Death Penalty Information Center

Last updated
Death Penalty Information Center
Formation1990;34 years ago (1990)
TypeNon-profit organization
PurposeInformation on issues concerning capital punishment
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Website deathpenaltyinfo.org

The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on disseminating studies and reports related to the death penalty. Founded in 1990, DPIC is primarily focused on the application of capital punishment in the United States.

Contents

DPIC does not take a formal position on the death penalty but is critical of how it is administered. [1] [2] [3] As a result, some have referred to it as an anti-death penalty organization. [4] [5] According to a pro-death penalty prosecutor, DPIC is "probably the single most comprehensive and authoritative internet resource on the death penalty" but "makes absolutely no effort to present any pro-death penalty views." [6] However, the DPIC's award-winning Educational Curriculum on the Death Penalty includes a discussion of commonly raised arguments both for and against the death penalty. [7]

In June 2022, on the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia, DPIC released its Death Penalty Census, which covers the period from 1972 to January 1, 2021. The database was the result of a years-long effort. [8] The Death Penalty Census will be updated periodically, includes death sentences imposed in U.S. state, federal, and military courts, and includes numerous details about each case. [9]

Personnel and funding

Robert Dunham was the center's executive director from March 2015 through January 2023, succeeding Richard Dieter. Dieter had been executive director since 1992 when the original director, Michael A. Kroll resigned. George H. Kendall, of counsel at the national law firm, Squire Patton Boggs, is president of the board of directors. He succeeded David J. Bradford, co-chairman of the litigation department for the national law firm, Jenner & Block, and the founding attorney of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, and Michael Millman.

DPIC has received funding from a number of American philanthropic foundations. In 2009, the organization also received funding from the European Union. [10] DPIC has been ranked among the Top Criminal Justice Nonprofits by Philanthropedia. [11]

Reports

DPIC releases an annual report on the death penalty, [12] highlighting significant developments and trends and featuring the latest statistics. The center also produces in-depth reports on various issues related to the death penalty such as arbitrariness, costs, innocence, and race. [13] In November 2018, it issued a major report on lethal-injection secrecy entitled, Behind the Curtain: Secrecy and the Death Penalty in the United States. [14] In September 2020, it issued a new report on race and the death penalty entitled, Enduring Injustice: The Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty. [15] Associated Press described the report as "a history lesson in how lynchings and executions have been used in America and how discrimination bleeds into the entire criminal justice system. It traces a line from lynchings of old — killings outside the law — where Black people were killed in an effort to assert social control during slavery and Jim Crow, and how that eventually translated into state-ordered executions." [16]

Innocence List

In 1993, the United States House Committee on the Judiciary asked DPIC for assistance in identifying the risks that innocent people might be executed. That request led to the creation of DPIC's Innocence List. [17] DPIC has continued to update the list, which as of February 1, 2023, documented 190 exonerations of persons who had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. [18] The list does not include individuals who are innocent of the murder, but were involved in the crime in some lesser manner, or innocent prisoners who nonetheless pled guilty or no-contest to lesser crimes they did not commit in order to ensure their release from prison. [19]

In February 2021, DPIC issued a Special Report: The Innocence Epidemic, analyzing the causes and demographics of the wrongful capital convictions and death sentences that had led to the then-185 death-row exonerations since 1973. [20] DPIC found that these wrongful capital convictions had taken place in 118 different counties across 29 different states.

Botched executions

The DPIC website contains a page devoted to U.S. executions that death-penalty experts have considered to have been "botched." This includes a statistical analysis by Amherst College Prof. Austin Sarat, which found 276 executions between 1890 and 2010 that Sarat deemed to be botched. His definition of "botched" was an execution that deviated from the established execution protocol in a manner that "involv[ed] unanticipated problems or delays that caused, at least arguably, unnecessary agony for the prisoner or that reflect[ed] gross incompetence of the executioner." [21] The page features a list and brief description of botched executions in the modern U.S. death-penalty era, which included 51 examples as of March 1, 2018.

In 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Baze v. Rees , a case challenging the three-drug cocktail used for many executions by lethal injection. The respondent's lawyer, Roy T. Englert, Jr., criticized DPIC's botched executions list, on the grounds that a majority of the executions on it "did not involve the infliction of pain, but were only delayed by technical problems", such as difficulty in finding a suitable vein. [22] However, the list also contains cases of prisoners catching on fire in electric chair executions, a prisoner moaning and banging his head against a steel pole in a gas chamber execution carried out by a drunk executioner in Mississippi in 1983, and numerous instances of coughing, spasming, groaning, and gasping during executions. [21]

The majority and dissenting justices of the U.S. Supreme Court cited data on the DPIC webpage a total of eight times — and in all three opinions — in the 2015 lethal injection case, Glossip v. Gross . [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lethal injection</span> Form of execution involving injection of chemicals into the bloodstream

Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broader sense to include euthanasia and other forms of suicide. The drugs cause the person to become unconscious, stops their breathing, and causes a heart arrhythmia, in that order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric chair</span> Execution method

The electric chair is a specialized device employed for carrying out capital punishment through the process of electrocution. During its use, the individual sentenced to death is securely strapped to a specially designed wooden chair and electrocuted via strategically positioned electrodes affixed to the head and leg. This method of execution was conceptualized by Alfred P. Southwick, a dentist based in Buffalo, New York, in 1881. Over the following decade, this execution technique was developed further, aiming to provide a more humane alternative to the conventional forms of execution, particularly hanging. The electric chair was first utilized in 1890 and subsequently became known as a symbol of this method of execution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas chamber</span> Sealed room into which gas is pumped in, causing death by poisoning or asphyxiation

A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in the United States</span> Legal penalty in the United States

In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 states currently have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

Wrongful execution is a miscarriage of justice occurring when an innocent person is put to death by capital punishment. Cases of wrongful execution are cited as an argument by opponents of capital punishment, while proponents say that the argument of innocence concerns the credibility of the justice system as a whole and does not solely undermine the use of the death penalty.

