The World Coalition works on a very specific topic within the realm of human rights. Not everybody is familiar with the different terms, concepts and instruments that are relevant to the conduct of anti-death penalty work. Here are some important words to get you started if you’re new to the abolitionist community:
Abolitionist
noun
A person, group, country or movement that believes in or works towards the universal and permanent eradication of the death penalty in all circumstances.
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Abolitionist in law
noun
A country whose laws do not provide for the death penalty for any crime.
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Moratorium
noun
A temporary suspension of executions and, more rarely, of death sentences. Every few years, the UN Member States vote on a formal moratorium on executions.
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Botched execution
noun
An execution that encounters unanticipated problems or delays that cause additional suffering and unnecessary agony for the prisoner.
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Ordinary crime
noun
A crime that is not considered extremely serious, such as hold-up, fraud, theft or burglary.
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Capital crime
noun
A crime that is punishable by the death penalty. Capital crimes differ from country to country, but they mostly include serious offenses, such as murder, mass murder, treason, espionage, and terrorism.
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Reducing the scope of the death penalty
verb
To lessen the number of crimes for which a person can be sentenced to death.
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Clemency
noun
The process by which a governor, president, or administrative board may reduce a prisoner’s sentence or grant a pardon.
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Reprieve
verb
A limited form of clemency, in which an execution is temporarily delayed. Can also be referred to as a “stay of execution”.
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De facto abolitionist
noun
A country that retains the use of the death penalty in law but has not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more.
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Retentionist
noun
A person, group, country or movement that believes in the death penalty and continues to hand down death sentences and carry out executions.
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Death row
noun
The state of waiting for execution after being convicted of a capital crime. Time on death row can vary widely, with some reaching decades between conviction and the final execution.
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Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR (OP2)
noun
Fondly known within the abolitionist community as the OP2, the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty is the only global treaty that prohibits executions and provides for total abolition of the death penalty.
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