Death Penalty Information Center Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Democrats Unveil Legislation To Abolish The Federal Death Penalty

By NPR News January 11, 2021

Protesters gather near the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., in August ahead of the scheduled execution of Keith Dwayne Nelson, who was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering at 10-year-old Kansas girl. Democrats are pushing new legislation to outlaw federal executions. CREDIT: Michael Conroy/AP

The Democratic proposal, shared first with NPR, comes as the party will have unified control of Congress after victories in two Georgia Senate races, a change in fortunes for Democratic legislative priorities. The legislation would end capital punishment at the federal level and require the resentencing of all federal inmates on death row.Read More

Americans Are Divided On Federal Executions. Why Is The Trump Administration Reviving Them?

By PBS Newshour July 26, 2019

The execution chamber at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Florence is shown in a screen grab from a video provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections on March 4, 2015. Courtesy Arizona DOC-REUTERS

The first federal inmate scheduled to be executed under the newly re-opened policy is Danny Lewis Lee, a white supremacist from the Spokane, Wash., area convicted of three murders in Arkansas and bombing Spokane City Hall in 1996.Read More

Federal Government To Resume Capital Punishment After Nearly 20-Year Hiatus

By NPR News July 25, 2019

U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Attorney General sign. CREDIT: Patrick Semansky/AP

"The Justice Department upholds the rule of law — and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system," Attorney General William Barr said.Read More