All about Death Row Conditions
71 element(s) found
Document(s)
Qarchak Prison Report: Hell for Women and Children in Iran
By Iran Human Rights, on 10 December 2024
2024
NGO report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Women
More details See the document
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) has released a detailed report exposing the inhumane conditions at Qarchak Prison in Iran, a facility originally designed as a poultry farm. The prison detains over 2,000 women and children in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, with a lack of healthcare, contaminated drinking water, and inadequate nutrition. Children, some born in the prison, are exposed to severe hardships, including unhygienic environments, insufficient food, and inadequate medical care, and are often separated from their mothers at the age of two.
The report also highlights the use of solitary confinement for women, including death row prisoners awaiting execution. These cells lack ventilation and basic facilities, exacerbating the psychological and physical suffering of detainees. Mothers detained with their children face additional challenges, including threats of separation and the absence of educational or recreational resources for their children.
IHRNGO calls for the immediate closure of Qarchak Prison and urges the international community to take action against these egregious human rights violations. This report underscores the urgent need to protect the dignity and rights of all prisoners, particularly the most vulnerable women and children.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Death Row Conditions / Women
Document(s)
Hidden Casualties: Executions Harm Mental Health of Prison Staff
By Death Penalty Information Center , on 5 December 2024
2024
Arguments against the death penalty
Death Row Conditions
Mental Illness
United States
More details See the document
Executions take a severe psychological toll on prison staff, with many experiencing PTSD, moral injury, and emotional distress. This article explores the hidden casualties of the death penalty, revealing how executioners and correctional officers face mental health challenges that often go unacknowledged. With insights from studies, personal accounts, and cases across the U.S., it highlights the urgent need for systemic support and reform.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions / Mental Illness
Document(s)
New digital exhibition: Capital Letters from death row India
By Project 39A, on 21 November 2024
2024
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
India
More details See the document
Project 39A has launched Capital Letters from death row India, a unique digital exhibition curated by reFrame. Featuring letters, artwork, audio recordings, and photographs created by prisoners on death row, the exhibition offers a deeply humanizing look into their lived experiences. Through eight thematic sections, visitors can explore the complex realities of life on death row and engage with stories of hope, trauma, and resilience.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list India
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Report of the Secretary General: Question of the death penalty 2024
By Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on 16 July 2024
2024
United Nations report
Clemency
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Trend Towards Abolition
aresfrruzh-hantMore details Download [ pdf - 424 Ko ]
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 SecretaryGeneral reaffirms the general trend towards universal abolition of the death penalty and highlights initiatives limiting its use and implementing safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing this penalty. Between July 2022 and June 2024, a minority of States continued to implement the death penalty, with some increasing their use considerably. Pursuant to Council resolution 22/11, the report includes information on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed.
- Document type United Nations report
- Themes list Clemency / Death Row Conditions / Fair Trial / Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages مادعلإا ةبوقع ةلأسم - ماعلا نيملأا ريرقتLa cuestión de la pena de muerte Informe del Secretario GeneralQuestion de la peine de mort - Rapport du Secrétaire généralВопрос о смертной казни - Доклад Генерального секретаря死刑问题 秘书长的报告
Document(s)
REPORT WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY 2023
By world coalition against the death penalty, on 7 June 2024
2024
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
frMore details Download [ pdf - 1029 Ko ]
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Row Conditions / Fair Trial
- Available languages RAPPORT JOURNÉE MONDIALE CONTRE LA PEINE DE MORT 2023
Document(s)
Death Row in the USA: Death Penalty Cases and Statistics by State
By Legal Defense Fund , on 13 May 2024
2024
Academic report
Death Row Conditions
United States
More details See the document
LDF issues a quarterly report entitled Death Row USA that contains death penalty information, death row populations by state, and other capital punishment statistics in the United States.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list United States
- 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)
Documentaire: femmes dans la couloir de la mort
By Investigations et Enquêtes , on 17 January 2024
2024
Multimedia content
Death Row Conditions
Gender
United States
Women
More details See the document
Un regard déchirant sur la vie des femmes condamnées et les failles du système judiciaire américain. Aux Etats-Unis, 54 femmes « attendent » l’exécution de leur peine. Linda Carty et Melissa Lucio sont emprisonnées au Texas, Shawna Forde en Arizona. Elles se livrent. Parmi les prisonnières, certaines espèrent la révision de leur procès.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions / Gender / Women
Article(s)
Symposium international sur le droit à la vie à Taiwan
By L'Alliance taïwanaise pour l'abolition de la peine de mort (TAEDP), on 12 January 2024
L’Alliance taïwanaise pour l’abolition de la peine de mort (TAEDP) a organisé une série d’événements, dont un séminaire international, une visite de prison et des réunions, du 19 au 22 septembre 2023, pour célébrer son 20e anniversaire.