Hill v. McDonough, 547 U.S. 573 (2006), was a United States Supreme Court case challenging the use of lethal injection as a form of execution in the state of Florida. The Court ruled unanimously that a challenge to the method of execution as violating the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution properly raised a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which provides a cause of action for civil rights violations, rather than under the habeas corpus provisions. Accordingly, that the prisoner had previously sought habeas relief could not bar the present challenge.

Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008), is a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which upheld the constitutionality of a particular method of lethal injection used for capital punishment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Alabama</span> Legal punishment in Alabama

Capital punishment in Alabama is a legal penalty. Alabama has the highest per capita capital sentencing rate in the United States. In some years, its courts impose more death sentences than Texas, a state that has a population five times as large. However, Texas has a higher rate of executions both in absolute terms and per capita.

Wilkerson v. Utah, 99 U.S. 130 (1879), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court affirmed the judgment of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Utah in stating that execution by firing squad, as prescribed by the Utah territorial statute, was not cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

William Earl Lynd was an American murderer who was executed by the state of Georgia for the 1988 murder of his then-girlfriend, Ginger Moore. He was notable for being the first person to be executed in the United States after the Baze v. Rees ruling.

Participation of medical professionals in American executions is a controversial topic, due to its moral and legal implications. The practice is proscribed by the American Medical Association, as defined in its Code of Medical Ethics. The American Society of Anesthesiologists endorses this position, stating that lethal injections "can never conform to the science, art and practice of anesthesiology".

Romell Broom was an American death row inmate who was convicted of murder, kidnapping and rape. He was sentenced to death for the 1984 murder of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton. Broom was scheduled to be executed on September 15, 2009, but after executioners failed to locate a vein he was granted a reprieve. A second execution attempt was scheduled for June 2020, which was delayed until March 2022. Broom died from COVID-19 in prison before the sentence could be carried out.

Glossip v. Gross, 576 U.S. 863 (2015), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held, 5–4, that lethal injections using midazolam to kill prisoners convicted of capital crimes do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court found that condemned prisoners can only challenge their method of execution after providing a known and available alternative method.

Richard Eugene Glossip is an American prisoner currently on death row at Oklahoma State Penitentiary after being convicted of commissioning the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese. The man who murdered Van Treese, Justin Sneed, had a "meth habit" and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for testifying against Glossip. Sneed received a life sentence without parole. Glossip's case has attracted international attention due to the unusual nature of his conviction, namely that there was little or no corroborating evidence, with the first case against him described as "extremely weak" by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Kentucky.

Bucklew v. Precythe, 587 U.S. ___ (2019), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the standards for challenging methods of capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In a 5–4 decision, the Court held that when a convict sentenced to death challenges the State's method of execution due to claims of excessive pain, the convict must show that other alternative methods of execution exist and clearly demonstrate they would cause less pain than the state-determined one. The Court's opinion emphasized the precedential force of its prior decisions in Baze v. Rees and Glossip v. Gross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Execution of John Grant</span> 2021 execution by the state of Oklahoma

The execution of John Grant took place in the U.S. state of Oklahoma by means of lethal injection. Grant was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of prison cafeteria worker Gay Carter.

<i>Glossip v. Chandler</i>

Glossip v. Chandler is a United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma case in which the plaintiffs challenged the State of Oklahoma's execution protocol. The initial lawsuit, Glossip v. Gross, rose to the United States Supreme Court in 2015 at the preliminary injunction stage and involved an earlier version of Oklahoma's lethal injection protocol. The case was reopened in the District Court in 2020 following an end to Oklahoma's moratorium on executions.

References

  1. ↑ "Grant Schulte, Associated Press, Company: Nebraska shouldn't have gotten death penalty drug". Lincoln Journal Star . April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Alan Blinder, Alabama Inmate, 75, Hopes to Dodge Death for an Eighth Time". The New York Times . May 24, 2017. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Zusha Elinson and Beth Reinhard, Effort Expands to Boost Punishment for Police Killers" . The Wall Street Journal . June 8, 2017. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Three States Accounted For 80 Percent Of Executions in 2014". The Huffington Post . Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  5. ↑ Latzer, Barry (October 27, 2010). Death Penalty Cases: Leading U.S. Supreme Court Cases on Capital Punishment. Elsevier. p. 21. ISBN   978-0123820259.
  6. ↑ "1000+ Death Penalty Links". The ClarkCounty Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty" . Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Death Penalty Census Codebook" (PDF).
  9. ↑ "Death Penalty Census Database" . Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  10. ↑ "List of Projects financed under EIDHR" (PDF). European Commission . Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  11. ↑ "About Us". Death Penalty information Center. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  12. ↑ "The Death Penalty in 2022: Year End Report" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Reports". Death Penalty information Center. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Behind the Curtain: Secrecy and the Death Penalty in the United States" (PDF). Death Penalty information Center. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Enduring Injustice: The Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty" (PDF). Death Penalty information Center. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Colleen Long, Report: Death penalty cases show history of racial disparity". Associated Press. 15 September 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Innocence and the Death Penalty: Assessing The Danger of Mistaken Executions". Death Penalty Information Center. October 21, 1993. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Innocence Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Additional Innocence Information". Death Penalty Information Center. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  20. ↑ "DPIC Special Report: The Innocence Epidemic". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  21. 1 2 "Botched Executions". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  22. ↑ Baze v. Rees oral arguments.
  23. ↑ "Glossip v. Gross" (PDF).
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