KNOCK AT THE GATES

2014

Materials: code, data (mostly from the Death Penalty Information Center), the last words of inmates executed in Texas

KNOCK AT THE GATES is an interactive website that charts the history of the death penalty in the United States.

Capital punishment in the United States has been interrupted only once. Between 1968 and 1976, the Supreme Court heard three major cases that redefined sentencing laws across the country and commuted all prior death sentences to life in prison. Through a series of charts, graphs, and essays, KNOCK AT THE GATES examines the history of executions since the founding of the United States in 1776, with an emphasis on executions after1977.

KNOCK AT THE GATES was created in collaboration with John West and Gabe Isman, and it is a project of Etc. Gallery