16th World Day Against the Death Penalty – Living conditions on death row
World Day
On 10 October 2018, the 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty aims at raising awareness on the inhumane living conditions of people sentenced to death.
The conditions of detention of the people sentenced to death might differ from one country to another, but affect us all.
From solitary confinement in the United States, to the overcrowded prisons in several countries in Africa and Asia, the living conditions for the people sentenced tend to dehumanize and take away the dignity of individuals. Very often, death row prisoners become human beings on which the society does not invest anymore, as if, even before being executed, they were no longer alive, they were no longer considered as « human beings ».
In addition, death row prisoners have very little contact with their family and lawyers, as the access to death row is often very limited. Therefore, the conditions of detention affect not only the person sentenced to death but also the families, relatives and legal team.
The death penalty in practice
• 107 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes
• 7 countries have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes
• 28 countries are abolitionist in practice
• 56 countries are retentionist
• 23 countries carried out executions in 2017
• In 2017, the top five executioners were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
To know more about the death penalty…
… all over the world: read the facts & figures
… and living conditions on death row: read the leaflet, the detailed factsheet
10 things you can do to end the death penalty
1. Write to a prisoner on death row.
2. Send support messages to their relatives and lawyers.
3. Organize a visit to prison following the World Coalition’s guidelines.
4. Organize a public debate and a movie screening with families of people sentenced to death, exonerees, their lawyers and experts. See our mobilisation kit for useful tips!
5. Organize an art exhibition (of art work made by the people sentenced to death, of photographs of death row, of drawings or posters) or a theatre performance..
6. Join the events prepared for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.