2024
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
India
Taiwan
Article(s)
International Symposium on the Right to Life in Taiwan
By Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP), on 12 January 2024
The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) held a series of events including an international seminar, prison visit, and meetings that took place from 19-22 September 2023 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
India
Taiwan
Article(s)
Points forts : Discussion sur la torture et la peine de mort avec des experts de l’ONU et des ancien.nes détenu.es
By Venus Aves, on 6 November 2023
À l’occasion de la 21e Journée mondiale contre la peine de mort, consacrée à la réflexion sur le lien entre le recours à la peine de mort et la torture ou d’autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants, qui débutera en 2022, la Coalition mondiale a organisé une discussion en ligne avec des experts […]
2023
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Highlights: Discussion on torture and the death penalty with UN experts and exonerees
By Venus Aves, on 6 November 2023
For the 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to the reflection on the relationship between the use of the death penalty and torture or other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment started in 2022, the World Coalition hosted an online discussion with United Nations experts Morris Tidball Binz (UN Special Rapporteur on […]
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Journée internationale pour le soutien aux victimes de la torture : Comprendre le lien entre la peine de mort et la torture
By Wendy Adouki, on 26 June 2023
Le 26 juin 2023, le monde entier commémore la Journée internationale pour le soutien aux victimes de la torture (Journée internationale). Instaurée en 1987, cette journée internationale a débuté lorsque la Convention des Nations unies contre la torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants (Convention des Nations unies contre la torture) est […]
2023
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: Understanding the link between the Death Penalty and Torture
By Wendy Adouki, on 26 June 2023
Today, 26th June 2023, the world is commemorating the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (International Day). Started in 1987, this International Day began when the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UN Convention Against Torture) came into force; a crucial legal text to combat […]
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Crossing the River Styx, The Memoir of a Death Row Chaplain
By Russ Ford. Charles Peppers. Todd C. Peppers, on 24 March 2023
2023
Book
Death Row Conditions
United States
More details See the document
The Reverend Russ Ford, who served as the head chaplain on Virginia’s death row for eighteen years, raged against the inequities of the death penalty—now outlawed in Virginia—while ministering to the men condemned to die in the 1980s and 1990s. Ford stood watch with twenty-eight men, sitting with them in the squalid death house during the final days and hours of their lives. In July 1990 he accidentally almost became the 245th person killed by Virginia’s electric chair as he comforted Ricky Boggs in his last moments, a vivid episode that opens this haunting book. Many chaplains get to know the condemned men only in these final moments. Ford, however, spent years working with the men of Virginia’s death row, forging close bonds with the condemned and developing a nuanced understanding of their crimes, their early struggles, and their challenges behind bars. His unusual ministry makes this memoir a unique and compelling read, a moving and unflinching portrait of Virginia’s death row inmates. Revealing the cruelties of the state-sanctioned violence that has until recently prevailed in our backyard, Crossing the River Styx serves as a cautionary tale for those who still support capital punishment.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
He Called Me Sister
By Suzanne Craig Robertson, on 24 February 2023
2023
Book
Death Row Conditions
United States
More details See the document
