Death Penalty Information Center
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"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: Washington, DC
Founded: 1990
Mission: The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. The Center was founded in 1990 and prepares in-depth reports, issues press releases, conducts briefings for journalists, and serves as a resource to those working on this issue. The Center is widely quoted and consulted by all those concerned with the death penalty.
Tags:
capital punishment, reports, research, resource, death penalty, juvenile justice, life without parole, mental illness, women, racial disparity, native americans, foreign nationals, military death penalty, crime victims
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Richard Dieter.
Richard C. Dieter is an attorney and native of New York City. He received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame and a masters degree from the Ohio State University. He graduated cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC. At Georgetown, he was one of the University's first Public Interest Law Scholars…
See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
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Total Revenue:
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From the Nonprofit
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Contact Info
Website:
E-Mail:
dpic AT deathpenaltyinfo.org
Phone:
202-289-2275
Facebook:
Address:
1015 18th St NW, Suite 704
Washington, DC 20036, USA
Twitter:
Story:
Facts about the death penalty:- Did you know that 34 states in the U.S. have the death penalty, and 16 states don't.
- In total, 1,272 people have been executed since 1976.
- Over 75% of the murder victims in cases resulting in an execution were white, even though nationally only 50% of murder victims generally are white.
- A study in California found that those who killed whites were over 3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks and over 4 times more likely than those who killed Latinos. (Pierce & Radelet, Santa Clara Law Review 2005).
- Since 1973, over 130 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. (Staff Report, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil & Constitutional Rights, Oct. 1993, with updates from DPIC).
- California has the highest number of death row inmates by state as of Jan 2011, with 721 inmates on death row.
Expert Reviews of Death Penalty Information Center
Evidence of Impact Summary:
The Death Penalty Information Center is cited as the go-to resource on research pertaining to the death penalty. In this capacity, the DPIC has been influential in raising awareness about death penalty issues and has helped shape public opinion on the topic.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
Experts have noted the DPIC’s strengths to be their ability to connect to the media on important issues, the high quality of their research, and their fair and balanced coverage of death penalty issues.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
The DPIC could benefit from more collaboration with local organizations to reduce duplicated efforts and to improve the sector as a whole. Experts have also noted that the group could somewhat improve on its framing of issues.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
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National Leader in Research |
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DPIC has had a long history of high quality and effective research and policy work. | ||
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DPIC is the very first place the public (and most significantly the press) goes to look for information regarding all death penalty issues. This impact cannot be understated. | ||
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The Death Penalty Information Center, based in Washington, DC, provides critical research and information on the death penalty issue. It serves as the voice of the issue on a national level and serves an essential communications role in the abolition movement. DPIC also provides in-depth analysis of trends and major developments on the issue, as well as research on public opinion. | ||
Credible Resource |
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DPIC has provided great research on the death penalty and has supplied data, as well as persuasive anecdotal information, to many other organizations. | ||
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DPIC is the first place to turn for information on the death penalty. It is an invaluable resource. | ||
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DPIC is the go-to resource for credible information on death penalty issues. The have a comprehensive website, and an excellent stock of reports. DPIC's latest report on the anniversary of Furman v. Georgia was the best summation I have read of the current state of capital punishment in America. | ||
Raises Awareness |
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The Death Penalty Information Center is the primary information and communications vehicle to educate the public and shape the national conversation about the death penalty in the U.S. DPIC's reports and research reach millions of people through the media. The DPIC opens the public's eyes to the incredible flaws that underpin America's death penalty. | ||
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This organization plays a major role is shaping the public and policy discussions in the country about the death penalty by giving accurate and clear information accompanied by clear and understandable framing. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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High Credibility |
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The relationship to NYU ensures ready access to academics. They have a very strong advisory board. | ||
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DPIC has a great reputation for accuracy. | ||
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DPIC has strong relationships with the media and provides critical leadership as it relates to communications strategies. Its materials, website, and reports are top-notch. | ||
Careful and Balanced Coverage of Issues |
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DPIC has always struck just the right tone in its numerous reports and in the press. | ||
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DPIC has managed to maintain credibility as a neutral reporter of the facts regarding an issue that is very polarizing. Their website is all-encompassing, and the reports they have issued are impactful in the world beyond death penalty litigation. In other words, their information has crossed over into the mainstream. | ||
Great Accessibility |
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DPIC has also assembled curriculum for high school and college students. The annual report is a mainstay, widely used by journalists. | ||
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Their research is accurate, timely, and informative without being inaccessible. They make an encyclopedic volume of information accessible and digestible to the masses. They are very skilled at getting their information in the media and shaping the analysis of any death penalty development. | ||
Effective Operations |
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They have a top drawer communications operation. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
More Collaboration with Local Organizations |
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Some in the community question if it is as collaborative with other criminal justice organizations as they should be to ensure systemic change across the entire sector. | ||
More Reports |
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As noted above, every report put out by DPIC has had a powerful impact. All I can say is that I'd like to see more reports of similar quality to the ones they have already put out. | ||
More Resources |
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Resources for more local briefings. | ||
More Original Work |
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They sometimes duplicate the work of others by engaging in more localized public education and training activities that might be better performed by an organization that is trying to build an advocacy constituency. They could use better graphic design. | ||
Greater Attention to Framing of Issues |
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They need to work a little on their information and framing around how the death penalty affects the families of murder victims. | ||
Leadership
Richard Dieter
Executive Director
Executive Director
Mr. Dieter has been the Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, DC since 1992. The Center is a non-profit organization serving the public and the media with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. The Center prepares in-depth reports, issues press releases, and conducts briefings for journalists and others working on this issue. Mr. Dieter has worked for many years on issues related to human rights and the death penalty, including work as the director of the Community for Creative Nonviolence’s pre-trial release program, the founder of the Alderson Hospitality House for visitors to the women’s federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia, and the founder of the Quixote Center’s death penalty project. He has given numerous speeches at universities and is frequently quoted in the major newspapers around the country. He has appeared on NBC Nightly News, ABC World News, CBS Evening News, The Today Show, PBS News Hour, Fox News, CNN, C-Span, Court-TV, and many other programs.
He has testified about the death penalty before numerous state legislatures and has prepared reports for the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. He has authored articles on the death penalty for both magazines and scholarly journals. His most recent publications are: • Smart on Crime: Reconsidering the Death Penalty in a Time of Economic Crisis • A Crisis of Confidence: Americans' Doubts About the Death Penalty; • and The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides. He has been an invited speaker at international events in Taiwan, Tokyo, Paris, London, and Beijing and recently testified at the European Parliament in Brussels. Mr. Dieter serves as vice-president of the board of directors of Human Rights USA.
From the Nonprofit
The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at
feedback@myphilanthropedia.org
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