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Earlene Peterson, whose daughter and granddaughter were killed, in her home in Hector, Ark., in 2019.
Feature July 24, 2020
Witnesses to the Execution
An oral history of the first federal execution under Donald Trump, as told by victims’ relatives, prison staff, and others.
By and
Two individuals in black suits walk through the entrance of a barbed wire fence. A tan prison is behind the fence.
Closing Argument January 27
New Execution Methods, Old Problems
What the first execution by nitrogen in the U.S. says about capital punishment.
By
Life Inside April 6, 2017
My Execution, 20 Days Away
In Arkansas, 8 men are scheduled to die by lethal injection this month.
By Kenneth Williams
News August 31, 2015
In the Execution Business, Missouri Is Surging
Defense lawyers call it a crisis; the state says it’s just doing its job.
By
Life Inside April 12, 2018
Why This Judge Dreads Execution Day
“I wondered whether the system I have been a part of for so long was, simply, barbaric.”
By Mike Lynch
A view of the execution chamber in Ely State Prison in Ely, Nevada, in 2016.
News August 30, 2017
Nevada Plans to Use Fentanyl in Upcoming Execution
Medical professionals say the state’s new lethal injection protocol “doesn’t make much sense.”
By
Q&A February 23, 2016
One Man’s Haunting Look at PTSD and His Brother’s Execution
The Oscar-nominated short ‘Last Day of Freedom’ traces the troubled life of a black veteran.
By
A photograph shows barbed wire and a prison tower at Holman Prison at sunset.
Death Sentences January 18
Vomiting, Seizures, Stroke: What Could Happen in the First Nitrogen Execution in the U.S.
A doctor on what’s new — and what isn’t — about the latest death penalty experiment.
By
An officer outside the the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the federal government was preparing to execute Daniel Lewis Lee in July 2020.
Death Sentences January 14, 2021
A $6,300 Bus. A $33 Last Meal. What New Documents Tell Us About Trump’s Execution Spree
Feds spent millions to restart the death penalty and in the process revealed much about how they do it.
By and
The Justice Department plans to execute Lezmond Mitchell at Terre Haute Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Case in Point September 17, 2019
The Navajo Nation Opposed His Execution. The U.S. Plans to Do It Anyway.
How Lezmond Mitchell became the only Native American on federal death row.
By
In a courtroom, a White man sits at a table peering over thick-rimmed black glasses. He is dressed in a gray-striped shirt. To his left is a woman standing in a white suit jacket and to his right is another woman, seated at the table next to him.
Death Sentences September 15, 2023
He’s Facing Execution For His Daughter’s Death. Now, Science Suggests It Was An Accident.
Robert Roberson is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to examine “shaken baby syndrome” and the state of forensic science.
By
Brian Dorsey, a White man with glasses wearing a white shirt, at the Potosi Correctional Center.
Death Sentences April 3
He Faces Execution. His Lawyers May Have Earned Less Than $4 per Hour.
Some death penalty lawyers get paid the same no matter how long they work on a case. Critics say it’s a perverse incentive when a life is at stake.
By and
Joaquín Chavez at the memorial near the scene where his son, Nicolas Chavez, was killed by Houston police, in Houston, Texas.
News June 19, 2020
“It Was An Execution”: Nicolas Chavez Was On His Knees When Police Killed Him. His Father Wants Answers.
The Houston shooting has sparked more questions about use of force and what many experts call the failed promise of police body cameras.
By and Mike Hixenbaugh
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, center, and San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos, right, announce a 2016 ballot initiative to speed up executions for murderers sentenced to death on Oct. 30. in Los Angeles.
News November 19, 2015
The Unfolding Campaign to Save the Death Penalty
Supporters rally around a more efficient system of execution.
By
Former Navarro County prosecutor, John H. Jackson, gets in his car on July 23, 2014 in Corsicana, Texas.
News March 18, 2015
Willingham Prosecutor Accused of Misconduct
State bar files charges more than 10 years after execution.