The fascinating, moving story of a friendship with an inmate on death row. It was a clash of race, privilege, and circumstance when Alan Robertson first signed up through a church program to visit Cecil Johnson on Death Row, to offer friendship and compassion. Alan’s wife Suzanne had no intention of being involved, but slowly, through phone calls and letters, she began to empathize and understand him. That Cecil and Suzanne eventually became such close friends—a white middle-class woman and a Black man who grew up devoid of advantage—is a testament to perseverance, forgiveness, and love, but also to the notion that differences don’t have to be barriers. This book recounts a fifteen-year friendship and how trust and compassion were forged despite the difficult circumstances, and how Cecil ended up ministering more to Suzanne’s family than they did to him. The story details how Cecil maintained inexplicable joy and hope despite the tragic events of his life and how Suzanne, Alan, and their two daughters opened their hearts to a man convicted of murder. Cecil Johnson was executed Dec. 2, 2009.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Capital Punishment & Social Rights Research Initiative – Texas
By Barbara Laubenthal, on 12 February 2023
2023
Multimedia content
Death Row Conditions
United States
More details See the document
The Capital Punishment and Social Rights Research Initiative assesses and analyzes the access of men and women on U.S. death rows to social rights such as health care, social contacts, visitation, communication, recreation and spiritual support. CPSR’s info series on living conditions on death row, state by state. Part 1: Texas
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Retour sur le 20ème anniversaire de la Journée Mondiale Contre la Peine de Mort
By Dunia Schaffa, on 27 January 2023
“Psychologiquement, je ne suis plus humain”. Ce tweet de l’Organisation mondiale contre la torture, citant une interview de Richard Yav, un ancien agent de sécurité condamné à tort à la peine de mort pendant 20 ans au Bénin, met en lumière les différents impacts de la torture.
2023
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
A Look Back at the 20th Anniversary of the World Day Against the Death Penalty
By Dunia Schaffa, on 27 January 2023
“Psychologically I am no longer human.”. This tweet by the World Organization Against Torture, quoting an interview with Richard Yav, a former security guard who was wrongly sentenced to death for 20 years in Benin, sheds light on the various impacts of torture.
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Déclaration commune sur la peine de mort et les droits des femmes et des personnes LGBTQIA+
By Coalition mondiale contre la peine de mort, on 10 October 2022
20 ème Journée Mondiale contre la Peine de Mort Pour ce 20-ème anniversaire de la Journée Mondiale contre la Peine de Mort dédiée à la réflexion sur le lien entre la torture et le recours à la peine de mort et en continuation de la Journée Mondiale contre la peine de mort de 2021 sur […]
2022
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Women
Article(s)
Joint statement on the death penalty and human rights of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 October 2022
20th World Day against the Death Penalty On this 20th anniversary of the World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to the link between torture and the use of the death penalty and in continuation of the 2021 World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to women facing capital punishment, sentenced to death, executed, pardoned […]
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Women
Document(s)
European Court for Human Rights cases involving the death penalty
By European Court for Human Rights Press Unit, on 24 June 2022
2022
International law - Regional body
Regional body report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
More details See the document
“[T]he [European Court of Human Rights] in Öcalan did not exclude that Article 2 [of the European Convention on Human Rights, protecting the right to life,] had already been amended so as to remove the exception permitting the death penalty. Moreover, … the position has evolved since then. All but two of the Member States have now signed Protocol No. 13 [to the Convention, concerning the abolishment of the death penalty in all circumstances,] and all but three of the States which have signed have ratified it. These figures, together with consistent State practice in observing the moratorium on capital punishment, are strongly indicative that Article 2 has been amended so as to prohibit the death penalty in all circumstances. Against this background, the Court does not consider that the wording of the second sentence of Article 2 § 1 continues to act as a bar to its interpreting the words ‘inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ in Article 3 [of the Convention, prohibiting torture and inhuman or degrading treatment,] as including the death penalty …” (Al-Saadoon and Mufdhi v. the United Kingdom judgment of 2 March 2010, § 120).
