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Document(s)
From Advocacy To Abolition: How The Universal Periodic Review Can Shape The Trajectory Of The Abolition Of The Death Penalty
By Amy Bergquist, California Western, School of Law, on 1 February 2024
2024
Academic Article
Trend Towards Abolition
More details See the document
Published in 2023.
This article assesses whether there is evidence to suggest that the UPR can influence the timing of a country’s decision to abolish the death penalty. The evidence arises out of the examination of thirty case studies of countries that abolished the death penalty, or ratifiedthe leading treaty calling for abolition. This article concludes that in some circumstances the UPR does appear to influence that timing. These conclusions can assist civil society organizations as they refine their advocacy to encourage more countries to abolish the death penalty.
Part I of this article offers an introduction to the global abolitionist movement and two of its advocacy targets: the U.N. Human Rights Council and the UPR. Part II makes the case for focusing on the UPR to assess the efficacy of U.N. advocacy. Part III describes the process of abolition and offers several theories as to how the UPR might influence a country’s trajectory toward abolition. Part IV sets out the study’s methodology and encompasses the analysis of the case studies, focusing first on countries that have abolished the death penalty early in a UPR cycle, then on countries that have abolished at mid-cycle, and finally on countries that have abolished during the tail end of the cycle. The conclusion discusses the implications of these findings for civil society organizations working toward abolition of the death penalty.
- Document type Academic Article
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
Document(s)
ICDP Launches How States abolish the Death Penalty: A Supplement of Case-Studies
By International Commission against the Death Penalty, on 17 November 2022
2022
NGO report
More details See the document
An increasing number of countries have recognized that state killing undermines human dignity and respect for human rights, such as the discriminatory use of the death penalty, the use of forced confession that increases the possibility of executing an innocent person, and the lack of deterrence effect of capital punishment. This move towards abolition of the death penalty is being witnessed in all regions of the world regardless of political system, religion, culture or tradition. As of today, at least 110 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, while at least eight countries have abolished for ordinary crimes, while less than 20 countries have reportedly
carried out executions in 2021.
This publication is a supplement to the ICDP´s 2018 work on “How States Abolish the Death Penalty: 29 Case Studies.”
- Document type NGO report
Document(s)
The Process of Abolishing the Death Penalty in Members States of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
By Nael Georges, ECPM, on 27 November 2020
2020
NGO report
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Brunei Darussalam
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Chad
Comoros
Djibouti
Egypt
Indonesia
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Libya
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Morocco
Mozambique
Niger
Nigeria
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan
Suriname
Tajikistan
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
arfrMore details See the document
As the 47th session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is being held on 27-28 November 2020 in Niamey, Niger, ECPM and Nael Georges release this study, “The Process of Abolishing the Death Penalty in Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation”.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Afghanistan / Albania / Algeria / Azerbaijan / Bahrain / Brunei Darussalam / Burkina Faso / Cameroon / Chad / Comoros / Djibouti / Egypt / Indonesia / Iran (Islamic Republic of) / Iraq / Jordan / Kazakhstan / Kuwait / Kyrgyzstan / Lebanon / Libya / Malaysia / Maldives / Mali / Morocco / Mozambique / Niger / Nigeria / Oman / Qatar / Saudi Arabia / Sierra Leone / Somalia / Sudan / Suriname / Tajikistan / Togo / Tunisia / Turkey / Turkmenistan / Uganda / United Arab Emirates / Uzbekistan
- Available languages مسارمإلغاء عقوبة الإعدافي الدول الأعضاءفي منظمة التعاونالإسلاميLes processus d’abolition de la peine de mort dans les États membres de l’Organisation de la coopération islamique (OCI)
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in Kenya: A Punishment that has Died Out in Practice, Part One – A Public Ready to Accept Abolition
on 15 June 2022
2022
NGO report
Kenya
Public Opinion
More details See the document
In 2021, The Death Penalty Project and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, in partnership with the Australian National University commissioned Prof. Carolyn Hoyle, Director of The Death Penalty Research Unit, at the University of Oxford, to undertake research in order to provide accurate data on attitudes towards the death penalty in Kenya and facilitate a constructive conversation on the future of capital punishment. The research examined the views of both the general public in Kenya and also opinion formers, those considered influential in shaping, and responding to, national views.
Key findings:
– 40% in favour of abolishing the death penalty, 10% did not know either way
– 51% in favour of retaining the death penalty, only 32% strongly in favour
– Those against the death penalty believed that criminals deserved the opportunity for rehabilitation.
– Knowledge of the death penalty appears to be limited, just 66% were aware Kenya retains the death penalty and just 21% knew no executions had take place in the past 10 years
– The public expressed concerns around the possibility that innocent people could be sentenced to death: 61% of the public – including retentionists – thought that ‘many’ or ‘some’ innocent people have been sentenced to death in Kenya; only 8% thought that ‘no innocent people have been sentenced to death’
– Public support fell from 51% to 31% when considering abolition in the region
59% of the public, who were initially in favour of retention, said that they would accept a new policy of abolition
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Kenya
- Themes list Public Opinion
Document(s)
The Public Opinion Myth. Why Japan retains the death penalty
By Mai Sato & Paul Bacon, on 5 August 2015
2015
Academic report
More details See the document
In this report, Mai Sato and Paul Bacon go beyond the simple results of opinion polls conducted
recently by the Japanese government, which show very high levels of support for the death penalty.
Using a similar methodology and sample, the authors reveal that the majority of the population form
their views on the death penalty with limited information and based on often inaccurate perceptions
– for example, believing that the crime rate is increasing. Sato and Bacon also demonstrate that
people have a relatively low level of ‘psychological ownership’ when it comes to the future of the death
penalty: the majority think that the government and experts should decide. Furthermore, discussions
about the death penalty among participants increased tolerance towards those with different views –
which, in turn, facilitated potential reform and change.
- Document type Academic report
Document(s)
Sentenced to Death Without Execution
on 15 December 2020
2020
NGO report
Antigua and Barbuda
Barbados
Dominica
Grenada
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Trend Towards Abolition
More details Download [ pdf - 1597 Ko ]
This research is a contribution towards understanding why six small, independent island nations in the
Eastern Caribbean – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St
Vincent and the Grenadines, all members of the OECS – and the neighbouring island of Barbados retain
the death penalty in their criminal statutes, and yet have not executed anyone sentenced to death for a
very long time. With the exception of St Kitts and Nevis, where an execution took place in 2008, no-one
has been judicially executed in any of the other countries for more than 20 years – and in Dominica,
Grenada, St Lucia and Barbados for more than 30 years. Furthermore, death sentences have been imposed
within the past 10 years only in St Lucia and Barbados, and in four of these seven nations no-one is under
sentence of death on ‘death row’ at the time of writing.
The questions posed by this publication are: why do these countries hang on to capital punishment
and what are the barriers and hindrances to the complete abolition of capital punishment by these
nations
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Antigua and Barbuda / Barbados / Dominica / Grenada / Saint Kitts and Nevis / Saint Lucia / Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
Document(s)
Amnesty International Global Report : Death Sentences and Executions 2022
By Amnesty International, on 16 May 2023
2023
NGO report
aresfrzh-hantMore details See the document
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2022. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation. In many countries governments do not publish information on their use of the death penalty.
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in Kenya: A Punishment that has Died Out in Practice, Part Two – Overwhelming Support for Abolition Among Opinion Leaders
on 15 June 2022
2022
NGO report
Kenya
Public Opinion
More details See the document
In 2021, The Death Penalty Project and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, in partnership with the Australian National University commissioned Prof. Carolyn Hoyle, Director of The Death Penalty Research Unit, at the University of Oxford, to undertake research in order to provide accurate data on attitudes towards the death penalty in Kenya and facilitate a constructive conversation on the future of capital punishment. The research examined the views of both the general public in Kenya and also opinion formers, those considered influential in shaping, and responding to, national views.
Key findings :
– The vast majority of opinion formers that took part in the interviews were in favour of abolishing the death penalty.
