Publications & Testimony

Christa Pike remained alive more than an hour after the state of Tennessee began its attempt to execute her on September 30, 2026. It was the latest in a series of troubled executions by the Tennessee Department of Corrections. At a press conference outside the prison, media witnesses sharing their observations were interrupted by emergency vehicles arriving to take Ms. Pike to a local hospital. As outlined in the new execution protocol, Tennessee prison officials administered two doses of…

During a local news conference on September 21, 2026, family members of homicide victims whose cases remain unsolved in Arizona called for sustained attention and resources for unsolved homicide cases. The call, supported by Arizonans for Effective Public Safety — a project of Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona — comes amid broader questions about the costs and effectiveness of capital punishment in Arizona, and whether resources devoted to capital punishment and felony murder prosecutions…

For updates on the botched execution attempt of Christa Pike on September 30, please see our full story here. On September 28, 2026, Governor Bill Lee denied a clemency request from death-sentenced prisoner Christa Pike, who is scheduled to be executed on September 30. Gov. Lee announced, “[a]fter deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case,” he said he would uphold “the sentence of the State of Tennessee,” noting he did not…

Nearly two years after District Judge Arturo Nelson declared Texas death-sentenced prisoner Melissa Lucio “actually innocent,” the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) refused to accept the recommendation of the lower court to overturn her conviction. A closely divided TCCA declined “to adopt any of the habeas court’s findings and conclusions,” which the majority of the court wrote “exclusively reflect [Ms. Lucio’s] interpretation of the evidence and are often unsupported.” In its 5 – 4…

UPDATE: On September 25, counsel for William Thompson filed a new federal lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida, accusing several state actors and prison healthcare providers of denying Mr. Thompson of his “constitutional right to adequate medical care.” The lawsuit does not challenge Mr. Thompson’s death sentence or scheduled execution but rather asks the federal court to require that the named officials provide constitutionally required medical care for Mr. Thompson. The lawsuit asks for…

In the September 2026 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Emmjolee Mendoza Waters, Director of Death Penalty Abolition for Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), a national organization mobilizing people of Catholic faith and moral conviction around issues of criminal justice, including death penalty abolition and restorative justice. Ms. Mendoza Waters discusses why the Catholic Church opposes the death penalty and calls believers to…

The death penalty has been unconstitutional for juveniles since 2005, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people under age 18 lack the impulse control, foresight, and individuality that make adults more culpable for their crimes. In that decision, the Court acknowledged that the “qualities that distinguish juveniles from adults do not disappear when an individual turns 18.” Indeed, in the two decades since, experts have reached a broad consensus that emerging adults age 18, 19, and 20…

The state of Georgia planned to execute Stacey Humphreys by lethal injection on September 16, 2026, but Cobb County Superior Court Judge Tyler Browning issued a stay that was upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court citing the Georgia Survivor Justice Act — a state law that allows the courts to consider a defendant’s history of abuse and trauma in sentencing. Mr. Humphreys’ execution would have marked Georgia’s first execution in two years. Critics have long raised concerns about Georgia’s lethal…