- Document type International law - Regional body / Regional body report
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Death Row Conditions / Fair Trial
Article(s)
عقوبة الإعدام في 2021
By Amnesty International, on 9 June 2022
عقوبة الإعدام في 2021 سجلت منظمة العفو الدولية 579 إعداماً في 18 بلداً في عام 2021، بزيادة قدرها 20 في المئة عن 483 عملية إعدام مسجلة في عام 2020. على الرغم من هذه الزيادات، فإن رقم عمليات الإعدام العالمية لعام 2021 يشكل ثاني أدنى رقم سجلته منظمة العفو الدولية منذ عام 2010، على الأقل. للعام […]
2022
Death Row Conditions
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Aumentan las ejecuciones, pero se avanza hacia la abolición en 2021
By Amnesty International, on 9 June 2022
El 24 de mayo, Amnistía Internacional publicó su informe anual sobre el uso de la pena de muerte en el mundo, que muestra el número total de condenas y ejecuciones en 2021. En 2021, Amnistía Internacional registró 579 ejecuciones repartidas en 18 países, lo que supuso un incremento del 20% respecto a las 483 ejecuciones […]
Death Row Conditions
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Augmentation des exécutions, mais avancées en faveur de l’abolition en 2021
By Amnesty International, on 9 June 2022
Le 24 mai, Amnesty International a publié son rapport annuel sur le recours à la peine de mort dans le monde, qui indique le nombre total de condamnations et d’exécutions en 2021. Amnesty International a enregistré 579 exécutions dans 18 pays en 2021, ce qui représente une augmentation de 20 % par rapport aux 483 exécutions recensées 2020. Malgré ces augmentations, le nombre total […]
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Executions on the rise, but progress toward abolition in 2021
By Amnesty International, on 9 June 2022
On 24 May, Amnesty International published their annual report on the global use of the death penalty, which shows the overall sentences and executions in 2021 Global figures Amnesty International recorded 579 executions in 18 countries in 2021, an increase of 20% from the 483 recorded in 2020. Despite these increases, the 2021 global executions figure constitutes the second-lowest figure recorded […]
Death Row Conditions
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Plus de 8 000 personnes dans les couloirs de la mort en Asie du Sud
By Aurélie Plaçais, directrice, on 3 May 2022
Avec peu d’exécutions mais l’un des plus grands couloirs de la mort au monde, l’Asie du Sud est à la croisée des chemins. Des publications récentes explorent la santé mentale des personnes condamnées à mort et leur contexte social et économique au Bangladesh, en Inde, aux Maldives, au Pakistan et au Sri Lanka.
2022
Bangladesh
Death Row Conditions
Death Row Conditions
India
Mental Illness
Maldives
Mental Illness
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Article(s)
Over 8,000 people on death row in South Asia
By Aurelie Placais, staff, on 3 May 2022
With few executions but one of the biggest death rows in the world, South Asia is at a crossroad. Recent publications explore mental health on death row and social and economic background of people sentenced to death in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh
Death Row Conditions
India
Maldives
Mental Illness
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Document(s)
Living Under Sentence of Death
on 22 April 2022
2022
Academic report
NGO report
Bangladesh
Death Row Conditions
More details See the document
In 2019-20, The Department of Law at the University of Dhaka, in collaboration with the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and The Death Penalty Project, conducted a study to investigate socio-economic characteristics and experiences of death row prisoners in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh continues to retain and implement the death penalty, with several executions taking place each year. Excluding laws relating to the defence forces and international crimes, there are currently 33 crimes punishable by death. 25 of these offences are non-lethal and arguably do not meet the threshold of the ‘most serious crimes’ under international law.
Inspired by similar studies in other countries, a pilot study was commissioned to examine the demographics and experiences of those sentenced to death. Consistent with those studies around the world, our findings evidence that the death penalty in Bangladesh is disproportionately used against the most vulnerable and marginalised sections of society.
72% of prisoners were classified as economically vulnerable
53% of prisoners were in low-paid work or unemployed
87% of prisoners had no qualifications beyond secondary school level
15% of prisoners had no formal education.
The study also raised serious concerns around the treatment of prisoners, the length of time prisoners spent in prison under the sentence of death and the integrity of criminal investigations and trial.
33% of prisoners’ families alleged their relative had been tortured in police custody, 5% suspected this and 15% refused to comment
60% of respondents were not satisfied with the trial process, with some claiming that the courts had failed to properly appreciate the evidence
On average it took over 10 years for death row cases to be disposed by the HCD (where sentences are confirmed). Prolonged time spent in isolation on death row, has been declared inhumane and degrading in many countries.
The sample consisted of 39 individuals on death row, evidence from their case files and face-to-face interviews with their families were conducted under rigorous ethical guidelines to reveal their profiles and experiences. Despite its small size, the sample is indicative of the general prison population allowing us to draw conclusions on possible trends.
