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Document(s)
The Death Penlty In 2011: Year End Report
By Death Penalty Information Center / Richard C. Dieter, on 1 January 2011
2011
International law - Regional body
More details See the document
The number of new death sentences dropped dramatically in 2011, falling below 100 for the first time in the modern era of capital punishment. Executions also continued decline, while developments in a variety of states illustrated the growing discomfort that many Americans have with the death penalty.
- Document type International law - Regional body
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
The Deprived: Innocent On Death Row
By Steffen Hou / BookBaby, on 1 January 2019
2019
Book
United States
More details See the document
The book describes how thousands of Americans are convicted of crimes they never committed. Many of them end up on death row where inmates have been executed despite their innocence. ‘The Deprived’ is based on interviews with 10 Americans who have all been affected by wrongful convictions and the death penalty. The book also describes what leads to wrongful convictions in America and who’s most likely to be convicted of a crime they never committed.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Mercy By the Numbers: An Empirical Analysis of Clemency and Its Structure
By Michael Heise / Virginia Law Review, on 1 January 2003
2003
Article
United States
More details See the document
Clemency is an extrajudicial measure intended both to enhance fairness in the administration of justice, and allow for the correction of mistakes. Perhaps nowhere are these goals more important than in the death penalty context. The recent increased use of the death penalty and concurrent decline in the number of defendants removed from death row through clemency call for a better and deeper understanding of clemency authority and its application. Questions about whether clemency decisions are consistently and fairly distributed are particularly apt. This study uses 27 years of death penalty and clemency data to explore the influence of defendant characteristics, political factors, and clemency’s structure on clemency decisions. The results suggest that although a defendant’s race and ethnicity did not influence clemency, gender did play a role, as women were far more likely than their male counterparts to receive clemency. Analyses of political and structural factors point in different directions. Political factors such as the timing of gubernatorial and presidential elections and a governor’s lame-duck status did not systematically influence clemency. However, how states structure clemency authority did make a difference. Clemency grants were more likely in states that vest authority in administrative boards than in states that vest authority in the governor. Regionality and time were also important as clemency grants were less likely in southern states and declined after 1984. Overall, these mixed results contribute to a critique that clemency decisions are arbitrary and inconsistent. Thus, important questions regarding fairness that plague earlier aspects of the death penalty process persist to its final stage.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Clemency,
Document(s)
In the Executioner’s Shadow
By Maggie Burnette Stogner, on 8 September 2020
2020
Multimedia content
United States
More details See the document
What would you do if someone you love was raped, tortured, or murdered? How would you seek justice? The very thought evokes horror— we shudder to even consider it. But it is a reality faced by Vicki and Syl Scheiber after their daughter’s rape and murder; faced by Karen Brassard in the traumatic aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing; faced by former Virginia state executioner Jerry Givens after performing 62 executions.As wrongful convictions, botched executions, and a broken justice system inch further into the spotlight, we must consider: What is justice? What part should the death penalty play?In the Executioner’s Shadow allows a glimpse into Jerry’s rarely seen world of death row and execution. It explores Karen’s moral conflict as she attends the accused bomber’s trial, a young man the same age as her son. It defies our perception of justice as Vicki and Syl fight for the life of their daughter’s murderer.In the Executioner’s Shadow illuminates the oft hidden realities entangled in death row, the death penalty, and the U.S. Justice system at large.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Public opinion, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2006 (and the first seven months of 2007)
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2007
2007
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The worldwide situation to date: The worldwide trend towards abolition, underway for at least a decade, was again confirmed in 2006 and the first six months of 2007. There are currently 146 countries and territories that to different extents have decided to renounce the death penalty. Of these, 93 are totally abolitionist, 9 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes, 1 (Russia) is committed to abolishing the death penalty as a member of the Council of Europe and currently observes a moratorium on executions, 4 have a moratorium on executions in place and 39 are de facto abolitionist (i.e. – no executions have taken place in the last ten years).
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : SINTESI DEI FATTI PIU' IMPORTANTI DEL 2006 (e dei primi sette mesi del 2007)
Document(s)
Cameroun: NGO Report on the Implementation of the ICCPR
By Gender Empowerment and Development / Association de Lutte contre les Violences faites aux Femmes / Centre for Civil and Political Rights / Solidarité Pour la Promotion des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples / Association pour la défense de l’homosexualité / Syndicat National des Journalistes du Cameroun, on 1 January 2010
2010
NGO report
frMore details See the document
Cameroon, with a population of approximately 18 million, has a multiparty system of government, with the current ruling party Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) in power since it was created in 1985. The president retains the power to control legislation or to rule by decree. Although the civilian authorities do generally maintain effective control of the security forces, security forces sometimes act independently of government authority. Authorities arbitrarily arrest and detain citizens for different reasons. Among those arbitrarily arrested and detained are human rights defenders and other activists and persons not carrying government-issued identity cards. There are incidents of prolonged and sometimes incommunicado pretrial detention and infringement on privacy rights. The government restricts freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and harasses journalists and human rights defenders. Other problems include widespread official corruption, societal violence, discrimination against women, the trafficking of children and girls, and discrimination against homosexuals. The government restricts worker rights and activities of independent labor organizations. The diverse cultural beliefs and ethnic groups promote to a large extend discrimination against and violations of women and young people, widows and the divorced. This report specifically highlights violations in 2008 and 2009, with a few violations in other years.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Cameroun: Rapport de la société civile sur la mise en oeuvre du PIDCP
Document(s)
The State of Criminal Justice 2011
By American Bar Association / Ronald Tabak, on 1 January 2011
2011
NGO report
More details See the document
The State of Criminal Justice 2011 contains a chapter on death penalty by Ronald Tabak (Ch. 19). Tabak explores legislative changes, the declining use of the death penalty, important Supreme Court decisions and the adequacy of representation.
- Document type NGO report
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2009 (and the first six months of 2010)
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
enMore details See the document
THE SITUATION TODAY The worldwide trend towards abolition, underway for more than ten years, was again confirmed in 2009 and the first six months of 2010. There are currently 154 countries and territories that, to different extents, have decided to renounce the death penalty. Of these: 96 are totally abolitionist; 8 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes; 6 have a moratorium on executions in place and 44 are de facto abolitionist (i.e. countries that have not carried out any executions for at least 10 years or countries which have binding obligations not to use the death penalty).