By Maurice Possley
News December 1, 2014
Crazy or Faking It?
The impending execution of Scott Panetti and the search for a standard of sanity.
By
Life Inside April 25, 2019
The Death Chamber Next Door
“It was as though a small part of me died with each execution.”
By Jeremy Busby
Rodney Reed, sentenced to death for the murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop County, Texas, in 1996, has received support from celebrities and politicians for his claim that he was wrongfully convicted.
News November 13, 2019
How Do You Prove You’re Innocent If You’re On Death Row?
Rodney Reed faces execution in Texas despite mounting evidence of innocence and bipartisan support.
By
Andrew Brannan in Vietnam circa 1969.
News January 13, 2015
Fit to be Killed?
The impending execution of a decorated soldier shows the limits of the PTSD defense.
By
A Dungeons and Dragons book titled “Dungeon Master’s Guide” sits atop a pile of scattered maps and drawings. Many of the hand-drawn maps are sketched on graph paper. Some pages contain details in color, and others are drawn in black-and-white.
Feature August 31, 2023
When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row
For men awaiting execution in Texas, illicit games of Dungeons & Dragons became a lifeline.
By
Billie Allen, center, with his friends on federal death row who were executed, from left: Orlando Hall, Corey Johnson, Dustin Higgs, Brandon Bernard and Christopher Andre Vialva.
Life Inside April 1, 2021
Living With Survivor’s Guilt on Federal Death Row
I escaped Donald Trump’s last-minute execution spree. Now I have to find a way to keep fighting.
By Billie J. Allen
Commentary November 18, 2015
Five Things Wrong With Georgia’s Death Penalty
On the eve of the next execution, a look at the state’s history of bad lawyering and faulty evidence.
By Sara J. Totonchi
News June 7, 2018
He Pocketed His Victims’ Organs. Was His Death Penalty Trial Fair?
As Andre Thomas faces execution for three gory murders, a court questions jury bias and his competency.
By
Case in Point April 17, 2019
He’s Living With Severe Mental Illness. Should He Face the Death Penalty?
A South Dakota case reflects the national debate on whether execution should be banned for the mentally ill.
By
Death Sentences February 10, 2021
What 120 Executions Tell Us About Criminal Justice in America
The Marshall Project tracked every execution in America for more than five years. For condemned people, the path to death grew longer, more winding and erratic.
By
John Henry Ramirez, who is incarcerated on death row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, in Livingston, Texas, on Sept. 1, 2021.
Death Sentences September 7, 2021
From Last Meals to Last Words, What Can Death Row Prisoners Request Before They Die?
As a Texas man sues for his pastor to touch him during his execution, a guide to rights for the condemned.
By and
Scott Dozier was sentenced to death for the 2002 murder of 22-year-old Jeremiah Miller.
News October 15, 2018
Scott Dozier Still Wants to be Executed. And He's Still Waiting.
After forcing Nevada into a legal battle over its lethal injection drugs, an execution “volunteer” says the state is punishing him.
By
Robert Roberson, a light-skinned man wearing a white prison uniform, looks through visitation room glass. A phone hangs on either side of the divider.
Closing Argument September 18
Robert Roberson’s Death Penalty Case Shows How Justice System Fails People With Autism
He was convicted in his daughter’s death. Those who believe he’s innocent argue his diagnosis helps explain how he ended up facing execution.
By
A black and white photo shows a black chair draped with a hood which Gilmore wore during the execution. The upper right part of the chair back has bullet holes. The chair is surrounded with sandbags.
Death Sentences April 8, 2022
The Return of the Firing Squad?
With a scarcity of lethal injection drugs, South Carolina has brought back an archaic execution method. In other states, men on death row are asking for it.
By
A light-skinned Hispanic man with close-cropped hair and tattoos on his arms uses the phone at the Polunsky Unit prison facility.
Life Inside June 24
A Death Row Prisoner’s Parting Interview
Days before his scheduled execution in Texas, Ramiro Gonzales speaks on faith, legacy — and apologizing to the family of his victim, Bridget Townsend.