- Document type Academic report / NGO report
- Countries list Bangladesh
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
The death penalty in Egypt: Ten year after the uprising
By Jeed Basyouni - Reprieve, on 10 August 2021
2021
NGO report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Egypt
Fair Trial
More details See the document
Reprieve wrote this report about the use of the death penalty in Egypt.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Egypt
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Death Row Conditions / Fair Trial
Document(s)
Capital Punishment, 2019 – Statistical Tables
By U.S. Department of Justice Tracy L. Snell, on 10 August 2021
Government body report
Death Row Conditions
Drug Offenses
United States
More details See the document
This report presents statistics on persons who were under sentence of death or were executed in 2019
- Document type Government body report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions / Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Right Here, Right Now Life Stories from America’s Death Row
By Lynden Harris, on 10 August 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
Article(s)
Violations of the Right to Life in the Context of Drug Policies
By International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA), Corporación ATS Acción Técnica Social, IDPC Consortium, Washington Office on Latin America, non-governmental organizations in special consultative status, Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN); Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP); Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE); Cornell Centre on the Death Penalty Worldwide; Eleos Justice - Monash University; Instituto RIA, AC; Iran Human Rights (IHR); World Coalition Against the Death Penalty., NGO(s) without consultative status, also share the views expressed in this statement, on 10 August 2021
Harm Reduction International and co-signatories congratulate Mr Tidball-Binz on his appointment as Special Rapporteur on summary executions. With this statement, we highlight key violations of the right to life enabled by repressive drug policies or reported in the context of drug law enforcement; and encourage this Rapporteur to pay specific attention to the impact of […]
Death Row Conditions
Drug Offenses
Fair Trial
Document(s)
ISOLATION AND DESOLATION CONDITIONS OF DETENTION OF PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH MALAYSIA – Bahasa Melayu
By Carole Berrih, Ngeow Chow Ying, ECPM, ADPAN, on 27 May 2021
2021
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
Malaysia
More details See the document
Isolation and Desolation – Conditions of Detention of People Sentenced to Death in Malaysia is the first ever fact-finding mission report on the conditions of detention of death row prisoners in Malaysia.
It examines the use of death penalty in Malaysia as well as the actual situation of people on death row.
This report is not meant to point fingers but rather to put the facts on the table in a transparent manner and work from there. It is mainly an advocacy tool for all abolitionist stakeholders, from civil society actors to the parliamentarians who will keep fighting for the abolition of the death penalty.
—————————————
Isolation and Desolation – Conditions of Detention of People Sentenced to Death di Malaysia adalah satu-satunya laporan berasaskan misi mengkaji fakta (fact-finding mission) mengenai keadaan-keadaan penahanan bagi banduan-banduan hukuman mati di Malaysia.
Laporan ini mengkaji pelaksanaan hukuman mati di Malaysia dan juga keadaan sebenar orang-orang yang dijatuhkan hukuman mati.
Laporan ini bukan bertujuan untuk menunding jari terhadap mana-mana pihak, tetapi bertujuan untuk memberi pencerahan kepada fakta-fakta yang ditemui dan berusaha ke atasnya. Laporan ini bertujuan utama sebagai alat advokasi kepada semua pihak yang mempunyai kepentingan dalam pemansuhan, bermula dari ahli persatuan kemasyarakatan sehingga ahli parlimen yang akan berusaha berterusan untuk memansuhkan hukuman mati.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Malaysia
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Isolation and desolation conditions of detention of people sentenced to death Malaysia
By Carole Berrih, Ngeow Chow Ying, ECPM, ADPAN, on 27 May 2021
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
Malaysia
frMore details See the document
Isolation and Desolation – Conditions of Detention of People Sentenced to Death in Malaysia is the first ever fact-finding mission report on the conditions of detention of death row prisoners in Malaysia.
It examines the use of death penalty in Malaysia as well as the actual situation of people on death row.
This report is not meant to point fingers but rather to put the facts on the table in a transparent manner and work from there. It is mainly an advocacy tool for all abolitionist stakeholders, from civil society actors to the parliamentarians who will keep fighting for the abolition of the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Malaysia
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
- Available languages Isolement et désespoir conditions de détention des condamnés à mort Malaisie
Article(s)
Editorial: Amnesty International releases annual report
By Amnesty International, on 27 May 2021
On 21 April, we published our annual report on the global use of the death penalty, which shows that in 2020 the world got one step closer to freeing itself from this cruel punishment.