– 90% of opinion formers were in favour of abolishing the death penalty
– 82% of opinion formers were strongly in favour of of abolishing the death penalty
– Most of the opinion formers interviewed were very well informed on the administration of the death penalty in Kenya.
– Across both groups there were concerns around the possibility that innocent people could be sentenced to death.
– 88% of opinion formers believe wrongful convictions occur fairly regularly
– 93% of opinion formers thought Kenya should be influenced by high rates of abolition around the world
– Opinion formers believed that 75% of the public would accept abolition of the death penalty, despite initial reservations.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Kenya
- Themes list Public Opinion
Document(s)
The Culture of Capital Punishment in Japan
By David T. Johnson, on 4 July 2020
2020
Academic report
Japan
More details See the document
Japan retains the death penalty for three main reasons: because it missed a major opportunity for abolition in the postwar Occupation, because of the long hegemony of the (conservative) Liberal Democratic Party, and because (like the United States and China) it has sufficient size, economic influence, and political clout to enable it to defy human rights norms. Capital punishment also persists in Japan because it performs welcome functions for politicians, prosecutors, media, and the public.
Despite widespread belief to the contrary, capital punishment in Japan does not deter homicide better than long terms of imprisonment do.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list Japan
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Cebuano)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 2567 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Waray)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 1057 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Tausug)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 2595 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Tagalog)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 2519 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Pangasinense)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 1042 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Marano)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 1410 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Kapampangan)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 731 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Ilokano)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 2550 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Hiligaynon)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 2538 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (English)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
frMore details Download [ pdf - 7827 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
- Available languages Maintenir l'abolition de la peine de mort aux Philippines (Français)
Document(s)
Keep the Death Penalty Abolished in the Philippines (Bicolano)
By World Coalition Against Death Penalty, on 23 March 2021
Campaigning
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 2584 Ko ]
This brochure was developed by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with the Commission on the Human Rights in the Philippines. It explains why the death penalty risks returning in the Philippines and the reasons against its resurgence. It is available in 11 languages of the Philippines, plus French and English.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Deathworthy: a mental health perspective of the death penalty
By Project 39A, on 7 October 2021
2021
Academic report
India
Mental Illness
More details See the document
A first of its kind report, Deathworthy, presents empirical data on mental illness and intellectual disability among death row prisoners in India and the psychological consequences of living on death row. The report finds that an overwhelming majority of death row prisoners interviewed (62.2%) had a mental illness and 11% had intellectual disability. The proportion of persons with mental illness and intellectual disability on death row is overwhelmingly higher than the proportion in the community population. The report also establishes correlations between conditions of death row incarceration and mental illness and ill-health. Led and conceptualised by Maitreyi Misra (Head, Mental Health and Criminal Justice, Project 39A, National Law University Delhi), the study was conducted under the guidance of Dr. Pratima Murthy (Director, NIMHANS), Dr Sanjeev Jain (Senior Professor, Deptt of Psychiatry, NIMHANS) and Dr Gitanjali Narayanan (Associate Professor, Deptt of Psychology, NIMHANS).
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list India
- Themes list Mental Illness
Document(s)
Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2021
By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) , on 14 January 2022
2022
Regional body report
Belarus
United States
ruMore details See the document
This paper updates The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2020. It is intended to provide a concise update to highlight changes in the status of the death penalty in OSCE participating States since the previous publication and to promote constructive discussion of the issue. It covers the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. Special Focus: The road to abolition in selected OSCE participating States
- Document type Regional body report
- Countries list Belarus / United States
- Available languages Смертная казнь в регионе ОБСЕ, Справочный документ 2021 года
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2012
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2012
2012
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
esfrMore details Download [ pdf - 251 Ko ]
On October 10, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and abolitionists worldwide will celebrate the 10th
anniversary of World Day against the Death Penalty. This year’s World Day focuses on the achievements and
progress made toward abolition. Around the world, countries have ended or restricted their use of the death
penalty. In addition, they have signified their support of ending this practice by ratifying the Second Optional
Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty
and by voting in favour of United Nations (UN) resolutions for a moratorium on the death penalty. The World
Coalition welcomes these steps forward as it also remains vigilant for the challenges ahead.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Hoja Informativa DetalladaFaits et figures 2012
Document(s)
Abolitionnist portrait 2004
By World Day against the death penalty , on 10 October 2004
2004
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details See the document
Abolitionnist portrait 2004
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Portrait d'abolitionnistes 2004
Document(s)
The Power of Example: Whither The Biden Death Penalty Promise?
on 21 July 2022
2022
NGO report
United States
More details Download [ pdf - 4342 Ko ]
“The President, his administration and Congress must recognize that respect for human dignity and retention of the death penalty are incompatible; that respect for the rule of law must include international human rights law guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty; that upholding universal rights must include upholding the right of everyone to life and freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and that making international institutions stronger must include implementing the conclusions of UN human rights treaty bodies,”
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Amnesty International Global Report : Death Sentences and Executions 2021
on 25 May 2022
2022
NGO report
aresfrMore details Download [ pdf - 2638 Ko ]
2021 saw a worrying rise in executions and death sentences as some of the world’s most prolific executioners returned to business as usual and courts were unshackled from Covid-19 restrictions, Amnesty International said today in its annual review of the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
- Available languages التقرير العالمي لمنظمة العفو الدولية أحكام وعمليات الإعدام في 2021Condenas A Muerte Y Ejecuciones 2021Condamnations à mort et exécutions 2021
Document(s)
Amnesty International – Global Report : death sentences and executions 2023
on 29 May 2024
2024
NGO report
Trend Towards Abolition
aresfrMore details See the document
Amnesty International’s monitoring of the global use of the death penalty recorded 1,153 known executions in 2023, an increase by 31% from 883 in 2022. However, there was a significant decrease in executing countries, from 20 in 2022 to 16 in 2023.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages التقرير العالمي لمنظمة العفو الدولية أحكام وعمليات اإلعدام في 2023Informe Global de Amnistia internacional: condenas a muerte y ejecuciones 2023Amnesty international - Rapport mondial : condamnations à mort et exécutions 2023
Document(s)
Sentenced to death without execution: Why capital punishment has not yet been abolished in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados
By Death Penalty Project, on 1 January 2020
2020
NGO report
More details See the document
The report Sentenced to Death Without Execution, Why capital punishment has not yet been abolished in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados, was published on 7 April 2020. It presents the views of opinion formers and was written by Roger Hood and Florence Seemungal with the assistance of Amaya Athill.Six independent nations in the Eastern Caribbean – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, all members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) – and Barbados, retain the death penalty for murder. Most of these countries have not executed anyone sentenced to death for at least ten years with the vast majority not carrying out an execution for more than twenty years.This independent empirical study, which presents the views of 100 ‘opinion formers’, drawn from the seven jurisdictions, aims to shed light on why these countries hang on to capital punishment and what are the barriers to the complete abolition of the death penalty in these nations. The respondents were asked about their knowledge of the use of capital punishment in their respective countries and the extent to which, and why, they either supported the policy of retaining the death penalty or were in favour of its abolition, as well as the factors, beliefs, and assumptions that appeared to account for their government’s unwillingness to embrace complete abolition.Key findings include:- Across these seven nations, 48 of the interviewees favoured retention of the death penalty (18 of them strongly) and 52 were in favour of its abolition (30 of them strongly) Of those who favoured retention of the death penalty, only a minority were committed to retaining it: only 10 of 48 interviewees said they would ‘strongly oppose an Act of Parliament to completely abolish the death penalty by definitely voting against it’. Respondents believed the best strategies to persuade their respective governments to embrace reform were: ‘through creating an influential civil society pressure group ‘Citizens Against the Death Penalty’; by ‘mounting a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty’; or by ‘persuading the government to establish a high-level commission to report on the subject’.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Legal Representation, Mandatory Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Executing the Insane Is Against the Law of the Land. So Why Do We Keep Doing It?