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : I FATTI PIÙ IMPORTANTI DEL 2009 (E DEI PRIMI SEI MESI DEL 2010)
Document(s)
Justice Project Pakistan Death Penalty Database
By Justice Project Pakistan, on 1 January 2019
2019
Multimedia content
Pakistan
enMore details See the document
n the course of its advocacy and litigation work, JPP has developed a substantial collection of data sets on death row. With technical support from HURIDOCS, it has now developed open source data sets based on existing research on death row and on age determination under the Juvenile Justice Systems Ordinance. This project marks the beginning of the process of making the information publicly available, allowing the public and academic institutions to generate their own findings and base their campaigns on verified data.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list Pakistan
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Urdu : جسٹس پراجیکٹ پاکستان کا ڈیٹا بیس
Document(s)
The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment
By Franklin E. Zimring / Oxford University Press, on 1 January 2003
2003
Book
United States
More details See the document
Why does the United States continue to employ the death penalty when fifty other developed democracies have abolished it? Why does capital punishment become more problematic each year? How can the death penalty conflict be resolved?In The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment, Frank Zimring reveals that the seemingly insoluble turmoil surrounding the death penalty reflects a deep and long-standing division in American values, a division that he predicts will soon bring about the end of capital punishment in our country. On the one hand, execution would seem to violate our nation’s highest legal principles of fairness and due process. It sets us increasingly apart from our allies and indeed is regarded by European nations as a barbaric and particularly egregious form of American exceptionalism. On the other hand, the death penalty represents a deeply held American belief in violent social justice that sees the hangman as an agent of local control and safeguard of community values.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
California’s Death Penalty is Dead
By Natasha Minsker / American Civil Liberties Union / Miriam Gerace / Ana Zamora, on 1 January 2011
2011
NGO report
More details See the document
California’s death penalty is dead. Prosecutors, legislators and taxpayers are turning to permanent imprisonment with no chance of parole as evidence grows that the system is costly, risky, and dangerous to public safety.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
Forensic Mental Health: Assessments in Death Penalty Cases
By Oxford University Press / David DeMatteo / Daniel C. Murrie / Natalie M. Anumba / Michael E. Keesler, on 1 January 2011
Book
United States
More details See the document
Forensic mental health assessments in death penalty cases are on the rise due in part to the continuing growth of forensic psychology and psychiatry as professions, combined with several recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Forensic mental health professionals are now conducting assessments at every stage of death penalty proceedings, ranging from pre-trial evaluations to determine eligibility for the death penalty to evaluations conducted post-sentencing and closer to the date of execution.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Mental Illness, Intellectual Disability,
Document(s)
Death penalty ‘traumatises jail warders’
By Daily Nation, on 1 January 2011
Arguments against the death penalty
More details See the document
The men who lead death row inmates to the gallows are traumatised on surrendering a prisoner to the hangman. This was told at a meeting of judges, commissioners of prisons and legal practitioners from East Africa on the death penalty in Nairobi.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Themes list Retribution, Death Row Conditions, Sentencing Alternatives,
Document(s)
Iran/death penalty: A state terror policy
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Antoine Bernard, on 1 January 2009
2009
NGO report
enMore details See the document
As momentum is gathering across the world towards abolition of capital punishment, Iran ranks second for number of executions, after China, and first for per capita executions. Unfair trials, execution of juveniles, targeting of ethnic and religious minorities… the death penalty is applied in blatant violation of Iran’s obligations under international human rights law. A very wide range of offences (including economic, drug-related, so-called sexual offences, apostasy…) carry the death penalty and the methods of execution (public hangings, stoning…)amount to the most inhuman and degrading treatment.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Minorities, Fair Trial, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages ایران: مجازات اعدام - سیاست دولتی ایجاد وحشت
Document(s)
Racial Differences in Death Penalty Support and Opposition: A Preliminary Study of White and Black College Students
By Morris Jenkins / Eric G. Lambert / David N. Baker / Journal of Black Studies, on 1 January 2005
2005
Article
United States
More details See the document
Although the death penalty has a long history, it is not without debate and differing views. There appears to be a gap between Whites and Blacks in terms of their support of capital punishment. Students at a Midwestern university were surveyed to determine whether there were differences between the two groups of students in reasons to support or oppose the death penalty. In bivariate tests, there were significant differences between White and Black students on 15 of 16 measures for reasons for supporting or opposing capital punishment. These differences continued for 10 of the 16 measures even after multivariate analysis controlled for the effects of gender, age, and academic level. The results are discussed.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Public opinion, Public debate,
Document(s)
Poster 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – traditional Chinese
on 10 July 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
More details Download [ pdf - 49239 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
Document(s)
Poster 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – Japanese
on 10 July 2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
More details Download [ pdf - 14426 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
Document(s)
Poster 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – Urdu
on 10 July 2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
More details Download [ pdf - 14499 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
Document(s)
Poster 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – Akan
on 10 July 2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
More details Download [ pdf - 14499 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
Document(s)
Poster 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – Luganda
on 10 July 2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
More details Download [ pdf - 14504 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
Document(s)
Kit for Cities Against the Death Penalty – 2015
By Community of Saint Egidio, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
fresMore details Download [ pdf - 341 Ko ]
- Document type Academic report
- Available languages Kit pour les Villes contre la peine de mort - 2015Kit Ciudades contra la Pena de Muerte - 2015
Document(s)
Kit for Cities Against the Death Penalty
By Community of Saint Egidio, on 1 January 2012
2012
Campaigning
fresMore details Download [ msword - 324 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning
- Available languages Kit pour les Villes contre la peine de mortKit Ciudades contra la Pena de Muerte
Document(s)
Poster 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – Italian
on 10 July 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
More details Download [ pdf - 49299 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
Document(s)
Leaflet Cities Against the Death Penalty
By Community of Saint Egidio, on 1 January 2012
2012
Campaigning
esfrMore details Download [ pdf - 326 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning
- Available languages Folleto Ciudades contra la Pena de MuerteBrochure Villes contre la peine de mort
Document(s)
Poster 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – Swahili
on 10 July 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
More details Download [ pdf - 14504 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
Document(s)
Poster 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – German
on 10 July 2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
More details Download [ pdf - 14504 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
Document(s)
Furman Fundamentals
By Corinna Barrett Lain / Washington Law Review, on 1 January 2007
2007
Article
United States
More details See the document
For the first time in a long time, the Supreme Court’s most important death penalty decisions all have gone the defendant’s way. Is the Court’s new found willingness to protect capital defendants here to stay? Or is it a passing fancy that will dissipate in less hospitable times? At first glance, history allows for optimism. Furman v. Georgia, the 1972 landmark that invalidated the death penalty, provides a seemingly perfect example of the Court’s ability and inclination to protect capital defendants when no one else will. Furman looks countermajoritarian, scholars have claimed it was countermajoritarian, and even the Justices saw themselves as playing a heroic, countermajoritarian role in the case. But the lessons of Furman are not what they seem. Rather than proving the Supreme Court’s ability to withstand majoritarian influences, Furman teaches the opposite – that even in its more countermajoritarian moments, the Court never strays far from dominant public opinion, tending instead to reflect the social and political movements of its time. This Article examines the historical context of Furman v. Georgia and its 1976 counterpart, Gregg v. Georgia, to highlight a fundamental flaw in the Supreme Court’s role as protector of minority rights: its inherently limited inclination and ability to render countermajoritarian change. In theory, the Court might protect unpopular minorities, but in practice it is unlikely to do so unless a substantial (and growing) segment of society supports that protection. Even then, Furman reminds us that the Court’s “help” may do more harm than good. If the past truly is a prologue, Furman portends that the Court’s current interest in restricting the death penalty will not last forever. Like the fair-weather friend, the Court’s protection will likely be there in good times but gone when needed the most.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Report by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak – MISSION TO MONGOLIA
By United Nations / Manfred Nowak, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Mongolia
rufrzh-hantesarMore details See the document
The Special Rapporteur is also deeply concerned about all the circumstances surrounding the death penalty in Mongolia, especially the total secrecy. Despite repeated requests to the highest authorities of the Government, as well as prosecutors and the judiciary, the Special Rapporteur was not provided with any official information. Concern was expressed that not even the families of the condemned persons are notified of the exact date or place of execution and do not receive their mortal remains for burial, which amounts to inhuman treatment of the family, contrary to article 7 of the Covenant. Moreover, prisoners on death row at the Gants Hudag and Zuunmod detention centres are held in complete isolation, handcuffed and shackled, and denied adequate food. These conditions constitute additional punishments which can only be qualified as torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Mongolia
- Available languages Доклад Cпециального докладчика по вопросу о пытках и других жестоких, бесчеловечных или унижающих достоинство видах обращения и наказания Манфреда Новака - МИССИЯ В МОНГОЛИЮRapport du Rapporteur spécial sur la torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants, M. Manfred Nowak - MISSION EN MONGOLIE酷刑和其他残忍、不人道或有辱人格的待遇或处罚问题 特别报告员曼弗雷德·诺瓦克的报告 - 对蒙古的访问Informe del Relator Especial sobre la tortura y otros tratos o penas crueles, inhumanos o degradantes, Manfred Nowak - MISIÓN A MONGOLIAمن وغيره التعذيب بمسألة المعني الخاص المقرر نواك، منفرد السيد تقرير المهينة أو اللاإنسانية أو القاسية العقوبة أو المعاملة ضروب - منغوليا إلى البعثة
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2005 (AND THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2006)
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2006
2006
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The worldwide situation to date: The worldwide trend towards abolition, underway for at least a decade, was again confirmed in 2005 and the first half of 2006. There are currently 142 countries that to different extents have decided to renounce the death penalty. Of these: 90 are totally abolitionist; 10 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes; 1 (Russia) is committed to abolishing the death penalty as a member of the Council of Europe and currently observing a moratorium on executions; 5 have a moratorium on executions in place and 37 are de facto abolitionist (i.e. no executions have taken place in those countries for at least ten years).