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Public Opinion
Article(s)
75th UN General Assembly High-Level Event Focuses on the Gender Dimension of the Death Penalty
By Gia Tongson, on 6 October 2020
On September 24th, the UN Permanent Mission of Italy, the European Union, and Amnesty International, in cooperation with the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Women, held a high-level virtual event that shed light on the gender dimension of the death penalty. The webinar was conducted as part of […]
2020
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Women
Document(s)
Fourteen Days in May
By Paul Hamann, on 30 November 2018
2018
Arguments against the death penalty
Multimedia content
Death Row Conditions
More details See the document
Fourteen Days in May is a documentary directed by Paul Hamann. The program recounts the final days before the execution of Edward Earl Johnson, an American prisoner convicted of rape and murder.
The documentary crew, given access to the prison warden, guards and chaplain and to Johnson and his family, filmed the last days of Johnson’s life in detail. The documentary argues against the death penalty and maintains that capital punishment is disproportionately applied to African-Americans convicted of crimes against whites. The programme features attorney Clive Stafford Smith, an advocate against capital punishment.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty / Multimedia content
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
No mention of death row prisoners in Mandela rules
By Nordine Drici (Planète Réfugiés) & Sandrine Ageorges-Skinner (ECPM), on 30 November 2018
Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 2018 is an opportunity to question the effectiveness of civil and political rights, but also economic, social and cultural rights, in the context of an increasingly globalized world that ostracizes, excludes, sentences to death and continues to execute.
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Death penalty is torture, says expert
By Nicolas Chua & FIACAT, on 29 November 2018
In celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 70th anniversary, the 20th EU-NGO Forum was held in Brussels on 21-22 November 2018, during which a session on “International Actions against Death Penalty and Torture” took place. World Coalition Director Aurélie Plaçais was invited to participate in the panel discussion, alongside representatives from Coalition member organizations ECPM and FIACAT.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Behind the Curtain: Secrecy and the Death Penalty in the United States
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 20 November 2018
2018
NGO report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
United States
More details See the document
Report published by the Death Penalty Information Center on secrecy and the death penalty in the United States. This report documents the laws and policies that states have adopted to make information about executions inaccessible to the public, to pharmaceutical companies, and to condemned prisoners. It describes the dubious methods states have used to obtain drugs, the inadequate qualifications of members of the execution team, and the significant restrictions on witnesses’ ability to observe how executions are carried out. It summarizes the various drug combinations that have been used, with particular focus on the problems with the drug midazolam, and provides a state-by-state record of problems in recent executions. It explains how government policies that lack transparency and accountability permit states to violate the law and disregard fundamental principles of a democratic government while carrying out the harshest punishment the law allows.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
NGO Forum & The ACHPR: A broad overview of African prisons amidst tensions
By Jessica Corredor, on 16 November 2018
The NGO Forum, preceding the ACHPR session, was held from 20 to 23 October 2018, with “The Fight against Corruption” as its main topic.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Legal Representation
Article(s)
Hope resonates globally on World Day against the Death Penalty
By Nicolas Chua, on 25 October 2018
On 10 October 2018, abolitionist forces around the world celebrated the 16th World Day against the Death Penalty in a flurry of diverse activities and events meant to raise awareness on living conditions on death row. Activists in every continent mobilized civil society, challenged governments and reached out to the general public in a collective effort to promote and advance the common goal of universal, worldwide abolition of the death penalty.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
First symposium on the abolition of the death penalty in Niger
By Nigerien Coalition against the Death Penalty, on 17 October 2018
October 10 2018, Niamey, National Human Rights Commission CNDH NIGER. The Nigerien Coalition against the Death Penalty and the Nigerien abolitionist movement in Niger (SYNAFEN, NGO REPRODEVH NIGER, ACAT NIGER) organized the First National Symposium on the Contribution to the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Niger, following the theme “DIGNITY FOR ALL” and entitled: “Living Conditions of those under Life Imprisonment in Niger’s prisons and pleading in favour of Niger’s vote on the draft Additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa…”, under the sponsorship of the President of the CNDH NIGER Professor KALID IKIRI.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Overcoming the isolation of the people sentenced to death and their relatives
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 September 2018
One of the observations made by the World Coalition while doing the preliminary work for this year’s World Day, is the isolation in which the people sentenced to death might live.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Take Action for World Day 2018!
