- Unqualified, untrained personnel making life and death decisions;
- State secrecy laws, that protect government officials from oversight and accountability;
- Good and well-meaning public servants corrupted as they are pulled deeper into the nightmare of doing the impossible: killing another human being; and
- Corrections staff making important legal and moral decisions about the death penalty undermined by uninformed and incorrect political considerations.
- The murder rate is lowest in the Northeast — the region with the lowest number of executions. By contrast, the South carries out the most executions of any region, and has the highest murder rate in the United States.
- In 2014, there were only 72 new death sentences nationwide; 80% of the 35 executions that took place in 2014 took place in just three states (Texas, Florida and Missouri).
- The Pew Research Center found that public support for the death penalty is at a 40-year low at just 56% and opposition to the death penalty has increased to 38%. Moreover, public support shifts easily away when presented with alternatives.
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The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is the nation’s oldest organization dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty. We are comprised of an extensive network representing more than 100 state and national affiliate organizations and thousands of advocates and volunteers. Our members include families of murder victims, people across the political and religious spectrum, past and present law enforcement officials and prominent civil and racial justice organizations working to end the death penalty forever.
In January 2014, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty launched the 90 Million Strong Campaign to partner with and mobilize a growing number of national organizations and individuals who believe that it is time for the death penalty to end.