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : I FATTI PIù IMPORTANTI DEL 2005 (e dei primi sei mesi del 2006)
Document(s)
Information Handbook on the Council of the European Union
By Council of the European Union / European Union, on 1 January 2006
Working with...
frMore details See the document
The purpose of this handbook — which has been prepared on the responsibility of the General Secretariat of the Council and has no legal force — is to explain certain basic concepts of how the Council works, but above all to provide practical information both on existing sources of information and on the implementation of measures adopted with regard to openness and transparency. These measures illustrate the Council’s desire to get closer to citizens in order to build their confidence in European integration.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Guide de l’information du Conseil de l’Union européenne
Document(s)
The Failed Failsafe: The Politics of Executive Clemency
By Cathleen Burnett / Texas Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, on 1 January 2003
2003
Article
United States
More details See the document
This article discusses the role of executive clemency in light of the current political environment. Attending to the political aspects of the capital litigation process gives insight into the trends in the use of executive clemency
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Clemency,
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions in 2009
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2010
2010
NGO report
arfresMore details See the document
This document summarizes Amnesty International’s global research on the use of the death penalty in 2009. More than two-thirds of the countries of the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. While 58 countries retained the death penalty in 2009, most did not use it. Eighteen countries were known to have carried out executions, killing a total of 714 people; however, this figure does not include the thousands of executions that were likely to have taken place in China, which again refused to divulge figures on its use of the death penalty. For an update to this document please see http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ACT50/005/2010/en
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages أحكام الإعدام وعمليات الإعدام في عام 2009CONDAMNATIONS À MORT ET EXÉCUTIONS RECENSÉES EN 2009CONDENAS A MUERTE Y EJECUCIONES 2009
Document(s)
Racial Disparity and Death Sentences in Ohio
By Marian R. Williams / Jefferson E. Holocomb / Journal of Criminal Justice, on 1 January 2001
2001
Article
United States
More details See the document
The use of the death penalty has resulted in a number of studies attempting to determine if its application is consistent with the guidelines established by the United States Supreme Court. In particular, many studies have assessed whether there are racial disparities in the imposition of death sentences. This study examined the imposition of death sentences in Ohio, a state largely ignored by previous research and that, until 1999, had not executed an inmate since 1963. Drawing from previous studies that have examined the issue in other states, this study assessed the likelihood that a particular homicide would result in a death sentence, controlling for race of defendant and victim and other relevant factors. Results indicated both legal and extralegal factors (including race of victim) were significant predictors of a death sentence, supporting many previous studies that concluded that race plays a role in the imposition of the death penalty.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Detailed factsheet on death penalty and terrorism
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2016
2016
Multimedia content
frMore details Download [ pdf - 274 Ko ]
Detailed information on the death penalty and terrorism.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Themes list World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Terrorism,
- Available languages Fiche détaillée sur la peine de mort et le terrorisme
Document(s)
Detailed Fact Sheet – Death Penalty and Drug Crimes
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 8 September 2020
2020
Multimedia content
fafrMore details Download [ pdf - 449 Ko ]
Detailed information on the death penalty and drug crimes.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Themes list Drug Offences, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty,
- Available languages مجازات اعدام و جرا ی م مربوط به مواد مخدر نگاهی به آمار و ارقام سیزدهمین روز جهانی علیه مجازات اعدامFiche sur la peine de mort et le trafic de drogue
Document(s)
Death penalty disproportionately used against persons with significant mental impairments in five Florida Counties
By Fair Punishment Project, on 1 January 2017
2017
NGO report
More details See the document
This study, focusing on five of Florida’s 67 counties considers 48 death sentences that were declared unconstitutional after a Florida Supreme Court decision. The research reveals that “63 percent of these individuals exhibit signs of serious mental illness or intellectual impairment, endured devastatingly severe childhood trauma, or were not old enough to legally purchase alcohol at the time the offense occurred.”
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Intellectual Disability, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Death Penalty: Trials and Tribulations
By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2012
2012
Multimedia content
Uganda
More details See the document
In Uganda, 28 crimes can attract the death penalty – including robbery, smuggling, acts of treason and terrorism, and non-lethal military sentences, and death sentences continue to be handed out after judicial proceedings which fail to meet international standards for a fair trial. This film produced by PRI’s Ugandan partner the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative provides a moving insight into the situation of prisoners on death row and others serving life sentences in the country.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list Uganda
- Themes list Most Serious Crimes, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
White Female Victims and Death Penalty Disparity Research
By Stephen Demuth / Marian R. Williams / Jefferson E. Holocomb / Justice Quarterly, on 1 January 2004
2004
Article
United States
More details See the document
Empirical studies of the death penalty continue to find that the race and gender of homicide victims are associated with the severity of legal responses in homicide cases even after controlling for legally relevant factors. A limitation of this research, however, is that victim race and gender are examined as distinct and independent factors in statistical models. In this study, we explore whether the independent examination of victim race and gender masks important differences in legal responses to homicides. In particular, we empirically test the hypothesis that defendants convicted of killing white females are significantly more likely to receive death sentences than killers of victims with other race-gender characteristics. Findings indicate that homicides with white female victims were more likely to result in death sentences than other victim race-gender dyads. We posit that this response may be unique and result in differential sentencing outcomes.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Discrimination,
Document(s)
Why two mothers back death penalty repeal
By Vicki Schieber and Carolyn Leming / The Gazette, on 8 September 2020
2020
Working with...