By Stephanie Mencimer / Mother Jones, on 1 January 2015
2015
Article
United States
More details See the document
A recent article in Mother Jones examines lingering questions in the determination of which inmates are exempt from execution because of mental incompetency. In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Ford v. Wainwright that a person could not be executed if he or she was “unaware of the punishment they’re about to suffer and why they are to suffer it.” The 2007 ruling in Panetti v. Quarterman updated that decision, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing, “A prisoner’s awareness of the State’s rationale for an execution is not the same as a rational understanding of it.” Scott Panetti (pictured), the inmate involved in the 2007 case, knew that the state of Texas planned to execute him for the murder of his in-laws, but also sincerely believed that he was at the center of a struggle between God and Satan and was being executed to stop him from preaching the Gospel.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Intellectual Disability,
Document(s)
The Philippines – Universal Periodic Review – Death Penalty – March 2022
on 31 March 2022
2022
NGO report
World Coalition
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 320 Ko ]
1. This report addresses the Philippines’ compliance with its international human rights
obligations with respect to the death penalty. For years, the Philippines imposed the death
penalty, particularly for so-called heinous crimes. In 2006, President Gloria MacapagalArroyo abolished the death penalty.1 Since then, however, lawmakers have introduced
numerous bills to reinstate the death penalty, with the House adopting Bill No. 7814 as
recently as March 2, 2021.2
2. The report examines the current state of the death penalty in the Philippines, including (1)
acceptance of international norms; (2) proposed legislation reintroducing the death penalty;
(3) torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in enforcing drug control; (4)
conditions of detention; and (5) administration of justice and fair trial.
3. This report recommends that the Philippines continue the abolition of the death penalty,
refrain from reintroducing the death penalty, honor its international commitments, and
implement a human rights-based approach to anti-drug policy
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Philippines
Document(s)
A/HRC/51/7 – Advance Edited Version – Question of the death penalty
By Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on 26 July 2022
2022
United Nations report
More details See the document
Pursuant to Human Rights Council decision 18/117, the present report is submitted to update previous reports on the question of the death penalty. In the report, the Secretary-General reaffirms the trend towards the universal abolition of the death penalty and highlights initiatives limiting its use and implementing the safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing this severe penalty. A minority of States continued to use the death penalty. Pursuant to Council resolution 22/11, the report also includes information on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed.
- Document type United Nations report
Document(s)
Death Penalty in Liberia. When will it be abolished?
By FIACAT, on 1 January 2019
2019
Arguments against the death penalty
More details See the document
The FIACAT and ACAT Liberia organized an awareness-raisingworkshop on 17 and 18 September 2019 in Monrovia (Liberia) for 30 participants: Muslim and Christian religious leaders, traditional chiefs, members of civil society organizations, journalists, members of the Independent National Commissionon Human Rights (INCHR) and parliamentarians. This workshop resulted in the production of this publication to raise awareness among opinion leaders on the abolition of the death penalty in Liberia, considering the specific characteristicsand needs of the country.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
Document(s)
Holdouts in the South Pacific: Explaining Death Penalty Retention in Papua New Guinea and Tonga
By Daniel Pascoe and Andrew Novak, on 1 September 2022
2022
Academic report
Papua New Guinea
Tonga
More details See the document
The South Pacific forms a cohesive region with broadly similar cultural attributes, legal systems and colonial histories. A comparative analysis starts from the assumption that these countries should also have similar criminal justice policies. However, until 2022, both Papua New Guinea and Tonga were retentionist death penalty outliers in the South Pacific, a region home to seven other fully abolitionist members of the United Nations. In this article, we use the comparative method to explain why Papua New Guinea and Tonga have pursued a different death penalty trajectory than their regional neighbours. Eschewing the traditional social science explanations for death penalty retention, we suggest two novel explanations for ongoing retention in Papua New Guinea and Tonga: the law and order crisis in the former and the traditionally powerful monarchy in the latter.
This article was first published in Crime Justice Journal: https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/issue/view/119
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list Papua New Guinea / Tonga
Document(s)
Taiwan: Amicus Curiae submission by Amnesty International and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty to the Constitutional Court
By Amnesty International, on 23 April 2024
2024
NGO report
Taiwan
zh-hantMore details See the document
Published on April 8, 2024.
As the Constitutional Court of the Republic of China considers a challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty, Amnesty International Taiwan and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty submitted a joint amicus curiae intervention, to ensure the protection of the rights of all those under sentence of death. The amicus interveners argue that the use of the death penalty in the Republic of China constitutes a violation of human rights as guaranteed under the Constitution and international law and standards; and sets the country against the global trend, which remains overwhelmingly in favour of abolition.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Taiwan
- Available languages 憲法法庭法庭之友意見書 主案案號:111年度憲民字第904052號 法庭之友:國際特赦組織台灣分會 均詳委任狀 代 表 人:林綉娟 理事長 代 理 人:陳瑋珊 律師 均詳委任狀 均詳委任狀
Document(s)
Government Misconduct and Convicting the Innocent, The Role of Prosecutors, Police and Other Law Enforcement
By Samuel R. Gross, Maurice J. Possley, Kaitlin Jackson Roll, Klara Huber Stephens , on 20 July 2022
2022
Academic report
Innocence
More details See the document
This is a report about the role of official misconduct in the conviction of innocent people. We
discuss cases that are listed in the National Registry of Exonerations, an ongoing online archive
that includes all known exonerations in the United States since 1989, 2,663 as of this writing.
This Report describes official misconduct in the first 2,400 exonerations in the Registry, those
posted by February 27, 2019
- Document type Academic report
- Themes list Innocence
Document(s)
“No One Believed Me”: A Global Overview of Women Facing the Death Penalty for Drug Offenses
on 5 October 2021
2021
NGO report
Drug Offenses
Women
frMore details See the document
“No one believed me” is a quote from Merri Utami, who was sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Indonesia in 2002. Her quote reflects the injustices faced by women accused of capital drug offenses around the world: many decision-makers disbelieve women’s plausible innocence claims or discount the effects of relationships and economic instability on women’s decisions to traffic drugs.
Document(s)
How to Work with Parliamentarians for the Abolition of the Death Penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 7 October 2021
2021
Working with...
World Coalition
Moratorium
Public Opinion
frMore details Download [ pdf - 18114 Ko ]
This how-to guide, elaborated with Parliamentarians for Global Action with highlights coming from the African continent, is specifically designed for the use of abolitionist civil society groups who want to work with parliamentarians for the abolition of the death penalty.
- Document type Working with... / World Coalition
- Themes list Moratorium / Public Opinion
- Available languages Comment travailler avec les parlementaires pour l'abolition de la peine de mort ?
Document(s)
Felony Murder: An On-Ramp for Extreme Sentencing
By The Sentencing Project, Fair and Just Prosecution, on 23 March 2022
2022
NGO report
United States
More details See the document
Although other countries have largely rejected the felony murder doctrine, 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government still use these laws. Felony murder laws compel harsh decades-long – or even life – sentences even when the individual charged did not directly cause or intend the loss of life.
This report evaluates the legal and empirical foundation, and failings, of the felony murder rule, profiles impacted individuals, and highlights recent reform efforts in 10 jurisdictions. Key findings include:
1. Felony murder laws widen the net of extreme sentencing and are counterproductive to public safety.
2. Felony murder laws have particularly adverse impacts on people of color, young people, and women.
3. Existing reforms must be expanded to achieve justice.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
World Coalition Activity Report 2022
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 22 August 2023
2023
World Coalition
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 323 Ko ]
- Document type World Coalition
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Rapport d'Activité de la Coalition Mondiale 2022
Document(s)
Poster World Day 2005
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2005
2005
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 46 Ko ]
To date, 12 African countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes;
20 retain the death penalty but are no longer carrying out executions; and 21 retain and use
the death penalty. The World Coalition against the death penalty has decided to devote the
World Day 2005 to a campaign to encourage all African countries to abolish capital
punishment permanently.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Affiche journée mondiale 2005
Document(s)
Capital punishment and implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty
By United Nations , on 26 May 2021
2021
United Nations report
aresfrruzh-hantMore details See the document
Summary
In its resolution 1745 (LIV) of 16 May 1973, the Economic and Social Council invited the Secretary-General to submit to it, at five-year intervals starting from 1975, periodic updated and analytical reports on capital punishment. The Council, in its resolution 1995/57 of 28 July 1995, recommended that the quinquennial reports of the Secretary-General continue to cover also the implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty.
