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Death Penalty
Does the death penalty serve as a deterrent for crime? The research says no. Leading criminologists overwhelmingly agree that there is no evidence capital punishment deters violent crimes. Not only is the death penalty unjust and inconsistent with the fallibility of our criminal legal system, but application of the death penalty is racially biased.
State Reform Media
Additional Resources on the Death Penalty
Death Penalty BYOC Training Programs
NACDL on the Death Penalty
"The death penalty is barbaric. And I think we as a society need to come face-to-face with that. If we’re not willing to face up to the cruelty, we ought not be doing it."
- Alex Kozinski, United State Court of Appeals Judge for the Ninth Circuit
NACDL opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and supports reforms to ensure that innocent persons are not executed. Purely retributive in nature — countless studies show that it does not deter crime — the death penalty is unjust, uncivilized, and inconsistent with the fallibility of our justice system. Since reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, more than 1,576 people have been executed in the United States. During the same time, more than 195 people sentenced to death have been exonerated. Many others have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment because of serious doubts about their guilt. And some have been tragically executed despite serious questions concerning their innocence.
Because we believe that no amount of tinkering will rescue the death penalty from its inherent flaws, NACDL supports legislation to abolish the death penalty. View NACDL's Board Resolution Calling for a Moratorium on and Abolition of the Death Penalty.
State specific NACDL board resolutions related to the death penalty:
2012 - Endorsing Proposition 34 to End the Death Penalty in California
2011 - Calling for Abolition of the Death Penalty in Illinois
2007 - Commending New Jersey Legislature's Death Penalty Study Commission
Why I Oppose the Death Penalty
See NACDL Former Executive Director Norman L. Reimer's interview about why he is opposed to the death penalty.
Recent Victories
March 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill repealing the death penalty, making Virginia the 23rd state, and the first southern state, to abolish or overturn the death penalty. 
March 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law a bill repealing the death penalty, making Colorado the 22nd state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to abolish or overturn the death penalty. 
May 2019, the New Hampshire legislature overrode Governor Sununu's veto of its legislation repealing the death penalty, making New Hampshire the 21st state in the nation to abolish or overturn the death penalty.
October 2018, the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously declared the state’s death penalty unconstitutional, making it the 20th state to abolish the death penalty.
State Death Penalty Reform
Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. have abolished the death penalty, while an additional three states have a governor-issued moratorium. NACDL has engaged in state legislative efforts across the country to abolish the death penalty. Consider joining NACDL’s State Criminal Justice Network (SCJN) to exchange information, share resources, and develop strategies for repealing the death penalty and enacting other pressing reforms.
State Criminal Justice Network