By
Katherine Lam for The Marshall Project
Life Inside March 5, 2020
My Cell in Solitary Has a View: The Death House
“There are a lot of people working hard to pull off an execution successfully, and they don’t want to go through all of that just to be cheated out of it at the last minute by the guy committing suicide.”
By Lyle Wesley Andrews
Looking Back March 16, 2015
Cecil Clayton, a Man Missing Part of His Brain, is About to Be Executed
And he is not the first.
By
President Joe Biden at the White House in March.
Death Sentences March 12, 2021
How Biden Can Reverse Trump’s Death Penalty Expansion
Biden vowed to end the death penalty. A recent court filing suggests where he might start.
By
News May 15, 2015
Executing Tsarnaev? Not So Fast.
Like many states, the feds have trouble getting the killer drugs.
By
News January 16, 2015
Bad Blood
Lawyer v. Court. Guess who wins?
By
The viewing room looking into the new execution chamber at Ely State Prison in Nevada.
Commentary September 28, 2017
After Executions, Defense Attorneys Have Their Own Grief
A therapist on the emotional price lawyers pay to defend individuals sentenced to death.
Susannah Sheffer
News December 1, 2014
Ohio’s New Frontier in Secrecy
Protecting doctors who testify for lethal injections.
By
FILE - In this April 21, 1995 file photo, Timothy James McVeigh is lead out of the Noble County Courthouse by state and federal law enforcement officials in Perry, Okla., after being identified as a suspect in the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal building. McVeigh was sentenced to death and executed. (AP Photo/John Gaps III)
News May 15, 2015
McVeigh, Garza, Jones, Tsarnaev
A closer look at the three federal inmates who have been executed since the 1960s.
By
Analysis April 12, 2016
How the Drug Shortage Has Slowed the Death-Penalty Treadmill
Only 4 states are currently carrying out lethal injections, and 10 are considering other methods.
By and
Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala.
Commentary December 20, 2016
Waiting for a Reprieve That Never Comes
For defenders, the frantic paperwork ends, and so does a client’s life.
Leah A. Nelson
Raymond Riles, right, with Ronald O’Bryan at the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, Texas, in 1979. In that era, incarcerated people on death row could go to the exercise yard for three 90-minute periods a week.
Death Sentences February 4, 2021
He’s Too Mentally Ill to Execute. Why Is He Still on Death Row After 45 Years?
Raymond Riles has been on death row longer than anyone in America. He’s one of many who have languished there for decades with severe mental illnesses.
By and
Nebraska’s lethal injection chamber at the State Penitentiary in Lincoln.
News August 13, 2015
Life After Nebraska’s Death Penalty
How other states dealt with their death rows after killing capital punishment.
By
The execution chamber at the prison in Lucasville, Ohio. The curtain covers the window to the witness room.
Analysis October 18, 2017
A Long Decline in Executions Takes a Detour
Recent court rulings and start-stop access to lethal drugs push numbers up this year.
By and
The execution chamber at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas.
Coronavirus March 23, 2020
How Coronavirus is Disrupting the Death Penalty
Colorado abolished capital punishment. But COVID-19 is pausing it everywhere else.
By and
News December 1, 2014
A Plea from the Right
Conservative stalwarts urge Texas to spare Scott Panetti.
By
News January 31, 2015
The Great Ohio Death Drug Mystery
Who’s selling what to the executioner?
By
Lisa Montgomery, scheduled to be executed on Jan. 12, endured repeated abuse and trauma as a child, much like many of the people who have been executed in the United States.
Death Sentences January 8, 2021
What Lisa Montgomery Has In Common With Many On Death Row: Extensive Trauma.
Mental illness, childhood abuse and brain injuries affect a large share of those who face the death penalty.
By and
Gerald Pizzuto Jr., circa 2000.
Death Sentences May 6, 2021
They Are Terminally Ill. States Want To Execute Them Anyway.