In the same resolution, the Council requested the Secretary-General, in preparing the quinquennial report, to draw on all available data, including current criminological research. The present report, which is the tenth quinquennial report, contains a review of the use of and trends in capital punishment, including the implementa tion of the safeguards during the period 2014–2018.
In accordance with resolutions 1745 (LIV) and 1990/51, of 24 July 1990, of the Economic and Social Council, as well as its decision 2005/247 of 22 July 2005, the present report is submitted to the Council at its substantive session of 2020, and will also be before the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its twenty-ninth session and the Human Rights Council at its forty-fourth regular session.
The report on the 2014–2018 quinquennium confirms the trend documented in previous reports towards abolition and restriction of the use of capital punishment in most countries. The number of States that have abolished the death penalty in law and in practice continued to grow. This is reflected in the increased number of States bound by treaty obligations not to implement the death penalty. The quinquennium also witnessed some years of dramatic increases in the number of executions, which were carried out by a small number of States. The situation stabilized at the end of the survey period, and the number of recorded executions in the final year, 2018, was the lowest in many years. The safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty apply to States that retain capital punishment. It is of concern, however, that the death penalty continued to be imposed on persons below 18 years of age at the time of commission of the offence, and that death sentences were imposed in cases where the “most serious crimes” standard was not met and in cases of trials that did not comply with international standards.
- Document type United Nations report
- Available languages عقوبة اإلعدام وتنفيذ الضمانات التي تكفل حماية حقوق من يواجهون عقوبة اإلعدامLa pena capital y la aplicación de las salvaguardias para garantizar la protección de los derechos de las personas condenadas a la pena de muertePeine capitale et application des garanties pour la protection des droits des personnes passibles de la peine de mortСмертная казнь и применение мер, гарантирующих защиту прав тех, кому грозит смертная казнь死刑和保护死刑犯权利的保障措施的执行情况
Document(s)
The Road to Abolition?: The Future of Capital Punishment in the United States
By Charles J. Ogletree and Austin Sarat, on 24 August 2023
2023
Book
United States
More details See the document
At the start of the twenty-first century, America is in the midst of a profound national reconsideration of the death penalty. There has been a dramatic decline in the number of people being sentenced to death as well as executed, exonerations have become common, and the number of states abolishing the death penalty is on the rise. The essays featured in The Road to Abolition? track this shift in attitudes toward capital punishment, and consider whether or not the death penalty will ever be abolished in America.The interdisciplinary group of experts gathered by Charles J. Ogletree Jr., and Austin Sarat ask and attempt to answer the hard questions that need to be addressed if the death penalty is to be abolished. Will the death penalty end only to be replaced with life in prison without parole? Will life without the possibility of parole become, in essence, the new death penalty? For abolitionists, might that be a pyrrhic victory? The contributors discuss how the death penalty might be abolished, with particular emphasis on the current debate over lethal injection as a case study on why and how the elimination of certain forms of execution might provide a model for the larger abolition of the death penalty.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in 2021: Year End Report
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 14 January 2022
2022
NGO report
United States
More details See the document
The death penalty in the USA in 2021 was defined by two competing forces: the continuing long-term erosion of capital punishment across most of the country, and extreme conduct by a dwindling number of outlier jurisdictions to continue to pursue death sentences and executions.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Zimbabwe – Universal Periodic Review – Death Penalty – July 2021
By Eleos Justice, Monash University, on 15 July 2021
2021
NGO report
World Coalition
Zimbabwe
More details Download [ pdf - 271 Ko ]
This report addresses Zimbabwe’s compliance with its human rights obligations with respect to its use of the death penalty. The United Nations considers Zimbabwe a de facto abolitionist country. It has not carried out any executions since 2005. Courts, however, continue to sentence individuals to death, with 88 people currently on death row as of December 2020, after 8 sentences were commuted in April 2020. The new Zimbabwean Constitution (the “2013 Constitution”) has replaced the mandatory death penalty with a discretionary sentence for the crime of murder committed under aggravating circumstances. The 2013 Constitution further outlaws the imposition of the death penalty on women, men over the age of 70, and men under the age of 21 at the time the offence was committed. In its 2016 Universal Periodic Review, Zimbabwe noted all recommendations related to the death penalty, partly on the ground that Zimbabwean public opinion did not support abolition of death penalty. Since 2016, developments demonstrate a more positive attitude among the public and opinion leaders toward further reform and the abolition of death penalty.
This report focuses on various issues concerning the death penalty and related international human rights instruments, and on conditions of detention and acts of torture and ill treatment of people in detention. Specifically, this report recommends that Zimbabwe abolish the death penalty, improve detention conditions, ratify relevant human rights treaties, and increase resources dedicated to improving the justice system.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Zimbabwe
Document(s)
A/HRC/48/L.17/Rev.1 Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 2 June 2021
2021
International law - United Nations
aresfrruzh-hantMore details See the document
- Document type International law - United Nations
- Available languages A/HRC/48/L.17/Rev.1 قرار اعتمده جملس حقوق اإلنسايفA/HRC/48/L.17/Rev.1 Resolución aprobada por el Consejo de DerechosA/HRC/48/L.17/Rev.1 Résolution adoptée par le Conseil des droits de l’hommeA/HRC/48/L.17/Rev.1 Резолюция, принятая Советом по правам человекаA/HRC/48/L.17/Rev.1 人权理事会 月 日通过的决议
Document(s)
Blaming it on the past: Usages of the Middle Ages in contemporary discourses of the death penalty in England
By Death Penalty Research Unit (DPRU), University of Oxford, on 5 February 2024
2024
Academic Article
United Kingdom
More details See the document
Published in December 2023.
In popular, intellectual and political culture, the Middle Ages are intrinsically tied to violent images of public executions. To historians of the medieval period, this temporal attachment of the death penalty to a remote period is puzzling, especially since it is still widely enforced in the world today and was only relatively recently abolished in Europe. Capital punishment is not only a part of history, but a modern-day reality. Why, therefore, do we pin this punishment to the Middle Ages? This paper aims to analyse the discourses surrounding the usage of the Middle Ages in modern discussions on the death penalty, and to clarify medieval practices of capital punishment, showing how remote they are from our contemporary understanding
- Document type Academic Article
- Countries list United Kingdom
Document(s)
Efforts towards abolition of the death penalty: Challenges and prospects
By Death Penalty Research Unit (DPRU), University of Oxford, on 5 February 2024
Academic Article
Trend Towards Abolition
More details See the document
Published in December 2023.
This paper reflects on the role of international human rights treaties in promoting universal abolition and progressive restriction of the death penalty. It suggests that over the past quarter of a century a ‘new human rights dynamic’ has aimed to generate universal acceptance that however it is administered, the death penalty violates the human rights of all citizens exposed to it. Nevertheless, defences of capital punishment based on principles of national sovereignty are engrained in some parts of the world, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. The human rights project struggles to make inroads into such jurisdictions where political will is opposed to abolition, and trenchant protection of sovereignty threatens the very universality of these rights.
- Document type Academic Article
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
Document(s)
2021 OHCHR Report on Deterrence: High-level panel discussion on the question of the death penalty
By Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on 14 January 2022
2022
United Nations report
Public Opinion
aresfrruzh-hantMore details See the document
The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 26/2 and 42/24. It provides a summary of the high-level panel discussion on the question of the death penalty held on 23 February 2021 at the forty-sixth session of the Council. The panel discussion addressed the human rights violations related to the use of the death penalty, in particular with respect to whether the use of the death penalty has a deterrent effect on crime rates.