More details See the document
This article talks about the tension between protecting the innocent on the one hand and dragging the process out for victims’ families on the other, and how those two can’t be reconciled.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Murder Victims' Families, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
DPIC Year End Report: Death Sentences, Executions Drop to Historic Lows in 2016
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2016
2016
Article
United States
More details See the document
A press release on the DPIC Year End Report 2016: Use of the death penalty fell to historic lows across the United States in 2016. States imposed the fewest death sentences in the modern era of capital punishment, since states began re-enacting death penalty statutes in 1973. New death sentences are predicted to be down 39% from 2015’s 40-year low. Executions declined more than 25% to their lowest level in 25 years, and public opinion polls also measured support for capital punishment at a four-decade low.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Death Penalty, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Poster World Day 2007
By World coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2007
2007
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
arfrMore details Download [ pdf - 228 Ko ]
Take action
against the death penalty:
Join the hundreds
of initiatives worldwide
Sign the petition
calling for a universal
moratorium on executions
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Poster Arabic 2007Affiche journée mondiale 2007
Document(s)
Infographic: Death Sentences in the USA in 2012
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2012
2012
NGO report
More details See the document
DPIC collects information on the number of death sentences in the United States. We only count the number of “new sentences,” i.e., we do not recount individuals who were sentenced to death in a previous year, had their sentenced overturned, and were resentenced in the current year.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row
By Amazon Digital Services / Lara Love Hardin / Anthony Ray Hinton, on 1 January 2018
2018
Book
United States
More details See the document
Autobiography of Anthony Ray Hinton, the 152nd death row exoneree in the USA. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama.With no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution.With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Electrocution, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Errors and Ethics: Dilemmas in Death
By Penny J. White / Hofstra Law Review, on 1 January 2001
2001
Article
United States
More details See the document
In the last five years, the death penalty has become a frequent topic of discussion. While discussion of such an emotive topic is not unusual for any period in history, the tenor of the recent dialogue is unusual. For the most part, the discussion centers around the problems with capital punishment, particularly its inaccuracy and unfairness. This Article begins in Part II with a discussion of recent claims about the frequency of errors in capital cases. Part III enumerates and discusses the factors generally thought to be the cause of the errors. Part IV details new rules recently adopted in one jurisdiction in an effort to eliminate the errors. Part IV also suggests that these new rules, though worthwhile, are actually a reiteration of long-standing ethical obligations of judges and lawyers, the breach of which is responsible for many of the errors. Part V recommends additional remedies which the bench and the bar must take if there is a true commitment to providing a fair, just, and reliable system for determining who the government is entitled to kill.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
The Pros and Cons of Life Without Parole
By Bent Grover / Catherine Appleton / British Journal of Criminology, on 1 January 2007
2007
Article
United States
More details See the document
The question of how societies should respond to their most serious crimes if not with the death penalty is ‘perhaps the oldest of all the issues raised by the two-century struggle in western civilization to end the death penalty’ ( Bedau, 1990: 481 ). In this article we draw attention to the rapid and extraordinary increase in the use of ‘life imprisonment without parole’ in the United States. We aim to critically assess the main arguments put forward by supporters of whole life imprisonment as a punishment provided by law to replace the death penalty and argue against life-long detention as the ultimate sanction.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Sentencing Alternatives,
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2011 (and the first six months of 2012)
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
enMore details See the document
THE SITUATION TODAY The worldwide trend towards abolition, underway for more than ten years, was again confirmed in 2011 and the first six months of 2012. There are currently 155 Countries and territories that, to different extents, have decided to renounce the death penalty. Of these: 99 are totally abolitionist; 7 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes; 5 have a moratorium on executions in place and 44 are de facto abolitionist (i.e. Countries that have not carried out any executions for at least 10 years or Countries which have binding obligations not to use the death penalty).
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : I FATTI PIÙ IMPORTANTI DEL 2011 (E DEI PRIMI SEI MESI DEL 2012)
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2008 (and the first six months of 2009)
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2009
2009
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The Worldwide Situation to Date: The worldwide trend towards abolition, underway for at least a decade, was again confirmed in 2008 and the first six months of 2009. There are currently 151 countries and territories that to different extents have decided to renounce the death penalty. Of these: 96 are totally abolitionist; 8 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes; 5 have a moratorium on executions in place and 42 are de facto abolitionist (i.e. countries that have not carried out any executions for at least 10 years or countries which have binding obligations not to use the death penalty).
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : SINTESI DEI FATTI PIÙ IMPORTANTI DEL 2008 (e dei primi sei mesi del 2009)
Document(s)
Mapping the Fate of the Dead (Killings and Burials in North Korea)
By Transitional Justice Working Group, on 1 January 2019
2019
NGO report
More details See the document
The Transitional Justice Working Group’s 2019 report “Mapping the Fate of the Dead: Killings and Burials in North Korea” is based on four years of research(2015-2019) to document and map three types of locations connected to human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea):
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Human rights, capital punishment and the Commonwealth: still behind the curve
By William A. Schabas / Institute of Commonwealth Studies / Commonwealth Advisory Bureau, on 1 January 2012
2012
Article
More details See the document
In this Opinion, Professor Schabas argues that the Commonwealth is behind the curve of the international trend towards the abolition of the death penalty. He analyses the status and use of capital punishment in Commonwealth countries, as compared to all UN member states more broadly.
- Document type Article
- Themes list International law,
Document(s)
Black is the Day, Black is the Night
By Amy Elkins, on 1 January 2014
2014
Working with...
More details See the document
Black is the Day, Black is the Night is conceptual exploration into the many facets of human identity using notions of time, accumulation, memory and distance through personal correspondence with men serving life and death row sentences in some of the most maximum security prisons in the U.S., all of which had served between 13-26 years at point of contact.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Death Row Conditions,
Document(s)
The Proposed Innocence Protection Act Won’t—Unless It Also Curbs Mistaken Eyewitness Identifications
By Margery Malkin Koosed / Ohio State Law Journal, on 1 January 2002
2002
Article
United States
More details See the document
This article contends that legislatures should adopt measures to assure greater reliability in the eyewitness testimony introduced in capital cases. Erroneous eyewitness identification is one of the most frequent causes of mistaken convictions and executions. Decades ago, the United States Supreme Court crafted due process and right to counsel constitutional doctrines to curb identification procedures that gratuitously enhanced the risk of mistake. While initial interpretations favored a greater judicial role in preventing such abuses, later rulings retreated. Present constitutional rules do not suffice due to the narrowness of their definition and the weakness of the remedial sanctions allotted. The proposed Innocence Protection Act and similar state legislation trust DNA testing to avert mistaken executions. But testing requires biological material that is often not available in capital prosecutions, and so DNA cannot detect all the innocents among those capitally prosecuted. To avert mistaken convictions and executions, legislative reforms need to go beyond DNA, and avert mistakes arising from erroneous eyewitness identifications. Studies show this is one of the most common sources of unjust conviction, and that suchmistakes may well be on the rise. Federal and state legislation should be adopted that provides a stronger curb on suggestive identification practices that gratuitously increase the risk of executing the innocent. The Recommendations for Lineups and Photospreads, developed by the American Psychology/Law Society (AP/LS) in 1998, are an appropriate starting point for legislatures (or state courts exercising their supervisory powers or interpreting state constitutional provisions). Adopting such guidelines will reduce the risk of error in capital cases, with little or no expense borne by the states. Further, to assure that these more reliable procedures will be used during capital case investigations and prosecutions, legislatures and courts should, minimally, adopt an exclusionary rule of the type first announced by the United States Supreme.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence,
Document(s)
America’s Death Penalty: Between Past and Present
By David Garland / Jonathan Simon / Douglas Hay / Michael Meranze / Randall McGowen / New York University (NYU) / Rebecca Mc Lennan, on 8 September 2020
2020
Book
United States
More details See the document
This volume represents an effort to restore the sense of capital punishment as a question caught up in history. Edited by leading scholars of crime and justice, these original essays pursue different strategies for unsettling the usual terms of the debate. In particular, the authors use comparative and historical investigations of both Europe and America in order to cast fresh light on familiar questions about the meaning of capital punishment.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Add Resources and Apply Them Systemically: Governments’ Responsibilities Under the Revised ABA Capital Defense Representation Guidelines
By Eric M. Freedman / Hofstra Law Review, on 1 January 2003
2003
Article
United States
More details See the document
The mainstream legal community, including the ABA, has long understood the importance of system-building, but the revised Guidelines state the point especially forcefully. In articulating “the current consensus about what is required to provide effective defense representation in capital cases,” they set high performance standards not just for lawyers, but for death penalty jurisdictions. As the problems are systemic, it is “imperative” that the solutions be.The Guidelines accordingly not only call on governments to deliver capital defense resources that are sufficient in amount, but also furnish the states with a user-friendly blueprint for using those resources wisely to create structures that will function well in the present and evolve effectively over time. This mandate for institution-building is welcome, and the states should lead it. Indeed, they must do so if the Guidelines are to achieve their ameliorative purposes and avoid becoming just a collection of lofty aspirations “‘that palter with us in a double sense, that keep the word of promise to our ear, and break it to our hope”.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Legal Representation,
Document(s)
IHR: Papers and Discussions on Death Penalty
By Institute of Human Rights (IHR), on 1 January 2018
2018
Book
Philippines
More details See the document
Collection of articles and speeches on the death penalty presented in two UP IHR organized academic fora by academics, government officials and civil society.
