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As noted by Flanagan (1996), public opinion polls about crime and justice can act as a social barometer providing important data to policy makers regarding what the public is willing, or is not willing, to accept when it comes to proposed legislation and/or intervention programming. This paper reports findings from the 2001 Penn State Poll, a random telephone survey of Pennsylvanians, 18 years of age or older, in which citizens were asked about their attitudes toward and perceptions of such issues as fear of crime, capital punishment, the most important goal of prison, and where they would most like to see their tax dollars spent (building more prisons vs. early intervention programs with troubled youth). Significant differences were found within certain demographic groups across these sets of questions, and in a predictive model, gender, race/ethnicity, and education had a greater impact on citizens’ support for capital punishment than did their fear of crime. Overall, findings suggest that the public is not as punitive as it is sometimes believed to be by legislators and policy makers.

• Document type Article
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Public opinion,

The death penalty is a subject that, in the words of Justice Adrian Saunders of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, “invariably elicits passionate comment.” Such comment is particularly so within the states that make up the Commonwealth Caribbean, where rising rates of violent crime have led to strong public clamor for a swift and final response. The involvement of foreign courts and quasi-judicial international tribunals in limiting the actual use of the death penalty in the Caribbean has made the issue even more politically charged, leading to a strongly held perception that the judgments of these foreign bodies are unacceptable challenges to the very exercise of Caribbean national sovereignty.

• Document type Article
• Themes list Mandatory Death Penalty,

Among the most significant and compelling aspects of the litigation surrounding the issue of the mandatory death penalty in the Caribbean region has been the interplay between the procedures and jurisprudence of the inter-American human rights system and those of relevant domestic courts. In particular, the supervisory bodies of the inter-American system have relied upon the decisions of appellate courts in certain states employing the death penalty, and have concluded that the practice of mandatory sentencing for the death penalty contravened applicable international human rights norms. Subsequently, appellate courts in the Caribbean region explicitly relied upon the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in interpreting and applying rights that are protected under national constitutions. Moreover, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council found that the protection of due process of law under national constitutions extend to the procedures before the inter-American human rights system,’ with the consequence that states were barred from executing capital defendants while their pending cases were before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and, where available, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

• Document type Article
• Themes list Mandatory Death Penalty,

The conviction of Amina Lawal in Nigeria for committing adultery and sentence of death by stoning created an international outcry of support to overturn her sentence. The support she received is a reflection of the outrage many around the world feel toward this particular method of execution, and in a larger context the growing social norm that the death penalty should be abolished. As more of the world looks upon the death penalty as unfair, or cruel and unusual, or as torture, arguably, a jus cogens norm prohibiting the death penalty has developed in international law, and will ultimately be the vehicle by which the death penalty will be abolished worldwide. Part I of this comment will detail the plight of Amina Lawal, and how her situation is indicative of the globalization of human rights norms. In Part II, this comment will examine the meaning of a jus cogens norm and how it can be established in the context of capital punishment. Using human rights treaties, the law and practice of other nations, and international tribunal decisions, Part III will assert, citing other contexts, such as the “right to life,” and the already entrenched jus cogens norm prohibiting torture, that a jus cogens norm abolishing the death penalty has arguably already been established. Finally, Part IV will assess what the effect of the establishment of a jus cogens norm prohibiting capital punishment.

• Document type Article
• Countries list Nigeria
• Themes list Stoning,

The analytical part of the report focuses in depth on a narrow range of issues, with an overall emphasis on accountability. The four principal topics addressed are: (i) genocide and crimes against humanity; (ii) violations of the right to life in armed conflict and internal strife; (iii) capital punishment; and (iv) violations of the right to life by non-State actors.

• Document type International law - United Nations
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
• Available languages ح ا لا ت ا لإ ع د ا م خ ا ر ج ن ط ا ق ا ل ق ض ا ء أ و ب إ ج ر ا ء ا ت م و ج زة أ و ت عس ف ا ً تقرير المقرر الخاص فيليب ألستونВнесудебные казни, казни без надлежащего судебного разбирательства или произвольные казни: Доклад Специального докладчика Филипа АлстонаExécutions extrajudiciaires, sommaires ou arbitraires: Rapport du Rapporteur spécial, M. Philip Alston法外处决、即审即决或任意处决问题特别报告员; 菲利普·奥尔斯顿Las ejecuciones extrajudiciales, sumarias o arbitrarias: Informe del Relator Especial, Philip Alston

This report is submitted pursuant to Commission resolution 2005/34, and should be read in conjunction with its various addenda. They provide the following: a detailed analysis of communications sent to Governments which describe alleged cases of extrajudicial executions; reports on country missions to Nigeria and Sri Lanka during 2005; a report on the principle of transparency in relation to the death penalty; and several reports aimed at following up on earlier country missions to the Sudan, Brazil, Honduras and Jamaica.

• Document type International law - United Nations
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
• Available languages تعسفاً أو موجزة بإجراءات أو القضاء نطاق خارج الإعدام حا ألستون* فيليب الخاص المقرر تExécutions extrajudiciaires, sommaires ou arbitraires: Rapport du Rapporteur spécial, Philip Alston法外处决、即审即决或任意处决问题特别报告员: 菲利普·奥尔斯顿的报告Las ejecuciones extrajudiciales, sumarias o arbitrarias: Informe del Relator Especial, Sr. Philip AlstonВнесудебные казни, казни без надлежащего судебного разбирательства или произвольные казни: Доклад Специального докладчика Филипа Алстона

Article 51. Every human being has the inherent right to life.2. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.Article 6Sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes inaccordance with the laws in force at the time of commission of the crime and pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.Article 71. Sentence of death shall not be imposed on persons under 18 years of age, unlessotherwise stipulated in the laws in force at the time of the commission of the crime.2. The death penalty shall not be inflicted on a pregnant woman prior to her deliveryor on a nursing mother within two years from the date of her delivery; in all cases, the best interests of the infant shall be the primary consideration.

• Document type Regional body report
• Themes list International law, Right to life, Most Serious Crimes,
• Available languages الميثاق العربي لحقوق الإنسانCHARTE ARABE DES DROITS DE L’HOMME

The present report contains information covering the period from January 2003 through December 2003. The report indicates that the trend towards abolition of the death penalty continues, illustrated, inter alia, by the increase in the number of ratifications of international instruments that provide for the abolition of this punishment.

• Document type International law - United Nations
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
• Available languages الموضوع العقوبة الاعدام : تقرير الأمين العام مقدم بشأن قرار اللجنة 2003/67По вопросу смертной казни: доклад Генерального Секретаря, предоставленный в ответ на резолюцию 2003/67 Комиссии по правам человекаQuestion de la peine de mort: Rapport du Secrétaire général présenté en application de la résolution 2003/67死刑问题: 秘书长按照委员会第2003/67 号决议提交的报告Cuestión de la pena capital: Informe del Secretario General presentado de conformidad con la resolución 2003/67

The first part of the paper looks at the national law governing the death penalty vis-à-vis international standards; the second part of the paper identifies the problems one encounters at the pretrial, trial and post trial stages and examines the attempts to solve some of these problems; the final part looks at present trends in the application of the death penalty and draws tentative conclusions as to the future prospects of the death penalty in Lesotho.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Due Process ,

This report — the first-ever national survey of women currently on Death Row — found that women who have been sentenced to death are often subjected to harsh living conditions, including being forced to live in virtual isolation, and many are sentenced for crimes that don’t result in a death sentence for men.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Women,