- Document type United Nations report
- Themes list Public Opinion
- Available languages حلقة نقاش رف عة المستوى بشأن مسألة عقوبة الإعدامInforme de la OACDH 2021 sobre el efecto disuasorio : Mesa redonda de alto nivel sobre la cuestión de la pena de muerteRapport HCDH 2021 sur l'effet dissuasif : Réunion-débat de haut niveau sur la question de la peine de mortОбсуждение в рамках дискуссионной группы высокого уровня вопроса о смертной казни,способствует ли ее применение сдерживанию преступности2021年联合国威慑效应报告 - 关于死刑问题的高级别专题小组讨论会
Document(s)
Killing in the Name of God: State-sanctioned Violations of Religious Freedom
By Eleos Justice, Monash University, on 10 November 2021
2021
Academic report
Brunei Darussalam
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Maldives
Mauritania
Nigeria
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
More details See the document
As of 2020, blasphemy was formally criminalised in some 84 countries. As many as 21 countries criminalised apostasy as of 2019. The legal penalties for such offences range from fines to imprisonment to corporal punishment—and in at least 12 countries, the death penalty.
This report examines the extent to which States commit, or are complicit in, killings that violate religious freedom. Focussing on the 12 States in which offences against religion are lawfully punishable by death, we examine four different types of State-sanctioned killings on the basis of religious offence (apostasy, blasphemy, or alike) or affiliation (most commonly, membership of a religious minority): judicial executions, extrajudicial killings, killings by civilians, and killings by extremist groups. We explore the relationship between the retention of the death penalty for religious offences and other forms of State-sanctioned killings motivated by alleged religious offending or by religious identity.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list Brunei Darussalam / Iran (Islamic Republic of) / Maldives / Mauritania / Nigeria / Qatar / Saudi Arabia / Somalia / United Arab Emirates / Yemen
Document(s)
Abolitionnist portrait
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2004
2004
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details See the document
Abolitionnist portrait
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Portrait d'abolitionnistes
Document(s)
Educational guide 2009
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2009
2009
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
esfrruzh-hantMore details Download [ pdf - 536 Ko ]
With this Educational Guide, the World Coalition
Against the Death Penalty is launching a collaborative
initiative which aims to improve the contributions of all.
This guide will be regularly supplemented by new infor-
mation and themes. It will also be frequently updated
on the Coalition’s website (www.worldcoalition.org).
On behalf of the members of the World Coalition in
more than thirty countries across the world, we thank
you for your support.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Guía pedagógica Jornada mundial 2009Guide pédagogique 2009Руководство по обучению организации мероприятий по случаю Всемирного дня борьбы против смертной казни2009 年世界反死刑日
Document(s)
Special issue: a decade-long review of the death penalty for drug offences
By Harm Reduction International, on 7 May 2024
2024
NGO report
Drug Offenses
More details See the document
This report builds on the pioneering work HRI has been doing since its first ‘The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview (‘Global Overview’) in 2007. It analyses how the landscape of the death penalty for drug offences has shifted in the last decade, looking at the main trends regarding people on death row, death sentences and executions for drug offences, as well as key developments at national and international level in the period between 2014 and 2023.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Abolition of the Death Penalty in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados
on 15 December 2020
2020
Lobbying
Barbados
Trend Towards Abolition
More details Download [ pdf - 2611 Ko ]
Greater Caribbean for Life has launched its educational toolkit to assist activists and organisations as they work toward abolishing the death penalty in the Greater Caribbean. The production of this toolkit forms part of GCL’s activities under its EU partnered project to educate on death penalty abolition in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados.
The launch of the toolkit is timely as a few of these target countries recently voted against adopting the UN Moratorium on the use of the death penalty and countries that had previously chosen to abstain have now firmly voted against the resolution.
GCL members condemn the rise of violent crime in our region and express solidarity and compassion with the victims of crime, however, we reject the notion that capital punishment will act as a deterrent or foster respect for life in our communities.
It is our hope that this toolkit will assist in promoting respect for the right to life for all human beings in the Caribbean region.
- Document type Lobbying
- Countries list Barbados
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
Document(s)
Mobilization Kit 2010
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2010
2010
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
More details Download [ pdf - 138 Ko ]
Every year, the World Coalition Against the Death
Penalty (WCADP) calls for local initiatives worldwide.
The events involve citizens and organisations
supporting the abolition of capital punishment and
comprise debates, concerts, press releases or any
other action which would give the global abolition claim
an international boost.
This Day is aimed at both political leaders and public
opinion in countries where the death penalty has or
has not yet been abolished: people have to remember
the meaning of abolition and pass it down through the
generations.
They must be aware that justice without the death
penalty is possible
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2020
By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on 9 October 2020
2020
Regional body report
Belarus
United States
ruMore details See the document
This paper updates The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2019. It is intended to provide a concise update to highlight changes in the status of the death penalty in OSCE participating States since the previous publication and to promote constructive discussion of the issue. It covers the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. Special Focus: Is the death penalty inherently arbitrary?
- Document type Regional body report
- Countries list Belarus / United States
- Available languages Смертная казнь в регионе ОБСЕ: Справочный документ 2020 года
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2022
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 24 June 2022
2022
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 241 Ko ]
Find the main facts and figures regarding the death penalty worldwide in 2021 and early 2022.
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages Faits et chiffres 2022
Document(s)
21st World Day – Facts and Figures 2023
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 12 June 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 239 Ko ]
Find the main facts and figures regarding the death penalty worldwide in 2022 and early 2023.
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages 21ème Journée Mondiale - Faits et chiffres 2023
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2011
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2011
2011
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 100 Ko ]
Facts and Figures 2011
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Faits et chiffres 2011
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2010
By World Day against the death penalty , on 10 October 2010
2010
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 81 Ko ]
Facts and Figures 2010
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Faits et chiffres 2010
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2009
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2009
2009
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 95 Ko ]
Facts and Figures 2009
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Faits et chiffres 2009
Document(s)
Resolution 77/274 – Moratorium on the use of the death penalty
By United Nations General Assembly, on 8 August 2022
2022
United Nations report
More details See the document
The present report provides information on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 75/183. It discusses developments towards the abolition of the death penalty and the establishment of moratoriums on executions and highlights trends in the use of the death penalty, including the application of international standards relating to the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty. The report discusses conditions of detention for persons on death row, the application of the death penalty to foreign nationals, its disproportionate and discriminatory application to women, its disproportionate impact on poor and economically vulnerable individuals, its discriminatory use relating to persons exercising their human rights, and various initiatives for advancing its abolition. The report welcomes progress made towards universal abolition in States representing different legal systems, traditions, cultures and religious backgrounds. It concludes that all measures aimed towards limiting the application of the death penalty constitute progress in the protection of the right to life.
- Document type United Nations report
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in 2023: Year End Report
By The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), on 25 January 2024
2024
NGO report
Public Opinion
United States
More details See the document
Published on December 01, 2023.
Innocence cases dominated much of the media’s attention on death penalty cases in 2023. While these prisoners were largely unsuccessful in the courts, there was unprecedented support for their claims from state legislators, prosecutors, judges, and other elected officials, some of whom declared themselves newly disillusioned with use of the death penalty in their state. This year is the 9th consecutive year with fewer than 30 people executed (24) and fewer than 50 people sentenced to death (21, as of December 1). The 23 men and one woman who were executed in 2023 were the oldest average age (tied with 2021) and spent the longest average number of years in prison in the modern death penalty era before being executed. As in previous years, most prisoners had significant physical and mental health issues at the time of their executions, some of which can be attributed to the many years they spent in severe isolation on death row. Continued difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs led some states to explore new, untested methods of execution or revive previously abandoned methods. Other states enacted or continued pauses on executions while the state’s method of execution was studied.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Public Opinion
Document(s)
Death Penalty Politics: The Fragility of Abolition in Asia and the Pacific
By Mark Finnane, Mai Sato and Susan Trevaskes, on 1 September 2022
2022
Academic report
More details See the document
Despite a steady increase worldwide in the number of states that have abolished the death penalty, capital punishment remains a troubling presence in the international order. The world’s leading powers in terms of economics and population include the retentionist states of China, India, Japan and the United States of America (USA). It seems there is no linear path to abolition, and its achievement is indeterminate. Yet, in international human rights law, death penalty abolition is a powerful norm embraced by half the countries across the world. While the majority of death penalty research has emanated from and focuses on the USA, well over 90 per cent of global executions occur in Asia, which lags behind the global trend towards abolishing the death penalty. Our symposium and this collection seek to bring perspectives from a variety of disciplines and methods—historical, legal, sociological, comparative— to bear on the questions of retention and abolition in a variety of jurisdictions and time periods.