- Document type Book
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Public opinion, Public debate, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Death Penalty and Race
By Amnesty International - USA, on 8 September 2020
2020
Arguments against the death penalty
esMore details See the document
From initial charging decisions to plea bargaining to jury sentencing, African-Americans are treated more harshly when they are defendants, and their lives are accorded less value when they are victims.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Themes list Discrimination,
- Available languages La Pena de Muerte tiene Tendencias Racistas
Document(s)
Death Row Fall 2014
By Criminal Justice Project / NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., on 1 January 2014
2014
International law - Regional body
More details See the document
The latest edition of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Death Row, USA showed a continuing decline in the size of the death row population. The new total of 3,035 represented a 13% drop from 10 years earlier, when the death row population was 3,471. The racial demographics of death row have been steady, with white inmates making up 43% of death row, black inmates composing 42%, and Latino inmates 13%. California continued to have the largest death row, with 745 inmates, followed by Florida (404), Texas (276), Alabama (198), and Pennsylvania (188). Arkansas, which last carried out an execution nearly nine years ago, had a 13% decrease in its death row population since last year. The report also contains information about executions. Since 1976, 10% (143) of those executed were defendants who gave up their appeals.
- Document type International law - Regional body
- Themes list Due Process , Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
Mom of murdered son finds ‘only pain’ from death penalty
By Florida Today, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
United States
More details See the document
Politicians champion the death penalty while they campaign and are in office, and then they retire and move on, never having to deal with the reality of it.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Murder Victims' Families, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Amnesty International Death Penalty Awareness Weeks guide
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2012
2012
Campaigning
More details See the document
This is a guide for preparing events against the death penalty. It includes a “How to” guide for holding different types of events. It also provides a short factsheet on death penalty information in the United States.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Death penalty’s unlikely opponents
By Death Penalty Information Center / Eliott C. McLaughlin, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
United States
More details See the document
This article reviews several cases where the families of victim’s speak out against the death penalty.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Murder Victims' Families,
Document(s)
Evidence Does Not Support Death Penalty As Deterrent
By Sacramento Bee, on 1 January 2012
2012
Article
United States
More details See the document
Ever since California added the death penalty to its penal code in the 1870s, supporters have argued that the threat of executions would make potential murderers think twice before committing heinous crimes.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Pakistan: Death Penalty Action on Pakistan
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2006
2006
NGO report
More details See the document
Amnesty International has received reports from contacts in Pakistan that there has recently been an increase in executions in Pakistan: 60 people have been executed this year in the province of Punjab alone. In addition, 10 executions are known to have taken place in the North-West Frontier Province. There are continuing concerns around the application of the death penalty in Pakistan including the execution of juveniles.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions in 2011
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2012
2012
NGO report
enenfafrzh-hantesMore details See the document
Developments on the use of the death penalty in 2011 confirmed the global trend towards abolition. The number of countries that were known to have carried out death sentences decreased compared to the previous year, and overall, progress was recorded in all regions of the world. In this report, Amnesty International analyses some of the key developments in the worldwide application of the death penalty, citing figures it has gathered on the number of death sentences handed down and executions carried out during the year.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Thai : สถานการณ์โทษประหาร และการประหารชีวิต ในปี 2554Korean : 연례사형현황 보고서 2011 사형선고와 사형집행اعدام و صدور حکم اعدام در سال2011Condamnations à mort et executions 2011國際特赦組織 全球死刑報告 2011Condenas a muerte y ejecuciones 2011
Document(s)
The inevitability of error: experiences from former death row exonerees
By Witness to Innocence, on 1 January 2017
2017
Multimedia content
United States
More details Download [ pdf - 302 Ko ]
Death row exonerees bios
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Right to life, Death Row Conditions, Death Row Phenomenon, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Whom the State Kills
By Harvard Law Review / Scott Phillips / Justin Marceau, on 1 January 2020
2020
Article
United States
More details See the document
An unexpected feature of the modern death penalty is the fact that most persons sentenced to death are not executed […]. Death sentences are remarkably poor predictors of who will ultimately be executed. An even more salient feature of the death penalty is the fat that race matters […]. Rarity and race, then, stand as hallmarks of the American death penalty. But until now the interaction of these two phenomena has not been studied. This Article examines whether race is relevant for understanding the fate of the unfortunate few […]. By combining Baldus’s sentencing data whith original execution data, we demonstrate that the overall execution is susbsentially greater for defendants convicted of killing a white victim than for those convicted of killing a Black victim.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Discrimination,
Document(s)
SLAMMING THE COURTHOUSE DOORS – Denial of Access to Justice and Remedy in America
By American Civil Liberties Union / Washington, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
United States
More details See the document
According to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) entitled, “Slamming the Courthouse Doors: Denial of Access to Justice and Remedy in America,” many states severely restrict access to justice for capital defendants and limit the availability of remedies to correct errors. The problem of inadequate counsel continues to pervade death penalty systems across the country: “Few states provide adequate funds to compensate lawyers for their work or to investigate cases properly. In addition to inadequate funding, the majority of death-penalty states lack adequate competency standards. Many states require only minimal training and experience for attorneys handling death penalty cases, and in some cases capital defense attorneys fail to meet the minimum guidelines for capital defense set by the American Bar Association (ABA),” according to the ACLU. The report also states that the absence of a right to counsel in post-conviction appeals leaves capital defendants with few options to address serious errors during their trial.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak
By United Nations / Manfred Nowak, on 1 January 2009
2009
International law - United Nations
arfrzh-hantesruMore details See the document
In chapter III, the Special Rapporteur focuses on the compatibility of the death penalty with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. He concludes that the historic interpretation of the right to personal integrity and human dignity in relation to the death penalty is increasingly challenged by the dynamic interpretation of this right in relation to corporal punishment and the inconsistencies deriving from the distinction between corporal and capital punishment, as well as by the universal trend towards the abolition of capital punishment.