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 September 2018
Check what you can do for 10 October. Browse the calendar of events and the map to prepare and promote the events planned around the world on the big day.
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
The Sunny Center
By Jessica Corredor, on 30 July 2018
“Extraordinary things can happen to ordinary people and still be OK »The Sunny Center is a place like no other place in the world. Perched on the top of a hill, it is surrounded by lakes and hills that multiply as far as the eye can see. The landscape is breath-taking. But the landscape is nothing compared to the founders of the Sunny Center. Sunny Jacobs, 72, and Peter Pringle, soon 80, began welcoming innocent people into their homes in 2011.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Innocence
Ireland
Article(s)
Global Prison Trends 2018 4th Edition
By Penal Reform International, on 6 June 2018
Global Prison Trends 2018 is the fourth edition in PRI’s annual flagship Global Prison Trends series, which identifies topical developments and challenges in criminal justice and prison policy and practice. It is published in collaboration with the Thailand Institute of Justice, and features a foreword by the Rt Hon Helen Clark, Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
World Coalition members share knowledge on UN advocacy
By Asil Abuassba (The Advocates for Human Rights), on 19 February 2015
Asil Abuassba, a Palestinian intern with World Coalition member organisation The Advocates for Human Rights, attended a training session to help global activists submit reports on the death penalty situation in their countries to UN bodies.
2015
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Innocence
Intellectual Disability
Juveniles
Mental Illness
Article(s)
Improved access to unique global death penalty library
By Thomas Hubert, on 10 July 2014
The World Coalition has redesigned its online library to help visitors find the documents they need in its multilingual database of resources and campaigning tools on capital punishment.
2014
Clemency
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Drug Offenses
Fair Trial
Innocence
Intellectual Disability
Juveniles
Legal Representation
Mental Illness
Moratorium
Murder Victims' Families
Public Opinion
Terrorism
Women
Article(s)
Abolitionist community appalled at Bangladeshi court ruling
By Emile Carreau, on 8 November 2013
A Bangladeshi court has sentenced 152 people to death and 161 others to life in prison on 5 November for a mutiny in Dhaka in 2009 (photo). High profile abolitionists have berated the decision.
2013
Bangladesh
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
Inside Tunisia’s death row
By Delphine Judith, on 4 June 2013
Following the launch of the investigative report Buried alive: a study of the death penalty in Tunisia is launched, ECPM’s Middle East and North Africa officer Nicolas Bray presents the research carried out in December 2012.
2013
Death Row Conditions
Tunisia
Article(s)
“Catastrophic” conditions on Lebanon’s death row
By Delphine Judith, on 31 May 2013
Ogarit Younan is a co-founder of the Lebanese Association for Civil Rights, which has just joined the World Coalition. She takes stock on the death penalty and abolitionist progress in Lebanon.
2013
Death Row Conditions
Lebanon
Article(s)
Taiwan visit tarnished by six executions
By Patrick Kamenka, on 25 April 2013
The meeting of the World Coalition Steering Committee on 12 and 13 April 2013 in Taipei, attended by twenty people, was tarnished the same week by the execution of six prisoners sentenced to death, even though high-level assurances had been given by the State with regard to reducing such barbarous acts.
2013
Death Row Conditions
Public Opinion
Taiwan
Taiwan
Article(s)
Only one in 10 countries carried out executions in 2012
By Tiziana Trotta, on 10 April 2013
At least 682 people were executed last year aside from China, according to Amnesty International.
2013
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Barbados
Belarus
Burkina Faso
China
Death Row Conditions
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Egypt
Gambia
Ghana
Guyana
India
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Malawi
Moratorium
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Syrian Arab Republic
Taiwan
Trinidad and Tobago
Viet Nam
Yemen
Article(s)
Japan’s death penalty under scrutiny
By The Advocates for Human Rights, on 5 November 2012
After a high-level conference on the abolition of the death penalty in Tokyo on October 29th, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council examined Japan’s record on October 31st as part of the Universal Periodic Review, a worldwide mechanism to monitor the enforcement of human rights. Major Japanese infringements concern the use of the death penalty.
