Every detective squad keeps a murder board: the suspect in the middle, the evidence pinned around it, red string tying each piece to what it proves. This one investigates a killing the government carries out in the public’s name. The suspect is the death penalty itself. For fifty years it has been defended as accurate, fair and necessary. Here is the evidence. Open any exhibit to read the file and its sources.
Last updated: November 9, 2026. Figures come from the Death Penalty Information Center and the studies it reports, as cited in each file.
The suspect is the system.
Click any card to open its file and sources. Click a charge to follow its string.
Where DPI’s own pages differ by one case (202 and 203 exonerations), this board uses the most recently updated page. Upcoming dates are tracked on the Execution Calendar.