- Document type International law - United Nations
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
- Available languages تقرير المقرر الخاص المعني بمسألة التعذيب وغيره من ضروب المعاملةأو العقوبة القاسية أو اللاإنسانية أو المهينة، مانفرِد نوواكRapport du Rapporteur spécial sur la torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants, Manfred Nowak酷刑和其他残忍、不人道或有辱人格的待遇或处罚问题特别报告员曼弗雷德·诺瓦克的报告Informe del Relator Especial sobre la tortura y otros tratos o penas crueles, inhumanos o degradantes, Manfred NowakДоклад Специального докладчика по вопросу о пытках и других жестоких, бесчеловечных или унижающих достоинство видах обращения и наказания Манфреда Новака
Document(s)
Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on a gender-sensitive approach to arbitrary killings
By United Nations, on 8 September 2020
2020
International law - United Nations
More details See the document
In the report, the Special Rapporteur considers key elements of a gender-sensitive perspective to the mandate, in the interests of strengthening an inclusive application of critical norms and standards related to the right to life. These elements include consideration of the impact of gender identity and expression, intersecting with other identities, on the risks factors to killings or death, the degree of predictability of harm and States’ implementation of its due diligence obligations. Applying gender lenses to the notion of arbitrariness, the Special Rapporteur highlights that gender-based killings — when committed by non-State actors — may constitute arbitrary killings. It also shows that violations of the right to life stem not only from an intentional act of deprivation of life by the State or a non-State actor, but also from the deprivation of basic conditions that guarantee life, such as access to essential health care
- Document type International law - United Nations
- Themes list International law, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Torture, Arbitrariness, Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2007 (and the first six months of 2008)
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2008
2008
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The U.N. Moratorium on Executions : On December 18, 2007, with 104 votes in favour, 54 votes against and 29 abstentions, the United Nations 62nd General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a Resolution that calls upon all States that still maintain the death penalty to “Establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.”
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : SINTESI DEI FATTI PIÙ IMPORTANTI DEL 2007 (e dei primi sei mesi del 2008)
Document(s)
English speaking Caribbean: State Killing in the English speaking Caribbean: a legacy of colonial times
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2002
2002
NGO report
More details See the document
This report seeks to answer the arguments put forward by the proponents of capital punishment in the English Speaking Caribbean and examines the shortcomings in the administration of the death penalty in the region.The paper primarily focuses on Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, the two countries with the largest death row populations in the region. However, details of other counties are given and the themes and problems illustrated in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are prevalent in the other nations of the ESC.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
Document(s)
Preventing the Reinstatement of Capital Punishment in the Maldives
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Nasheen Kalkat - Reprieve, on 10 August 2021
2021
Campaigning
Maldives
Public Opinion
frMore details Download [ pdf - 261 Ko ]
Findings from a preliminary study concerning the local abolitionist movement, risksto related civilsociety organizations and the identification of capacity building opportunities.
- Document type Campaigning
- Countries list Maldives
- Themes list Public Opinion
- Available languages Empêcher le retour de la peine capitale aux Maldives
Document(s)
When Law and Ethics Collide — Why Physicians Participate in Executions
By Atul Gawande / New England Journal of Medecine 354(12), 1-13., on 1 January 2006
2006
Article
United States
More details See the document
Evidence from execution logs showed that six of the last eight prisoners executed in California had not stopped breathing before technicians gave the paralytic agent, raising a serious possibility that prisoners experienced suffocation from the paralytic, a feeling much like being buried alive, and felt intense pain from the potassium bolus. This experience would be unacceptable under the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. So the judge ordered the state to have an anesthesiologist present in the death chamber to determine when the prisoner was unconscious enough for the second and third injections to be given — or to perform the execution with sodium thiopental alone.The California Medical Association, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) immediately and loudly opposed such physician participation as a clear violation of medical ethics codes. “Physicians are healers, not executioners,” the ASA’s president told reporters. Nonetheless, in just two days, prison officials announced that they had found two willing anesthesiologists. The court agreed to maintain their anonymity and to allow them to shield their identities from witnesses. Both withdrew the day before the execution, however, after the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit added a further stipulation requiring them personally to administer additional medication if the prisoner remained conscious or was in pain. This they would not accept. The execution was then postponed until at least May, but the court has continued to require that medical professionals assist with the administration of any lethal injection given to Morales. This turn of events is the culmination of a steady evolution in methods of execution in the United States.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Lethal Injection,
Document(s)
The European Parliament 2004-2009 and European Civil Society: A Guide for Partnership
By European Union, on 1 January 2010
2010
Working with...
enfrMore details See the document
The handbook is intended to introduce you to the rights and value based NGO sectors in the EU and helps you to navigate your way around Civil Society. Part I gives a general overview of the context of dialogue between the EU institutions and NGOs – as it has been established over the last 20 years – and how NGOs would like civil dialogue to develop in the context of the new Constitution. In Part II you will find an overview of the policy areas that each of the 6 sectors will work on during the EP period 2004-2009. This is intended to help you identify the areas of expertise European NGOs can offer for your specific work in the EP. The values and objectives of the EU Civil Society Contact Group from Part III and the annex contain a comprehensive contact list for European NGOs within the 6 sectors.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages German : Einleitung durch die Kontaktgruppe der Europäischen Zivilgesellschaft : Ein Leitfaden für die ZusammenarbeitIntroduction du Groupe de Contact de la Société Civile: Un guide de partenariat
Document(s)
THE JURY IN THE TWENTY – FIRST CENTURY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE
By William J. Bowers / Ursula Bentele / Brooklyn Law Review, on 8 September 2020
2020
Article
United States
More details See the document
The first section below describes how, for many jurors, the decision about guilt appears to be so overwhelming that it prevents truly separate decision making about punishment. The second section focuses on the degree to which jurors feel constrained by what they view as a requirement to impose death if certain aggravating factors are present in the case. And finally, the third section explores the way in which mitigating evidence, even when it appears to have been extensive and credible, is ignored, devalued, or discredited.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Compliance with ICJ Provisional Measures and the Meaning of Review and Reconsideration Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations: Avena and other Mexican Nationals (Mex. v. U.S.)
By Linda E. Carter / Michigan Journal of International Law, on 1 January 2003
2003
Article
Mexico
More details See the document
For the third time in a span of five years, a country has brought suit against the United States in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) in capital cases. 1 And, for the third time, the ICJ has issued an order of provisional measures. The most recent order indicates that: “the United States shall take all measures necessary to ensure that [three named Mexican defendants] are not executed pending final judgment in these proceedings.” (Avena case)
- Document type Article
- Countries list Mexico
- Themes list Foreign Nationals,
Document(s)
Reforming Criminal Justice
By Arizona State University (ASU), on 1 January 2017
2017
Academic report
More details See the document
Reforming Criminal Justice is a four-volume report meant to enlighten reform efforts in the United States with the research and analysis of leading academics. Broken down into individual chapters—each authored by a top scholar in the relevant field—the report covers dozens of topics within the areas of criminalization, policing, pretrial and trial processes, punishment, incarceration, and release. The chapters seek to enhance both professional and public understanding of the subject matter, to facilitate an appreciation of the relevant scholarly literature and the need for reform, and to offer potential solutions. The ultimate goal is to increase the likelihood of success when worthwhile reforms are debated, put to a vote or otherwise considered for action, and implemented in the criminal justice system.
- Document type Academic report
- Themes list Due Process , Fair Trial, Legal Representation, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Experimenting with Death: An Examination of Colorado’s Use of the Three-Judge Panel in Capital Sentencing
By Lutz, Robin / University of Colorado Law Review, on 1 January 2002
2002
Article
United States
More details See the document
Mr. Page committed an atrocious crime. He did not know his victim, Peyton Tuthill, a young woman who had recently graduated from college and moved to Denver. But he was in her house, looking for money and items to sell, when she returned from a job interview. Instead of leaving her home, Mr. Page stayed to beat Peyton Tuthill, tie her up, stab her, slit her throat, rape her repeatedly, and eventually, kill her. Clearly, Ms. Tuthill did not deserve to die such a tortured death. Clearly, her death resulted from an egregious crime. However, the answer to the question of whether Mr. Page should be executed for committing this murder is not as clear. Some would answer affirmatively, others negatively. An important question is: who should decide?
