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A black and white photo of an empty electric chair through a doorway.
Death Sentences June 29
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 Maurice Chammah
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
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 Maurice Chammah
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 Keri Blakinger and Maurice Chammah
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 Maurice Chammah and Keri Blakinger
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 Maurice Chammah and Keri Blakinger
A women kneels in front of a memorial at Gold Spa, one of three Atlanta-area spas targeted in a mass shooting that killed eight people, on March 18, 2021.
Death Sentences April 5, 2021
Death Penalty for Mass Shooters? Depends On Where They Strike.
The men arrested in recent killings in Atlanta, Boulder, Colorado, and Orange, California, could face very different sentences if convicted.
By Maurice Chammah and Keri Blakinger
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 Keri Blakinger
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 Tom Meagher
Jerry Jurek was convicted of killing 10-year-old Wendy Adams in 1973. His case went to the Supreme Court as one of several testing new death penalty laws around the country. Pictured here in 1979, left, and 2015, right.
Looking Back January 26, 2021
The Case That Made Texas the Death Penalty Capital
In an excerpt from his new book, ‘Let the Lord Sort Them,’ Marshall Project staff writer Maurice Chammah explains where a 1970s legal team fighting the death penalty went wrong.
By Maurice Chammah
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 Keri Blakinger and Maurice Chammah
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