Publications & Testimony

Researchers based at the University of North Carolina found a strong statistical relationship between the level of racial resentment in a state and the number of death sentences handed down on Black people. In particular, racial resentment was a stronger predictor of Black death sentencing rates than conservative ideology, even when controlling for several factors such as homicide and violent crime rates. Writing in the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, the authors noted: “[W]e find…

A joint research project begun by two Texas universities illustrates the confinement conditions of death-row prisoners, including areas such as visitation, health care, attorney visits, recreation, food, and opportunities for work. The Capital Punishment & Social Rights Research Initiative has created an initial infographic describing the conditions in Texas. The project includes qualitative research on death row conditions, as well as firsthand accounts from prisoners. Anthony Medina, a Texas…

In a letter to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, dated January 13, 2023, nine former Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) officials called attention to the trauma experienced by prison staff from repeated executions. The “relentless pace of executions means the prison never really returns to normal operations after the emotional and logistical upheaval of an execution,” explained the officials. “Indeed, reports from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary describe near-constant mock…

In an op-ed in The Tennessean, Dr. Keith Caruso, President of the Tennessee Psychiatric Association, shared the reasons behind the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) opposition to capital punishment for those with severe mental illness. He noted that in July 2020, the APA released a position statement aimed at protecting those with severe mental illness and disabilities, stating: “There should be a moratorium on capital punishment in the United States until jurisdictions seeking to…

In a 5 – 4 decision in Cruz v. Arizona on February 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held that John Cruz should have been able to inform his sentencing jury that if he were spared a death sentence, he never would have been eligible for parole. The Court said that its holding was in direct line with its previous decisions in Simmons v. South Carolina and Lynch v. Arizona, which established this right and its specific applicability to Arizona. This ruling not only allows Cruz to renew his appeal for…

John Huffington (pictured) has been exonerated of all the charges that sent him to death row over 40 years after his initial wrongful conviction. On January 13, 2023, outgoing Maryland Governor Larry Hogan granted a full pardon to Huffington, stating that evidence conclusively showed that his “convictions were in error.” After many appeals and two death sentences, Huffington eventually entered an “Alford Plea” in 2017, which led to a reduced sentence and eventually his release. This type of…

In the February 2023 edition of Discussions with DPIC, former Oregon Superintendent of Prisons Frank Thompson speaks with DPIC Managing Director Anne Holsinger about how his experiences as a corrections officer — as well as being a murder victim’s family member — have affected his views on capital punishment. Thompson oversaw the only two executions performed in Oregon in the past 50 years and was responsible for developing the execution protocol. He said the process of performing executions…

The cases of two defendants facing imminent execution raise concerns about the appropriateness of death sentences for those with severe mental illness or sharply-limiting mental disabilities. Andre Thomas is scheduled for execution on April 5, 2023 in Texas, despite suffering from mental illness so acute that he cut out both of his eyes and ate one, claiming that it was necessary to prevent the government from hearing his thoughts. Donald Dillbeck is scheduled for execution in Florida on…

In a 2022 article published in the Idaho Journal of Critical Legal Studies, author Sidney Balman (pictured), examines the relationship between racism and geographical arbitrariness in the application of the death penalty in the U.S. As in other areas of society, he finds that Black lives are not valued equally with others. He cites the Supreme Court’s decision in McCleskey v. Kemp (1987) as the main legal obstacle to reversing this bias affecting capital punishment. “Today,” he writes…

On February 16, 2023, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that he will continue his predecessor’s moratorium on executions and called upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly to repeal the death penalty. At a press conference in Philadelphia, the newly-elected Shapiro explained how his position on capital punishment has evolved and how his experience as the state’s Attorney General revealed two truths about the death penalty in the Commonwealth: “The system is fallible, and the outcome…