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Grace and Justice on Death Row
By Brian W. Stolarz / Skyhorse Publishing, on 1 January 2016
2016
Book
United States
More details See the document
This book tells the story of Alfred Dewayne Brown, a man who spent over twelve years in prison (ten of them on Texas’ infamous Death Row) for a high-profile crime he did not commit, and his lawyer, Brian Stolarz, who dedicated his career and life to secure his freedom. The book chronicles Brown’s extraordinary journey to freedom against very long odds, overcoming unscrupulous prosecutors, corrupt police, inadequate defense counsel, and a broken criminal justice system. The book examines how a lawyer-client relationship turned into one of brotherhood.Grace And Justice On Death Row also addresses many issues facing the criminal justice system and the death penalty – race, class, adequate defense counsel, and intellectual disability, and proposes reforms.Told from Stolarz’s perspective, this raw, fast-paced look into what it took to save one man’s life will leave you questioning the criminal justice system in this country. It is a story of injustice and redemption that must be told.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence, Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions in 2010
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2011
2011
NGO report
fresMore details See the document
In the last decade, more than 30 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Fifty-eight countries worldwide now retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes, and less than half of these carried out executions in 2010. This report analyzes some of the key developments in the worldwide application of the death penalty in 2010, citing figures gathered by Amnesty International on the number of death sentences handed down and executions carried out during the year.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Condamnations à mort et exécutions et exécutions en 2010Condenas a meurte y ejecuciones en 2010
Document(s)
Death Penalty Sentencing in Trial Courts: Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (2000-2015)
By Project 39A, on 1 January 2019
2019
Academic report
More details See the document
Compiled by Project 39A from the National University Law in Delhi, India and based on numerous figures and statistics, this report attempts to understand how death sentencing is practised among the district and sessions courts in India.
- Document type Academic report
- Themes list Death Penalty,
Document(s)
CHINA’S DEATH PENALTY REFORMS
By Bonny Ling / Si-si Liu / Cliff Ip / Human Rights In China, on 1 January 2007
2007
NGO report
More details See the document
The Chinese authorities have introduced reforms to the death penalty system aimed at “killing fewer, and killing carefully.” Key systemic challenges remain, however, in ensuring that the criminally accused are not arbitrarily deprived of their inherent right to life.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Death Penalty Issues Checklist – Universal Periodic Review Stakeholder Reports
By The Advocates for Human Rights, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
More details See the document
List of points of international human rights law to review when submitting a report on a country’s use of the death penalty to the United Nations’ Universial Periodic Review.
- Document type Academic report
- Themes list International law,
Document(s)
Death penalty in India Presentation
By Shreya Rastogi, on 1 January 2017
2017
Multimedia content
More details Download [ pdf - 1008 Ko ]
Presentation of Shreya Rastogi, from the University of New Dehli, for the plenary session on poverty and the death penalty which took place during the 2017 General Assembly of the World Coalition
- Document type Multimedia content
Document(s)
A Death Before Dying: Solitary Confinement on Death Row
By American Civil Liberties Union, on 1 January 2013
2013
NGO report
More details See the document
Using the results of an ACLU survey of death row conditions nationwide, this briefing paper offers the first comprehensive review of the legal and human implications of subjecting death row prisoners to solitary confinement for years.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Row Conditions,
Document(s)
Detailed Factsheet – World Day 2023
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 2 October 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 855 Ko ]
Detailed factsheet on the link between torture and the death penalty, to mark the 21st World Day against the Death Penalty.Detailed factsheet on the link between torture and the death penalty, to mark the 21st World Day against the Death Penalty.
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages Fiche détaillée - Journée mondiale 2023
Document(s)
Terror on Death Row: The Abuse and Overuse of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Legislation
By Reprieve / Justice Project Pakistan, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Pakistan
More details See the document
This report is a result of death row prisoner data from 38 prisons across Pakistan’s four provinces(Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (‘KPK ’),Punjab and Sindh. For most of Pakistan, the data runs to December 2012, thereby covering all those who are presently subject to execution dates. However, the report reflects further data on the province of Sindh running to October 2014
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Pakistan
- Themes list Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Protection of the Rights of Children of Parents Sentenced to Death or Exectued: An Expert Legal Analysis
By Quaker United Nations Office / Stephanie Farrior, on 1 January 2019
2019
NGO report
More details See the document
The QUNO’s report offers an updated review of differents elements of international law on the human rights of the child.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list International law, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Injustice: Life and Death in the Courtrooms of America
By Clive Stafford Smith / Harvill Secker, on 1 January 2012
2012
Book
United States
More details See the document
A new book by Clive Stafford Smith, a British lawyer who has defended death row inmates in the U.S., offers an in-depth view of capital punishment in America. In Injustice: Life and Death in the Courtrooms of America, Stafford Smith examines the case of Kris Maharaj, a British citizen who was sentenced to death in Florida for a double murder, to expose problems in the justice system.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Innocence,
Document(s)
Felony-Murder in Ohio: Felony-Murder or Murder-Felony?
By Dana K. Cole / Ohio State Law Journal, on 1 January 2002
2002
Article
United States
More details See the document
Ohio’s aggravated felony-murder rule and felony-murder death penalty specification provisions apply where a death occurs “while committing or attempting to commit” certain enumerated felonies. In a line of cases beginning in 1996, the Ohio Supreme Court broadly interpreted this statutory language to include situations where the intent to commit the underlying felony was formed subsequent to the death, as a complete afterthought. With these cases, the Ohio Supreme Court departed from the majority view that the intent to commit the underlying felony must precede or co-exist with the death. The author argues that this new statutory interpretation represents an unwarranted expansion of the felony-murder rule that disregards the statutory language, ignores the underlying purpose of the rule, and dispenses with traditional safeguards designed to ameliorate its harshness. The author further argues that applying this new statutory interpretation to the felony-murder death penalty specification potentially selects for death those who are not necessarily the most deserving of this ultimate punishment. The author suggests that the solution must be a legislative one.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Capital offences, Arbitrariness,
Document(s)
Filling The Void
By CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform / Bill Leonard / Maggie Smart, on 1 January 2014
2014
Book
United States
More details See the document
‘Filling The Void’ is a brutal record of Bill Leonard’s troubled childhood and youth.The memoir provides a shocking insight into the neglect and abuse that he suffered as a child at the hands of his parents and stepfather and gives a frank account of the murders that led to his incarceration. It reveals the horrendous conditions in which Bill is held in Ely State Prison, Nevada and gives a graphic description of the barbarous treatment that he has received at the hands of his prison guards. It also details and examines the flawed process that earned him the death penalty and describes his struggle for self-rehabilitation through a process called neuroplasticity. This is the life story of a man who has suffered a great deal, who has passions that aren’t always under control. A man who loves order and truth but hasn’t always been able to engage in them. Someone who is hugely motivated to learn and develop his abilities. Someone who ought to be alive for a long time. This is Bill Leonard – and this is his story.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Abortion, Capital Punishment, and the Politics of “God’s” Will
By Kimberly J. Cook / William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal, on 8 September 2020
2020
Article
United States
More details See the document
In her paper, Professor Kimberly J. Cook uses statistics to illustrate the role the Christian Right plays in the public discourse over two issues permeated with religious overtones: abortion and the death penalty. She shows how the Christian Right’s approach to these issues is based on an ideological notion of ‘Justice ” that is primarily focused on vengeance and punishment, to the exclusion of forgiveness. Professor Cook’s exploration of the modern roots of this ideology leads to a movement dating from the 1960s known as Christian Reconstructionism, which advocates using state action to enforce its unique interpretation of “God’s Will.” This interpretation not only advocates an expansive view of the death penalty, but also patriarchal gender roles backed by force of law, religious intolerance, and the manifest goal of establishing a global Christian theocracy. Though it has been publicly disavowed by mainstream Christian Fundamentalists, Professor Cook argues that Reconstructionism has become the cornerstone of the Christian Right. To support this assertion, she compares current Christian Right socio-political goals with Reconstructionist theology. Professor Cook concludes with a warning that the Christian Right’s political power, coupled with its Reconstructionist influenced ideology, places our constitutional protections at risk.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Religion ,
Document(s)
South Korea’s changing capital punishment policy: The road from de facto to formal abolition
By Byung-Sun Cho / Punishment and Society, on 8 September 2020
Article
Republic of Korea
More details See the document
The most recent executions in South Korea took place in December 1997, when 23 people were executed at short notice on the same day. Similarly, nineteen executions occurred in 1995 and 15 in 1994, in each instance occurring all on the same day. These group executions seem to reflect cultural factors that monthly statistics alone do not capture. No executions have occurred since 1998, but this de facto suspension has not been reinforced by law. Since 1999, lawmakers have thrice endorsed a bill favoring life imprisonment without parole in place of the death penalty, but each time the proposal has stalled and failed to move forward. The need remains to develop a culturally appropriate pro-abolition argument that could persuade the Korean public that the death penalty is unworkable and wrong. On 21 January 2007, in the Inhyeokdang case, the Korean Court acquitted 8 persons who had been executed 32 years earlier. The hope is that, in light of strong arguments based on the risk to innocent persons and the irreversibility of capital punishment, Korea will effectively transition from de facto to formal abolition.