2012
Clemency
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Intellectual Disability
Japan
Legal Representation
Mental Illness
Article(s)
The great abolitionist event comes to the UN
By Aurélie Plaçais, on 17 October 2011
For the first time in nine years, the United Nations has participated in festivities marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty.
2011
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Switzerland
Article(s)
Progressing towards abolition in East Africa
on 7 August 2011
On 24-27 July, 2011, World Coalition members Penal Reform International (PRI), Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) and the International Commission of Jurists-Kenya section (ICJ), jointly hosted a regional roundtable on “Death Penalty in East Africa: Challenges, Strategies and Comparative Jurisprudence”, with the Judicial Studies Institute (JSI) in Nairobi, Kenya.
2011
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Kenya
Article(s)
Former death row warden turns frontline abolitionist
on 6 June 2011
Jeanne Woodford, who used to oversee excutions in California, has become the executive director of the prominent anti-capital punishment organisation Death Penalty Focus.
2011
Death Row Conditions
Public Opinion
United States
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
Article(s)
An uncertain future for the infamous San Quentin prison
on 26 March 2011
The death row facility of California at San Quentin finds itself at the center of a fierce debate over the future of a hugely expensive and increasingly unpopular death penalty system.
2011
Death Row Conditions
Public Opinion
United States
Article(s)
Taiwan abolitionists remind their government of its promise
on 13 March 2011
After fresh executions, the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty has been campaigning to save the lives of five condemned prisoners, recalling the government to its commitments to human rights.
2011
Clemency
Death Row Conditions
Taiwan
Taiwan
Article(s)
CURE Conference weighs in on Nigeria death penalty debate
on 8 March 2011
World Coalition member International Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) held its 5th International Conference from 21-24 February, 2011, in Abuja, Nigeria.
2011
Death Row Conditions
Juveniles
Legal Representation
Nigeria
Nigeria
Article(s)
From death row to elusive freedom
By Ron Keine, on 26 October 2010
Ron Keine, an exonerated former prisoner turned activist, shares his story so that the United States may one day join the rest of the civilized world in abolishing the death penalty.
2010
Death Row Conditions
Innocence
United States
Article(s)
World Coalition takes part in UN death penalty report launch
on 30 May 2010
The World Coalition held a side event to accompany the presentation of the 8th Quinquennial Report of the UN Secretary General on capital punishment in Vienna on May 19.
2010
Death Row Conditions
Innocence
Juveniles
Legal Representation
Article(s)
Universal abolition will happen when four key countries change sides
on 28 February 2010
The US, Iran, China and Japan hold a strategic cultural or geographic position, but the road to abolition remains blocked in those countries.
2010
China
Death Row Conditions
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Japan
Juveniles
Switzerland
United States
Article(s)
Japan executes mentally ill people and pushes prisoners over the edge
on 11 September 2009
The Japanese government continues to execute prisoners with psychiatric illnesses and the conditions on death row provoke mental disorders among inmates, according to a new Amnesty International report.
2009
Death Row Conditions
Japan
Mental Illness
Article(s)
Paris activists lie down against US federal executions
on 10 July 2009
ACAT-France and Amnesty International France staged their 9th “die-in” against the death penalty in the United States.
2009
Death Row Conditions
France
France
Innocence
United States
Article(s)
Debate on California executions turned into abolitionist rally
on 4 July 2009
Hundreds of activists descended on Sacramento for a public review of the state’s lethal injection protocol, arguing that «the death penalty is killing California’s budget».
2009
Death Row Conditions
United States
Article(s)
Filming in the darkness of China’s death row
on 17 September 2008
Night Train, a Chinese film featuring a couple faced with the absurdity of the death penalty, is coming out in DVD.
2008
China
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
From Italian prisons to Texas death row
on 27 March 2008
A conference held near Naples, Italy last month helped around 200 attendees, most of them secondary school students, understand the death penalty situation in the US and relate it to prison issues in their own country.
2008
Death Row Conditions
Italy
United States