Issues

More than 200 men and women have been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. since 1976. Some have come within hours of execution. As long as we have a death penalty, there will always be a risk of executing an innocent person.

The racial bias that plagues our criminal punishment system and perpetuates mass incarceration cannot be eliminated without addressing the role of the death penalty. Race continues to have a significant influence on who is condemned to die in this country (both the race of the victim and of the race of the accused person).

The death penalty is applied in an arbitrary manner, determined primarily by inappropriate factors, such as what county the crime is committed in, the ability of the defendant to obtain and pay for a qualified attorney, and the race and economic status of the victims, instead of the nature of the crime. Two identical crimes that take place just miles apart will frequently result in completely different sentences depending on the whims of the local prosecutor.

The death penalty is not an effective response to violence. Not only does the death penalty fail to deter crime, but it takes precious tax-payer dollars away from more effective programs that have actually been shown to make our communities safer. The funds currently spent on the death penalty could be better used on data-driven public safety programs, including mental health programs, violence interruption programs such as Ceasefire, youth programs, and on addressing the needs of victims.

Study after study shows that the death penalty is significantly more expensive than a sentence of life in prison, while providing no additional benefit to society. Death penalty cases are expensive because of long court delays and the added protections that are constitutionally mandated when execution is on the table. Trying to make the death penalty less expensive will only make the process slower and increase the risk of executing an innocent person. Public safety resources currently spent on pursuing execution for individuals already behind bars would be far better used on supporting the needs of victims, investing in effective violence prevention programs, and addressing the nearly 63% of violent crimes (including rapes) and 42% of homicides that routinely go unsolved.

The death penalty traps victims’ families in a decades-long cycle of uncertainty, court hearings, and waiting. There are many ways to address the trauma experienced by victims’ families that don’t include forcing them to wait years or decades for an execution that may never come. We should be looking for ways we can support victims’ families outside of the criminal legal system, including providing counseling services, burial reimbursement, and other forms of support.

The U.S. is an international outlier on the death penalty. The U.S is among only a handful of nations still carrying out executions, including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, and Somalia. A 2024 report by Amnesty International found that the U.S. had the 7th highest number of executions worldwide. Three-quarters of the world’s countries have abandoned capital punishment in law or practice.

The death penalty is disproportionately used against America’s most vulnerable populations, including individuals with severe mental illnesses, intellectual disabilities, brain injuries, and long histories of childhood trauma and abuse, as well as youthful offenders.