- Document type Article
- Countries list Republic of Korea
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
The Defense Team in Capital Cases
By Jill Miller / Hofstra Law Review, on 1 January 2003
2003
Article
United States
More details See the document
Fairness for those defendants facing the ultimate punishment of death requires that they be afforded zealous advocacy by competent counsel, and that counsel be provided with the resources necessary to effectively represent their clients. Stating that “[o]ur capital system is haunted by the demon of error, error in determining guilt, and error in determining who among the guilty deserves to die,” Governor Ryan cited many deficiencies in the justice system in Illinois, including poor lawyering and inadequate resources for defense counsel, in arriving at his decision to commute all death sentences. Over the years the imposition of the death penalty has too often been a function of unqualified counsel or counsel who lacked the resources, including time, funding, and provision of investigative, expert and supportive services, to competently represent their clients, rather than a reasoned decision based on the circumstances of the crime and the background and character of the defendant.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Legal Representation,
Document(s)
Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong
By Brandon L. Garrett / Harvard University Press, on 1 January 2011
2011
Book
United States
More details See the document
Very few crimes committed in the United States involve biological evidence that can be tested using DNA. Convicting the Innocent makes a powerful case for systemic reforms to improve the accuracy of all criminal cases.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence,
Document(s)
Caught in a Web Treatment of Pakistanis in the Saudi Criminal Justice System
By Human Rights Watch / Justice Project Pakistan, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Pakistan
More details See the document
Report about the treatment of Pakistanis in the Saudi criminal justice system
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Pakistan
- Themes list Discrimination, Foreign Nationals,
Document(s)
The State of Criminal Justice 2012
By American Bar Association / Ronald Tabak, on 1 January 2012
2012
NGO report
More details See the document
The American Bar Association recently published The State of Criminal Justice 2012, an annual report that examines major issues, trends and significant changes in America’s criminal justice system.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Malaysia: On Death Row
By Al Jazeera, on 1 January 2019
2019
Multimedia content
Malaysia
More details See the document
In Malaysian jails, more than 1,200 prisoners are on death row. For them, news that the government was planning to abolish the death penalty provided a much-needed glimmer of hope. But many Malaysians want to keep the law as it is, saying capital punishment deters criminals and helps keep citizens safe. Families of murder victims say the only way to get justice for their loved ones is by hanging the perpetrators. 101 East meets the people on either side of this emotional life-and-death debate and investigates if Malaysia is ready to abolish the death penalty.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list Malaysia
- Themes list Moratorium , Murder Victims' Families, Death Row Phenomenon,
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2003
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2004
2004
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The worldwide situation to date: The worldwide situation concerning the death penalty has once again registered a trend towards abolition in the past year. The countries or territories that to different extents have decided to give up the practice of capital punishment total 133, including the first months of 2004. Of these 81 have abolished the death penalty completely; 14 have abolished it for ordinary crimes; 1, Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe is committed to abolish it and in the meanwhile apply a moratorium on executions; 5 are observing moratoriums and 32 countries are de facto abolitionist, not having carried out executions for at least 10 years.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : I FATTI PIU´ IMPORTANTI DEL 2003 (e dei primi mesi del 2004)
Document(s)
The Truth About False Confessions and Advocacy Scholarship
By Richard A. Leo / Criminal Law Bulletin, on 1 January 2001
2001
Article
United States
More details See the document
In 1998 Richard A. Leo and Richard J. Ofshe published a study of false confession cases entitled, The Consequences of False Confessions: Deprivations of Liberty and Miscarriages of Justice in the Age of Psychological Interrogation, which drew a response from Paul Cassell (1999), The Guilty and the Innocent : An Examination of Alleged Cases of Wrongful Conviction from False Confessions. In this article, the authors demonstrate that Cassell s article misreports the research and analysis contained in Leo and Ofshes 1998 article, and that Cassell s attempt to challenge Leo and Ofshes classifications of nine out of sixty false confessions is erroneous because Cassell excludes or presents an incomplete picture of important facts in his case summaries, selectively ignores enormous inconsistencies, implausibilities and/or contradictions in the prosecution s cases, and fails to acknowledge the existence of substantial exculpatory, if not dispositive, evidence. To illustrate the problems and biases in Cassell s commentary, this article discusses at length one of Cassell s challenges, the Barry Lee Fairchild case, in the main body of the article and in a detailed appendix analyzes the eight other cases (Joseph Giarratano, Paul Ingram, Richard Lapointe, Jessie Misskelley, Bradley Page, James Harry Reyos, Linda Stangel, and Martin Tankleff). Leo and Ofshe provide a point by point refutation of Cassell s assertions in all nine cases, demonstrating that all nine individuals were, as originally classified, almost certainly innocent of the crimes to which they had confessed.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2001
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2002
2002
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The year 2001 has confirmed the accelerated trend towards the abolition of the death penalty on course for the past ten years. In 2001 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia became totally abolitionist, Chile abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes, Ireland removed all references to the death penalty from its constitution, Burkina Faso joined the group of de facto abolitionists not having carried out any executions for more than ten years, and Lebanon has imposed a moratorium on executions.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : I FATTI PIÙ IMPORTANTI DEL 2001
Document(s)
Juvenile Death Penalty: Is It Cruel and Unusual in Light of Contemporary Standards
By American Bar Association / Adam Caine Ortiz, on 1 January 2003
2003
NGO report
More details See the document
Reviews the use of the death penalty on juveniles in light of contemporary standards.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Juveniles,