“I don’t understand trying to kill somebody who is already dying,” says the sister of Idaho death-row prisoner Gerald Pizzuto.
By and
First & Latest September 30, 2015
Georgia Executed its First Woman in 70 Years
A closer look at why female executions are so rare.
By
Inside the execution chamber at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.
News December 7, 2015
The Death Penalty in 2015
Join us for a chat on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. about the state of the death penalty in 2015, and what's to come in 2016
By
News April 10, 2017
Here are the 7 men Arkansas plans to execute this month
The cases of the condemned capture much of the debate for and against the death penalty.
By
Feature June 1, 2015
After Lethal Injection
Three states, three ways to kill a human being.
By , and
The Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, where men on death row are held in solitary confinement.
Closing Argument October 14, 2023
A Chaotic Moment For The Death Penalty
Political and legal opinions are shifting on mental illness and capital punishment, but those on death row may be left behind.
By
Life Inside July 16, 2020
A Dispatch From Federal Death Row
Days before Daniel Lewis Lee became the first federal prisoner executed in 17 years, fellow death row resident Billie J. Allen wrote about the shared terror of wondering who’s next.
By Billie J. Allen
Commentary July 27, 2015
Executing ‘Idiots’
Would the Founders have protected people we execute now?
By Michael Clemente
The Rules April 3, 2015
Prison Bling
Keep it simple, keep it religious.
By
Quiz April 28, 2015
Executioners vs. Veterinarians
Which do we kill more humanely, our pets or condemned prisoners?
By
A condemned inmate is led out of his cell on death row at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California in 2016.
Crime on the Ballot November 9, 2016
The Death Penalty is Alive and Well
Voters in three states approve measures to strengthen capital punishment.
By
The execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 2014.
News January 3, 2018
What to Know About the Death Penalty in 2018
Here are the most important places to keep an eye on.
By
Feature June 9, 2015
The Burnout
Missouri keeps killing Jennifer Herndon’s clients. So she invented an alternate life.
By
Life Inside February 16, 2017
A Mother Visits Her Son, Who’s Condemned to Die in April
‘I can’t touch him and comfort him.’
By Marilyn Shankle-Grant as told to
The Texas execution chamber in Huntsville, Texas, on June 23, 2000.
Analysis June 30, 2016
It’s Been Almost Two Months Since the U.S. Executed Someone
We’re in the middle of one of the longest death penalty lulls in 24 years.
By
Quiz February 2, 2016
Is it O.K. to Quote Scripture When the Death Penalty Is at Stake?
Some judges say yes, some say no. Care to second guess?
By
Illustration of a white paper airplane flying in the sky with a faint city skyline with a blue and purple gradient in the background.
Cleveland Newsletter August 8
Private Centers Lack Oversight but Cuyahoga County Judges Send Kids Anyway
Court shutters one center after questions from Marshall Project - Cleveland.
By The Marshall Project - Cleveland
Justice Lab January 29, 2015
The Life-or-Death Test
Why are IQ scores still being used to determine who is fit to be executed?
By and
News April 29, 2015
A Death Penalty Case, or Just Bullying?
High Court’s conservatives bridle at ‘guerilla’ tactics of ‘abolitionist’ movement.
By
A corrections officer checks a death row cell at San Quentin State Prison in California.
Crime on the Ballot October 19, 2016
Three States to Watch if You Care About the Death Penalty
Nebraska, Oklahoma, and California will test the prospects of abolition.
By
Rodney Reed, pictured here meeting with TV celebrity Dr. Phil, is on death row at the Polunsky Unit in Texas. His case has drawn the support of Kim Kardashian West, Beyoncé, Oprah and Gigi Hadid.
Death Sentences July 16, 2021
Everyone on Death Row Gets a Lawyer. Not Everyone Gets a Kim Kardashian.
