Executions in the United States are not public events. Photography has never been allowed in prison death chambers during executions in modern times. Coupled with the fact that many executions take place in the middle of the night and are sanitized by the government for the media, very few people see or experience the full extent of what transpires when the state carries out a death sentence.

Originally conceived as a college class assignment, more than two-decades later Scott is still capturing moments both inside and outside of prisons during executions – telling the story of what occurs when the government kills its prisoners and who the process impacts.

The project consists of thousands of images, making it the largest photo documentary ever about the death penalty's modern era in the United States – bringing together the unique combination of photography, journalism and education into one powerful project.

The project is Scott's effort as an independent photojournalist and as a social justice advocate to expose the reality of capital punishment through a sociological and human rights lens.

The photos are used regularly by organizations, schools, book publishers, filmmakers, and news outlets. With printed exhibits available on loan, the photos have been displayed in hundreds of schools, libraries and galleries throughout the United States and exhibited in over a dozen countries around the world.

View a partial list of exhibits, publications, and presentation venues.

Scott Langley is a freelance photojournalist based in New York.  His documentary work has been widespread throughout the world – providing images to publications, educational institutions, galleries, churches, filmmakers and national organizations. His long-term project documenting the death penalty is his passion and primary focus.

In addition to work as a documentary photographer, Scott has been an active organizer and advocate against the death penalty since 1999. For more than 15 years, Scott has served as a volunteer Amnesty International USA death penalty abolition coordinator in a number of states, and in 2017, he co-founded Death Penalty Action, a national organization working to end executions and provide visibility on the issue.

Besides organizing work, Scott has also worked closely with impacted communities, having co-founded a hospitality house in North Carolina to provide support to families of death row prisoners, and has also served as chair of the board of directors for Journey of Hope... From Violence to Healing, an organization of murder victim family members.

Scott travels within and outside the U.S. to speak about capital punishment, his experiences around executions, his work with death row families and murder victim families, and about his photography documentary project.

He currently is a professional event and portrait photographer, whose work can be found at scottlangleyphoto.com. His photo and academic resume is here (PDF).