This article was first published in Crime Justice Journal: https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/issue/view/119
- Document type Academic report
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in 2022: Year End Report
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 16 December 2022
2022
NGO report
United States
More details See the document
In a year awash with incendiary political advertising that drove the public’s perception of rising crime to record highs, public support for capital punishment and jury verdicts for death remained near fifty-year lows. Defying conventional political wisdom, nearly every measure of change — from new death sentences imposed and executions conducted to public opinion polls and election results — pointed to the continuing durability of the more than 20-year sustained decline of the death penalty in the United States.
The Gallup crime survey, administered in the midst of the midterm elections while the capital trial for the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida was underway, found that support for capital punishment remained within one percentage point of the half-century lows recorded in 2020 and 2021. The 20 new death sentences imposed in 2022 are fewer than in any year before the pandemic, and just 2 higher than the record lows of the prior two years. With the exception of the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the 18 executions in 2022 are the fewest since 1991.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Intiatives World Day 2005
By World coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2005
2005
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details See the document
Intiatives World Day 2005
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Initiatives journée mondiale 2005
Document(s)
Annual Report on The Death Penalty In Iran 2021
on 28 April 2022
2022
NGO report
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
frMore details See the document
The 120-page report assesses and analyses trends in death penalty practices in order to propose recommendations, tailored to the national context, and to engage in a constructive dialogue on capital punishment in the country.
The death penalty situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran remains alarming with a significant increase in executions in 2021 (+25%) and an increasing number of Iranian women being executed. The number of executions has doubled after the election of Ebrahim Raeisi as President, and as the Islamic Republic and Western governments negotiate to revive the nuclear deal, also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). These are some of the main findings of the 14th Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran by Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (ECPM) released today.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
- Available languages Rapport annuel sur la peine de mort en Iran 2021
Document(s)
Estimating the effect of death penalty moratoriums on homicide rates using the synthetic control method
By Stephen N. Oliphant, on 18 September 2022
2022
Academic report
Moratorium
United States
More details See the document
Research examining death penalty deterrence has been characterized as inconclusive and uninformative. The present analysis heeds a recommendation from prior research to examine single-state changes in death penalty policy using the synthetic control method. Data from the years 1979–2019 were used to construct synthetic controls and estimate the effects of death penalty moratoriums on homicide rates in Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, and Pennsylvania. Moratoriums on capital punishment resulted in nonsignificant homicide reductions in all four states.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Moratorium
Document(s)
International Law and the Death Penalty Guide
By The Death Penalty Project, on 1 November 2022
2022
NGO report
More details See the document
The use of capital punishment has been an issue addressed by international human rights law since the earliest days of the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1948, and an instrument widely recognised as the gold standard for human rights, affirms the right to life and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Death Penalty Project produced this resource on international law and the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
Document(s)
More Indicators of the Falling Support for the Death Penalty
By Talia Roitberg Harmon and Michael L. Radelet, California Western International Law Journal , on 1 February 2024
2024
Academic Article
United States
More details See the document
Published on October 12, 2023.
In the seminal Furman v. Georgia case from 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court (in effect) invalidated all death penalty statutes then inforce in American jurisdictions. After many states went back to their legislative drawing boards, some of the revised statutes were approved by the Court in 1976. At that time, Gallup found that 66 percent of the American public supported the death penalty, while 26 percent stood opposed. While support grew to 80 percent in 1994, a recent Gallup Poll from October 2022 shows that this figure has dropped to 55 percent. Recently, only 36 percent of Americans still support the death penalty given the alternative punishment of life imprisonment.
- Document type Academic Article
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Politics of International Advocacy Against the Death Penalty: Governments as Anti–Death Penalty Crusaders
By Mai Sato, on 1 September 2022
2022
Academic report
More details See the document
Two-thirds of the countries worldwide have moved away from the death penalty in law or in practice, with global and regional organisations as well as individual governments working towards universal abolition. This article critically examines the narratives of these abolitionist governments that have abolished the death penalty in their country and have adopted the role of ‘moral crusaders’ (Becker 1963) in pursuit of global abolition. In 2018, the Australian Government, while being surrounded by retentionist states in Asia, joined the anti–death penalty enterprise along with the European Union, the United Kingdom and Norway. Using the concepts of ‘moral crusader’ (Becker 1963) and ‘performativity’ (Butler 1993), this article argues that advocacy must be acted on repeatedly for governments to be anti–death penalty advocates. Otherwise, these government efforts serve political ends in appearance but are simply a self-serving form of advocacy in practice.
This article was first published in Crime Justice Journal: https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/issue/view/119
- Document type Academic report
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2008
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2008
2008
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details See the document
Facts and Figures 2008
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Faits et chiffres 2008
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2007
By World Coaliton against the death penalty , on 10 October 2009
2009
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 24 Ko ]
Facts and Figures 2007
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Faits et chiffres 2007
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2013
on 10 October 2013
2013
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
aresMore details Download [ pdf - 115 Ko ]
Facts and Figures world day against the death penalty 2013
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Faits et chiffres 2013PENA DE MUERTE HECHOS Y DATOS
Document(s)
Mobilization Kit 2008
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2008
2008
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 137 Ko ]
Every year, the World Coalition Against the Death
Penalty (WCADP) calls for local initiatives worldwide.
The events involve citizens and organisations
supporting the abolition of capital punishment and
comprise debates, concerts, press releases or any
other action which would give to the global abolition
claim an international boost.
This Day is intended for both political leaders and
public opinion of countries where the death penalty
has or not been abolished yet: people have to
remember the meaning of abolition and pass it down
through generations.
They must be aware that a justice without death
penalty is possible.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Kit de mobilisation 2008
Document(s)
Death by Design: Part 2
By The Wren Collective, on 23 January 2024
2024
NGO report
Legal Representation
United States
More details See the document
Published in December 2023.
In “Death by Design” Parts 1 and 2, Wren investigated the state of court-appointed capital representation in Harris County—the death penalty capital of the world. The second report examines why that poor representation has thrived, and the ways that the judges overseeing those cases have enabled it to continue that way.
Wren recommends a total overhaul to the system of capital representation for poor defendants in Harris County, with either the public defender absorbing those cases or the judges establishing a new, freestanding capital public defender that is independent from judicial oversight.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Legal Representation
Document(s)
Defending Women and Transgender Persons Facing Extreme Sentences: A Practical Guide
on 14 January 2022
2022
Legal Representation
Legal Representation
Women
frMore details See the document
Written by a team including experts in the fields of capital defense, gender rights, gender-sensitive mitigation and the rights of transgender persons, the guide includes sections on gender-based violence, women’s mental health, prison conditions, discrimination in the legal system, working with the media, and how to build a gender-sensitive team. It also includes a step-by-step gender-sensitive interview protocol that builds on resources developed by the anti-violence community and is tailored to the needs of defense teams.
- Document type Legal Representation
- Themes list Legal Representation / Women
- Available languages Défendre les femmes et les personnes transgenres confrontées à des peines extrêmes
Document(s)
Prison Conditions in Jamaica
on 19 April 2011
2011
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
Jamaica
More details Download [ pdf - 396 Ko ]
In criminal justice matters, Jamaica has been rightly praised for its de-facto abolitionist
stance on the death penalty: nobody has been executed on the island since 1988.
However, the alternative to death is imprisonment. For many years, NGOs, the UN
Human Rights Committee, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and
various independent and internal reports have expressed serious concern about the
conditions in which Jamaica detains its prisoners.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Jamaica
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Women and The Death Penalty in Kenya: Essays on the Gendered Perspective of the Death Penalty
on 2 February 2024
2024
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Gender
Kenya
Women
More details See the document
This publication seeks to make visible the gender and intersectional discrimination faced by women in the judicial process leading to the death penalty. Through the various articlesin this publication, the authors bring to light the reality of women facing the death penalty through a different lens.
