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The still to be used lethal injection room at San Quentin State Prison, California. Opened in 2010 at the cost of $853,000.

Capital Punishment

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Closing Argument
Robert Roberson’s Death Penalty Case Shows How Justice System Fails People With Autism
He was convicted in his daughter’s death. Those who believe he’s innocent argue his diagnosis helps explain how he ended up facing execution.
Robert Roberson, a light-skinned man wearing a white prison uniform, looks through visitation room glass. A phone hangs on either side of the divider.
A photo of nine people holding red signs with dates and names in front of a white, columned marble building.
Feature September 17
Could People Facing the Death Penalty Lose the Right to Tell Juries Their Life Stories?
Some defense lawyers fear that a conservative Supreme Court could overturn that precedent.
By Joe Sexton
A collage shows a color photo of a young White man with glasses and brown hair looking to the side while sitting down. In the foreground and out of focus, two men speak with each other. Around the photo are illustrations depicting a sonogram and brain scan, and photos of a middle-aged White man at a podium and of a memorial with candles and photos.
Feature September 17
5 Things to Know About How the Parkland Shooter’s Life Was Spared
Key takeaways from our investigation into how Nikolas Cruz’s defense team convinced jurors not to impose the death penalty.
By Joe Sexton
Feature September 17
The Hardest Case for Mercy
Inside the effort to spare the Parkland school shooter.
By Joe Sexton
A light-skinned Hispanic man with close-cropped hair and tattoos on his arms uses the phone at the Polunsky Unit prison facility.
Death Sentences June 27
This Doctor Helped Send Ramiro Gonzales to Death Row. Now He’s Changed His Mind.
Texas plans to execute Gonzales this week even though the expert witness says he isn’t a ‘threat to society.’
By and
A light-skinned Hispanic man with close-cropped hair and tattoos on his arms uses the phone at the Polunsky Unit prison facility.
Life Inside June 24
A Death Row Prisoner’s Parting Interview
Days before his scheduled execution in Texas, Ramiro Gonzales speaks on faith, legacy — and apologizing to the family of his victim, Bridget Townsend.
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Analysis December 20, 2023
Some of Our Best Work of 2023
In podcasts, broadcasts and narrative stories, we examined prison conditions, prosecutions of pregnant women, Dungeons & Dragons on death row, and more.
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A Dungeons and Dragons book titled “Dungeon Master’s Guide” sits atop a pile of scattered maps and drawings. Many of the hand-drawn maps are sketched on graph paper. Some pages contain details in color, and others are drawn in black-and-white.
Feature August 31, 2023
When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row
For men awaiting execution in Texas, illicit games of Dungeons & Dragons became a lifeline.
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A group of two men and two women hug in a courtroom full of people.
Death Sentences October 31, 2022
Would a Death Sentence Help The Parkland Families Heal?
Outrage around the school shooter’s sentence reveals tensions between what some victims’ families want and the justice system’s limits.
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A black and white photo of an empty electric chair through a doorway.
Death Sentences June 29, 2022
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.
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