The case of Rodney Reed — whose innocence claims were championed by the reality TV star — raises questions about celebrities’ role in the criminal justice system.
by and
Feature January 6, 2019
The Volunteer
More than a year ago, Nevada death row prisoner Scott Dozier gave up his legal appeals and asked to be executed. He’s still waiting.
By
The still to be used lethal injection room at San Quentin State Prison, California. Opened in 2010 at the cost of $853,000.
News December 9, 2015
Highlights From Our Death Penalty Discussion
Journalists Liliana Segura, Gabriel Dance and Maurice Chammah took your questions about the death penalty and criminal justice reporting. Here are some of the highlights.
By
Raphael Holiday on October 28, 2015.
Commentary December 17, 2015
Raphael Holiday was Put to Death, and His Lawyers Should Have Tried Harder to Stop It
Gretchen Sween was hired a month before Holiday was executed. This is what she saw.
By Gretchen Sween
News June 29, 2015
Controlled Substances
Are U.S. drug companies against the death penalty? Sort of.
By
From left, Oklahoma state Rep. Kevin McDugle, Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach and South Dakota state Sen. Arthur Rusch have filed bills to reform the death penalty in their states.
Death Sentences April 15, 2021
Can The Death Penalty Be Fixed? These Republicans Think So
A growing number of conservative lawmakers want to overhaul capital punishment, or end it.
By and
Attorney Jennifer Herndon outside the Thomas F. Eagleton U. S. Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, Mo., in June 2015.
News August 26, 2015
Doubting Jennifer Herndon
An appeals lawyer who has represented more than a half-dozen men put to death in Missouri faces questions about her competency.
By
Texas’s independent monitor for juvenile prisons like the Gainesville State School has suspended its monthly visits because of COVID-19.
Coronavirus March 17, 2020
As COVID-19 Measures Grow, Prison Oversight Falls
“We now have no idea what’s going on inside.”
By
Analysis June 29, 2015
A Victory for Lethal Injection
And a blazing battle over the death penalty itself.
By
Robert and Michael Meeropol ride in a car to visit their parents in Sing-Sing prison in 1953.
Commentary July 2, 2018
An Irrevocable Separation
When the government executed Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the welfare of their two boys was a secondary concern.
By Robert Meeropol
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks during a conference at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City on Aug. 1, 2024. Bailey has aggressively pushed back on efforts by local prosecutors and judges to toss out convictions of people with innocence claims.
Closing Argument August 17
How Prosecutors Fight Exonerations
As laws are passed to support the wrongfully convicted, some officials in the legal system push back.
By
Commentary March 19, 2015
The Petri Dish
Georgia has become the laboratory of criminal justice reform.
By
Commentary March 6, 2016
The First Time Texas Killed One of My Clients
An attorney pieces together a life cut short.
By Burke M. Butler
Protesters attend a rally in downtown San Francisco, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004, to denounce the Feb. 10 execution of Kevin Cooper at San Quentin State Penitentiary. Cooper was convicted of murdering two children and two adults in a Chino Hills home shortly after escaping from the California Institution for Men in nearby Chino in 1983. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Life Inside March 31, 2016
What It’s Like to Almost Get Executed
San Quentin inmate Kevin Cooper on watching the minutes tick away on his life.
By Kevin Cooper
Life Inside March 16, 2017
The Death Row Basketball League
Always playing against the clock.
By Lyle May
The witness room next to the execution chamber of Florida State Prison in Raiford, Fl.
Analysis January 12, 2016
A New Blow to Florida’s Death Penalty
The U.S. Supreme Court says state judges cannot sentence death without a jury’s mandate
By
Commentary November 30, 2014
What Death Penalty Opponents Don’t Get
There are fates worse than death.
By Jam ES Ridgeway and Jean Casella
News and Awards September 26, 2016
The Marshall Project Launches Klaxon
Open-source reporting tool enables reporters to monitor websites for breaking news
By The Marshall Project
News March 16, 2017
A New Florida Prosecutor Says ‘No’ to the Death Penalty
But the tough-on-crime establishment fights back.