The first author, Shekinah Bright Kiting’a, in making a compelling case for abolition of the death penalty, explores how the death penalty uniquely affects women in the context of motherhood. Further, she highlights the rights and well-being of the children affected by their mothers’ death sentences, revealing flaws in our legal and ethical systems. With the overall aim of advocating for its abolition due to its significant impact on both parenthood and children’s rights, her article seeks to push for reforms that honour motherhood and prioritize children’s well-being in these difficult circumstances.
Kenaya Komba dissects gender disparity in the judicial system by exploring the intersection of domestic violence and the death penalty. In making a case for a restorative approach to justice, her article analyses the impact of capital punishment on victims of domestic violence and the systemic injustice and biases they continue to grapple with. Her elaborate analysis of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act, 2016, highlights the urgent need for reform in the legal system.
While Analyzing the role the media plays in shaping perceptions of women on death row, Patricia Chepkirui evaluates the implications of positive and negative media portrayals of such women by highlighting the ethical responsibilities of media in the coverage of women on death row cases. The article ultimately underscores the significance of responsiblemedia coverage in ensuring that media exposure of cases of women on death row is fair,balanced, and respectful of their rights and dignity.
Alex Tamei delves into the intricacies of abuse, gender-based violence, and trauma as mitigating factors in death penalty sentencing for women. His article comparatively analyses two Kenyan cases of murder in retaliation to intimate partner violence, seeking to shed light on the plight of victims of gender-based violence. The article effortlessly brings out the nexus between the death penalty and intimate partner violence and makessolid recommendations for change.
The fifth author, Patience Chepchirchir, delves into the nexus between psychological abuse and provocation. Through her article, she brings out the scope of psychological abuse while focusing on the linkage between emotional abuse and provocation and how the same can be considered as mitigating factors. Through an elaborate analysis of case law, she makes a case for psychological abuse of women as a mitigating circumstance during sentencing.
Stella Cherono’s article reflects on the intersectional discrimination faced by women in the criminal trial process leading to death row. The article highlights the complex and overlapping forms of discrimination women experience during the pretrial, trial and sentencing stages. Through her comprehensive analysis of gendered pathways to offending and imprisonment, she challenges how society perceives discrimination.
Loraine Koskei Interrogates the emerging jurisprudence on Intimate Partner Violence.Her article lays out the gendered factor in the commissioning and sentencing of women convicted of murder and offers possible recommendations.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Kenya
- Themes list Death Row Conditions / Fair Trial / Gender / Women
Document(s)
Leaflet – World Day 2024 & 2025
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 10 June 2024
2024
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 1325 Ko ]
Every 10th October, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and abolitionist actors worldwide celebrate the World Day Against the Death Penalty. It is an occasion to highlight the progress achieved in the global campaign for the abolition of capital punishment. In 2024 and 2025, the World Day will serve as an opportunity to challenge […]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages Brochure - Journée mondiale 2024 & 2025
Document(s)
Educational guide: teaching abolition
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2011
2011
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details See the document
In 2009, the World Day Against the Death Penalty was
dedicated to the theme “Teaching Abolition”. The World
Coalition developed a teaching guide to be used in
schools throughout the world
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Guide pédagogique: éduquer à l'abolition
Document(s)
Leaflet – World Day 2022
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 24 June 2022
2022
World Coalition
arfrMore details Download [ pdf - 1095 Ko ]
Leaflet for the 20th World Day against the death penalty (2022), on torture and the death penalty.
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages للیوم العالمي لمناھضة عقوبة الإعدام كتيب باللغة العربيةBrochure - Journée mondiale 2022
Document(s)
Compendium of case law of the European Court of Human Rights on the death penalty and extrajudicial execution
By Jeremy McBride, Council of Europe, on 24 April 2022
2022
International law - Regional body
Legal Representation
More details See the document
The compendium’s aim is to assist national judges, prosecutors and lawyers from the 46 member states of the Council of Europe to deal with extradition or deportation cases when there is a risk of the death penalty being imposed in third countries or of extrajudicial execution. It also aims at enabling legal professionals from countries where the death penalty still exists to develop arguments based upon the reasoning of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. It contains relevant extracts from the Court’s case law, structured in a user-friendly way.
- Document type International law - Regional body
- Themes list Legal Representation
Document(s)
Lebanon – Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women – Death Penalty
on 12 January 2022
2022
NGO report
World Coalition
Lebanon
Women
More details Download [ pdf - 1599 Ko ]
This report addresses Lebanon’s compliance with human rights obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women regarding its use of the death penalty.
Lebanon has not abolished the death penalty or established a de jure moratorium on the death penalty. The legal system does not protect women in conflict with the law from discrimination on the basis of sex or gender. Nor does it limit capital offenses to the “most serious” crimes.
Women migrant domestic workers appear to be at an elevated risk of being sentenced to death. Indeed, all three women known to be on death row in Lebanon are Sri Lankan migrant domestic workers. Such women face heightened obstacles to realizing their right to a fair trial. Moreover, there is no evidence that sentencing authorities take into account a woman’s history of abuse when determining an appropriate sentence. Finally, women under sentence of death face degrading conditions of detention.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Lebanon
- Themes list Women
Document(s)
Ambivalent Abolitionism in the 1920s: New South Wales, Australia
By Carolyn Strange, on 1 September 2022
2022
Academic report
Australia
More details See the document
In the former penal colony of New South Wales (NSW), a Labor government attempted what its counterpart in Queensland had achieved in 1922: the abolition of the death penalty. Although NSW’s unelected Legislative Council scuttled Labor’s 1925 bill, the party’s prevarication over capital punishment and the government’s poor management of the campaign thwarted abolition for a further three decades. However, NSW’s failure must be analysed in light of ambivalent abolitionism that prevailed in Britain and the US in the postwar decade. In this wider context, Queensland, rather than NSW, was the abolitionist outlier.
This article was first published in Crime Justice Journal: https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/issue/view/119
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list Australia
Document(s)
Maldives – Committee Against Torture (LOIPR) – Death Penalty – June 2022
By The Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) , on 21 July 2022
2022
NGO report
World Coalition
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Maldives
More details Download [ pdf - 1443 Ko ]
This report addresses the Maldives’ compliance with its human rights obligations with respect to the death penalty. Despite its long-standing, de facto moratorium on executions, the Maldives sentenced two people to death in 2019, after sentencing no one to death in 2018.[1] At the end of 2019, there were 19 people on death row in the Maldives – three of whom had exhausted their appeals and five of whom were juveniles when the crime was committed.[2] The Maldives sentenced another individual to death in 2022, which represented the first time the country sentenced a foreign national to death.[3] The continued use of the death penalty in sentencing is particularly concerning given evidence of due process violations, including the use of torture to obtain confessions, the lack of effective and accessible complaint mechanisms for detained individuals, the lack of an independent judiciary, and the use of the death penalty as a sentence for crimes committed by juveniles.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Maldives
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Document(s)
Impact of the World Coalition’s Strategic Plan 2018–2022
By World Coalition Agianst the Death Penalty, on 22 August 2023
2023
World Coalition
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 265 Ko ]
- Document type World Coalition
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Impact du Plan stratégique 2018-2022 de la Coalition Mondiale
Document(s)
2022 World Day Report
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 12 June 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 1557 Ko ]
On 10 October 2022, the World Coalition and abolitionists around the world celebrated the 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty (‘World Day’). Every year on World Day, the World Coalition highlights one problematic aspect of the Death Penalty.
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages Rapport journée mondiale 2022
Document(s)
2020 Activity Report
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 9 September 2021
2021
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 496 Ko ]
Activity Report of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty for 2020, as adopted by its General Assembly on 18 June 2021
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages Rapport d'Activité 2020
Document(s)
22nd World Day Against the Death Penalty – FACTS AND FIGURES
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 8 July 2024
2024
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 206 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages 22e Journée mondiale contre la peine de mort - Faits et chiffres
Document(s)
A/HRC/RES/54/35 Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 7 February 2024
2024
International law - United Nations
aresfrruzh-hantMore details See the document
- Document type International law - United Nations
- Available languages A/HRC/RES/54/35قرار اعتمده مجلس حقوق اإلنسانA/HRC/RES/54/35 Resolución aprobada por el Consejo de Derechos HumanosA/HRC/RES/54/35 Résolution adoptée par le Conseil des droits de l’hommeA/HRC/RES/54/35 Резолюция, принятая Советом по правам человекаA/HRC/RES/54/35 人权理事会 通过的决议
Document(s)
Guess Who’s Coming to Jury Duty? How the Failure to Collect Juror Demographic Data Contributes to Whithewashing the Jury Box
By Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic , on 30 April 2024
2024
Academic report
United States
More details See the document
Published on February 2024.
