 1955. A press release from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice explains that this decision represents “an…
Read MoreJul 13, 2026
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Says Lethal Injection Executions Will Proceed as Scheduled, Despite Recent Botch and Mounting Concerns
On July 7, 2026, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee told members of the media that the state’s scheduled executions will proceed without any changes to the lethal injection protocol, despite the state’s failed attempt to execute Tony Carruthers in May. Gov. Lee stated that the execution team followed the proper protocol during the attempted execution and that the problem was with locating a suitable vein for an IV line, rather than with the protocol itself. “I think, as we have observed, everything…
Read MoreJul 09, 2026
Article of Interest: A Close Look at Florida’s Execution Spree
A June 30 article by Pamela Colloff, co-published in ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, investigates Florida’s record-setting pace of executions over the past 18 months, even as the rest of the country largely “abandons” the death penalty. Ms. Colloff uses data from the Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) to emphasize Florida’s outlier status, while exploring the political implications of the execution spree and its impact on the people involved. As DPI has documented, executions…
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Jul 08, 2026
DPI’s 2026 Mid-Year Update: Jurors Continue to Reject Death Sentences Amidst Increased Secrecy and Disinformation
Introduction False statements by government officials. Media witnesses banned from viewing executions. New laws passed to evade judicial review. During the first six months of 2026, the Death Penalty Information Center documented new efforts to conceal critical details about the death penalty — even as some government officials sought to increase and expand its use. These efforts are best understood when the truth about the death penalty and executions is viewed as a threat to its acceptance — an…
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Jul 07, 2026
Tennessee Republican State Senators Call on Governor Lee to Review the “Incompetent Administration” Leading to the Botched Execution of Tony Carruthers
In a letter dated June 25, 2026, a group of nine Tennessee Republican senators called on Governor Bill Lee to commission an independent review of the failed execution of Tony Carruthers, to order the correction of “every deficiency” found in this review, and to make information about the execution team publicly available “so that the Department [of Corrections’] readiness can be independently verified.” While the senators maintain their support for the administration of the death penalty, they…
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Jul 06, 2026
Louisiana Supreme Court Affirms Lower Court’s Vacatur and Factual Innocence Finding for Former Death-Sentenced Man, Jimmie Duncan
On June 29, 2026, the Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s decision finding Jimmie Duncan factually innocent and vacating his first-degree murder conviction and death sentence. Mr. Duncan was sentenced to death for the 1993 death of his girlfriend’s toddler, Haley Oliveaux, largely based on faulty bite mark evidence. In April 2025, Louisiana District Court Judge Alvin Sharp held that expert testimony presented during an evidentiary hearing demonstrated the bite mark analysis used…
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Jul 02, 2026
DPI Podcast 12:01 Marks 50 Years Since Gregg v. Georgia, Examining the Decision’s Legacy and Unfulfilled Promises
In the July 2026 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI’s Executive Director Robin M. Maher speaks with Samuel Spital, Associate Director Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF). To mark the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Gregg v. Georgia, they explore the history of the landmark case, the pivotal role played by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in the litigation, and the enduring legacy of legendary LDF attorney Anthony Amsterdam. They conclude their…
Read MoreJul 01, 2026
Death Penalty Information Center Brings Expertise to Global Stage at 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty
As global experts gather in Paris this week to examine the state of capital punishment worldwide, the Death Penalty Information Center will be among them, as a source of authoritative data and research on how the death penalty is operating in the United States. The 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organized by ECPM (Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort) and hosted by the French Republic, runs June 30 through July 2 at the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique in Paris. The first…
Read MoreJun 30, 2026
Florida Executes Oldest Prisoner in Modern State History and is Set to Break That Record Once Again
Florida executed Dusty Ray Spencer on June 25, 2026, making him the oldest person put to death in the state since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976. Mr. Spencer, 74, was the ninth person executed in Florida in 2026, following a record of 19 executions in 2025. The state has scheduled two executions for July: Dennis Sochor, 74, is scheduled to be executed on July 14 for the 1981 murder of Patricia Gifford in Broward County; Dominick Occhicone, 80, is scheduled to be executed on…
Read MoreJun 29, 2026
Two Former Death-Sentenced Californians Seek Compensation Over Official Misconduct
Two former California death-sentenced prisoners, Ernest Dykes and Curtis Ervin, have filed lawsuits against Alameda County, accusing the District Attorney’s office of “set[ting] out to rig the juries” in their capital cases. Both men were released from prison after their death sentences were reduced because of the discovery of unconstitutional prosecutorial misconduct during each of their jury selections in the 1990s. The lawsuits allege that the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office…
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