By
Dawn breaks over Arizona State Prison Complex Eyman, where death row prisoners are housed, outside Florence, Ariz., in 2010.
News July 23, 2017
Condemned to Death — And Solitary Confinement
Arizona is set to become the latest state to move away from automatic isolation for death row inmates.
By
A black and white photo of an empty electric chair through a doorway.
Death Sentences June 29, 2022
The Supreme Court Let The Death Penalty Flourish. Now Americans are Ending It Themselves.
As Roe v. Wade ends, a look back at how the court reversed itself on capital punishment — spurring an anti-death penalty movement.
By
Looking Back April 30, 2015
‘No Human Is Wise Enough to Decide Who Should Die’
The life and death of Robert Utter, former state Supreme Court justice and death penalty opponent.
By
Aaron Thomas, 23, of Opelousas, LA., convicted of murder and sentence to death before the U.S. Supreme Court...s ruling on the death penalty as unconstitutional, looks through the bars of his cell on death row at the Louisiana State Prison in Angola, Louisiana on August 3, 1974. He is appealing his case but has not asked for re-sentencing. (AP Photo/Jack Thornell)
News April 28, 2016
A Death Sentence in Louisiana Rarely Means You’ll be Executed
Over the last 40 years, reversals have become commonplace.
By
A 2008 photo of the execution chamber in McAlester, Oklahoma.
News March 15, 2018
Why Oklahoma Plans to Execute People With Nitrogen
The state knows shockingly little about how this would work.
By
Scharlette Holdman, pictured here in 2017, was a well-known death penalty mitigation specialist.
News July 13, 2017
We Saw Monsters. She Saw Humans.
Scharlette Holdman, pioneering foe of the death penalty, dies at 70.
By
A collage shows a color photo of a young White man with glasses and brown hair looking to the side while sitting down. In the foreground and out of focus, two men speak with each other. Around the photo are illustrations depicting a sonogram and brain scan, and photos of a middle-aged White man at a podium and of a memorial with candles and photos.
Feature September 17
5 Things to Know About How the Parkland Shooter’s Life Was Spared
Key takeaways from our investigation into how Nikolas Cruz’s defense team convinced jurors not to impose the death penalty.
By Joe Sexton
Melissa Lucio, who has long brown hair and is wearing a white prison uniform, sits behind glass at a prison.
Death Sentences February 24, 2022
How Melissa Lucio Went From Abuse Survivor to Death Row
Why some trauma victims are more likely to take responsibility for crimes, even when they may be innocent.
By
A White man in a black jacket leans his head forward as another White man, who is wearing a red cap and suit, talks to him.
Closing Argument April 22, 2023
How the Death Penalty Is Returning to Presidential Politics
Trump and DeSantis want to make it easier to execute people, and Biden could face a rush of clemency requests from federal death row.
By
Gov. Jeff Landry, a White man wearing a blue suit and red tie, speaking at a podium in January 2024.
Closing Argument March 9
These States Are Once Again Embracing ‘Tough-on-Crime’ Laws
Louisiana is one of several states passing punitive measures in response to public fears.
By
News January 20, 2015
The Near Death of Mark Christeson
He was nearly executed because his lawyers missed a filing deadline. Now the Supreme Court has weighed in on what should happen next.
By
Jamiles Lartey, left, and Cary Aspinwall.
News and Awards July 22, 2019
Reporters Jamiles Lartey and Cary Aspinwall join The Marshall Project
They are part of a new team focusing on the high incarceration states of the American South.
By The Marshall Project
Case in Point January 29, 2018
Justice Poker
Sometimes capital punishment is just the luck of the draw.
By
A light-skinned Hispanic man with close-cropped hair and tattoos on his arms uses the phone at the Polunsky Unit prison facility.
Death Sentences June 27
This Doctor Helped Send Ramiro Gonzales to Death Row. Now He’s Changed His Mind.
Texas plans to execute Gonzales this week even though the expert witness says he isn’t a ‘threat to society.’
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