Founded in 2001, the Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing capital punishment by providing high-quality representation and offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful, hands-on experience in high stakes, complex litigation. The clinic also tackles problems endemic to the administration of the death penalty and the criminal legal system.
The report continues the clinic’s racial justice research and advocacy by cataloging the states that gather prospective jurors’ self-identified race and ethnicity and those that do not. It examines what courts do with the information, including whether it is provided to the court and counsel for use during jury selection, and the consequences of these choices in furthering or obstructing jury representativeness and diversity. In particular, the report shows why the collection of prospective jurors’ self-identified race and ethnicity is vital to meeting state and federal fair cross-section guarantees and eliminating the discriminatory exercise of peremptory challenges.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Death by Design: Part 1
By The Wren Collective , on 23 January 2024
2024
NGO report
Legal Representation
United States
More details See the document
Published in December 2023.
In “Death by Design” Parts 1 and 2, Wren investigated the state of court-appointed capital representation in Harris County—the death penalty capital of the world.The first report delves into the failings of the lawyers in capital cases.
Wren recommends a total overhaul to the system of capital representation for poor defendants in Harris County, with either the public defender absorbing those cases or the judges establishing a new, freestanding capital public defender that is independent from judicial oversight.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Legal Representation
Document(s)
“Don’t let them kill us”: Iran’s relentless execution crisis since the 2022 uprising
By Amnesty International, on 4 April 2024
2024
NGO report
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
faMore details See the document
Published in 2024.
This research briefing documents the horrifying surge in executions in Iran in 2023, the highest in eight years. More than half of the executions were for drug-related offences amid a distressing return to a lethal antinarcotics policy since Ebrahim Raisi’s rise to presidency in 2021. With systemic impunity in Iran, the briefing reiterates the need for states to initiate criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction into crimes under international law committed by Iranian officials, irrespective of the absence or presence of the accused in their territory. Since the “Woman Life Freedom” uprising of September-December 2022, the Iranian authorities have weaponized the death penalty to create a pervasive climate of fear across the country, exert control over the population, and suppress dissent and any challenge to their iron grip on power. As a result, 2023 saw an exponential increase in the number of recorded executions. The authorities executed at least 853 people in 2023, a 48% increase from 2022 when 576 people were executed and a 172% increase from 2021 when 314 people were executed. Amnesty International believes that the real number of executions is higher, but the Iranian authorities are not transparent about the number of people executed each year and do not make data on executions publicly available.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
- Available languages « ن گ راذ ی د ام ار دنشکب » نارحب مادعا یب یاه ناما رد اریا شزیخ نامز زا ن لاس 1
Document(s)
Bloodshed and Lies: Mohammed bin Salman’s Kingdom of Executions
By Reprieve UK and European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, on 31 January 2023
2023
NGO report
Saudi Arabia
arMore details See the document
Saudi Arabia is a flagrant abuser of the right to life. Between 2010 and 2021, Saudi Arabia executed at least 1243 people, making it one of the most rampant executioners in the world. As of December 2022, the Saudi regime had executed at least a further 147 people in 2022, including 81 people in one day in a mass execution on 12 March 2022.
Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty has drastically increased since 2015. This escalation has taken place on the watch of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, who acceded the throne on 23 January 2015, and his son, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The annual rate of executions has almost doubled since King Salman and Mohammed bin Salman came to power in 2015. From 2010-2014 there was an average of 70.8 executions per year. From 2015-2022 there was an average of 129.5 executions per year – a rise of 82%. The six bloodiest years of executions in Saudi Arabia’s recent history have all occurred under the leadership of Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022).
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Saudi Arabia
- Available languages سفك الدماء والأكاذيب: مملكة إعدام محمد بن سلمان
Document(s)
Right Here, Right Now Life Stories from America’s Death Row
By Lynden Harris, on 10 August 2021
2021
Book
Death Row Conditions
United States
More details See the document
Upon receiving his execution date, one of the thousands of men living on death row in the United States had an epiphany: “All there ever is, is this moment. You, me, all of us, right here, right now, this minute, that’s love.”
Right Here, Right Now collects the powerful, first-person stories of dozens of men on death rows across the country. From childhood experiences living with poverty, hunger, and violence to mental illness and police misconduct to coming to terms with their executions, these men outline their struggle to maintain their connection to society and sustain the humanity that incarceration and its daily insults attempt to extinguish.
By offering their hopes, dreams, aspirations, fears, failures, and wounds, the men challenge us to reconsider whether our current justice system offers actual justice or simply perpetuates the social injustices that obscure our shared humanity.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Testimonies tool – World Day 2022
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 28 June 2022
2022
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 764 Ko ]
The World Coalition and its members have collected testimonies of victims of torture in the death penalty. Confessions, death row phenomenon, moments before the execution, psychological torture of those not sentenced to death, methods of execution. Read the stories of these victims.
We thank all those who agreed to share their testimonies and their stories.
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages Outil témoignages - Journée mondiale 2022
Document(s)
Mobilization Kit World Day 2022
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 9 June 2022
2022
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 892 Ko ]
For the 20th year in a row, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty is calling for local initiatives and world-wide actions that shine a spotlight on the abolition of the death penalty. The goal of this Mobilization Kit is to inform of this year’s objectives as well provide ideas of activities that boost the global abolitionist goal. This year’s World Day is dedicated to people who, during the process of being sentenced to death, or following the sentence of their death, have been victims of torture.
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages Kit de mobilisation Journée mondiale 2022
Document(s)
Investigating Attitudes to the Death Penalty in Indonesia Part One – Opinion Formers: An Appetite for Change
By Carolyn Hoyle - The Death Penalty Project, in partnership with LBH Masyarakat and the University of Indonesia, on 28 June 2021
2021
NGO report
Drug Offenses
Indonesia
Public Opinion
More details See the document
In 2019-20, The Death Penalty Project, in partnership with LBH Masyarakat and the University of Indonesia, commissioned Professor Carolyn Hoyle, of The Death Penalty Research Unit at the University of Oxford to conduct research investigating attitudes towards the death penalty in Indonesia.
The findings have been presented in a two-part report; the first details the findings of a nuanced public survey and the second details the findings of interviews conducted with opinion formers.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Indonesia
- Themes list Drug Offenses / Public Opinion
Document(s)
Report of the Secretary General: Question of the death penalty 2021 (A/HRC/48/29)
By Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on 15 September 2021
2021
United Nations report
Public Opinion
More details See the document
The present report is submitted pursuant to decision 18/117 and resolution 42/24 of the Human Rights Council. The report focuses on consequences arising from the lack of transparency in the application and imposition of the death penalty on the enjoyment of human rights.
- Document type United Nations report
- Themes list Public Opinion
Document(s)
Lethal injection in the modern era: cruel, unusual and racist
By Reprieve , on 24 April 2024
2024
NGO report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
United States
More details See the document
Published on April 2024.
Researchers at Reprieve conducted an in-depth comparative study of botched lethal injection executions in the modern era of the U.S. death penalty, cross-referenced against the 1,407 lethal injection executions carried out or attempted during that period.
This report examines the phenomenon of botched executions by lethal injection, exploring the trends and contributing factors leading to botched executions through an analysis of 73 botched executions in the 1,407 lethal injection executions since 1977 (known as the modern era of the death penalty in the U.S.). This analysis used a process called multi-variable logistic regression, a type of analysis that assesses the odds of something happening considering multiple variables, to assess how identifiable characteristics (gender, age, and race) were associated with botched executions.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment