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
Latest
Aug 08, 2024
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush Expresses Regrets Regarding His Experience with Capital Punishment: “I Was Very Uncomfortable With It”
In a July podcast episode from Deeper Dive with Dara Kam, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (pictured) spoke about his beliefs on capital punishment and his regrets about not having enough time to reform Florida’s death penalty process. Gov. Bush, who oversaw 21 executions during his eight years in office, said that “it’s one of those things that would probably be unpopular to do, but figuring out a way to reform the system given the existing laws that we have now, I think would be…
Read MoreAug 07, 2024
Worldwide Wednesday International Roundup: Belarus, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore
30-year-old German national Rico Krieger, who was sentenced to death on six charges related to terrorism, espionage, and mercenary activity, was pardoned by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on July 30, 2024, thereby converting his death sentence to a life prison term. On August 1, Mr. Krieger was subsequently released during the largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War, according to The Guardian. Eight Russian prisoners were released from Western nations, including…
Read MoreAug 06, 2024
Discussions with DPIC Podcast: Legal Fellow Leah Roemer on the Politicization of the Death Penalty
In this month’s episode of Discussions with DPIC, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Leah Roemer, DPIC’s Legal Fellow and a primary author of our recent report, Lethal Election: How the U.S. Electoral Process Increases the Arbitrariness of the Death Penalty. Leah graduated from Berkeley Law in 2023, where she participated in the Death Penalty Clinic and earned a certificate in Public Interest and Social Justice. Leah discusses how some judges, prosecutors, and…
Read MoreAug 05, 2024
New Report Reveals Texas Junk Science Statute Fails to Adequately Provide Relief for Innocent Prisoners, Including Robert Roberson
A July 2024 report from the Texas Defender Service (TDS), An Unfulfilled Promise: Assessing the Efficacy of 11.073, the first-ever comprehensive review of Texas’ junk science writ, revealed that the “law systematically fails to provide relief to innocent people convicted based on false forensic evidence.” In 2013, the Texas Legislature passed a first-of-its-kind law, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 11.073, creating a procedural pathway for convicted individuals to seek new…
Read MoreAug 02, 2024
Disability Pride Month Series: How Mitigation Specialists Help Protect Intellectually Disabled Defendants
In honor of Disability Pride Month (July), the Death Penalty Information Center posted a weekly feature highlighting issues related to the death penalty and disability and profiles of individuals who have played key roles in changing the laws to protect prisoners with disabilities. This final post focuses on the role of mitigation…
Read MoreAug 02, 2024
U.S. Military Reaches Plea Agreement to Avoid the Death Penalty with Three Men Accused of Plotting September 11 Attacks
UPDATE: On August 2nd, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin revoked the July 31, 2024 plea agreement reached between military commissions prosecutors and defense counsel for three of the 9/11 defendants being held at Guantanamo. In a two-paragraph memo, Secretary Austin revoked the authority of Susan Escallier, the head of the Military Commissions Convening Authority, to enter into the plea agreements and reserved that authority for himself. This unexpected development negates…
Read MoreAug 01, 2024
Missouri Supreme Court Blocks Attorney General’s Efforts to Prevent Innocence Hearing for Marcellus Williams
On July 26, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court denied Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s request to block an evidentiary hearing scheduled for August 21st, 2024, where the St. Louis County Circuit Court is set to hear evidence of Marcellus Williams’ (pictured) innocence. The circuit court set the August 21st hearing in response to a motion to vacate Mr. Williams’ conviction and death sentence filed by Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell in January 2024. In his motion, DA Bell wrote that the…
Read MoreJul 31, 2024
Articles of Interest: Lead Detective on Robert Roberson’s Case Now Believes He Is Innocent
Brian Wharton, who was the lead detective in Palestine, Texas at the time of Robert Roberson’s conviction for the death of his two-year-old daughter Nikki, now believes Mr. Roberson is innocent and supports abolition of the death penalty. Mr. Wharton said in a video for The New York Times that there is “unassailable doubt” that Mr. Roberson is…
Read MoreJul 29, 2024
Articles of Interest: Salt Lake Tribune Calls for Clemency for Taberon Honie, Urges Abolition of Death Penalty
With Utah preparing for its first execution in 14 years, one of the state’s leading newspapers has issued a call not only to spare Taberon Honie, the prisoner set for execution on August 8, 2024, but to end the practice of capital punishment altogether. In a July 25 editorial, the Salt Lake Tribune highlights Mr. Honie’s abusive upbringing and his sincere remorse for the crime, saying his case for clemency “is strong.” The day after the editorial was published, the Utah Board of Pardons and…
Read MoreJul 26, 2024
Analysis: Why Executive Officials Grant Clemency
In a new analysis, the Death Penalty Information Center has found that executive officials most often cite disproportionate sentencing, possible innocence, and mitigation factors such as intellectual disability or mental illness as reasons to grant clemency in capital cases. Ineffective defense lawyering and official misconduct are also common factors in clemency grants. While present in fewer cases, support for clemency from the victim’s family or a decisionmaker in the original trial, such…
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