Your search “Keep the Death Penalty Abolished fin the Philippfines ”
Document(s)
Mobilization Kit World Day 2021
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 June 2021
2021
Campaigning
Women
arfrzh-hantMore details Download [ pdf - 847 Ko ]
The World Day Against the Death Penalty is aimed at political leaders and public opinion in both retentionist and abolitionist countries.
For the 19th year in a row, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty is calling for local initiatives and world-wide actions that shine a spotlight on the abolition of the death penalty.
The goal of this Mobilization Kit is to inform of this year’s objectives as well provide ideas of activities that boost the global abolitionist goal. This year the World Day is dedicated to women who risk being sentenced to death, who have received a death sentence, who have been executed, and to those who have had their death sentences commuted, have been exonerated or pardoned.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Women
- Available languages رزمة التعبئةKit de mobilisation Journée mondiale 2021動員資料包
Document(s)
Factsheet for the Media
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2018
2018
Working with...
frMore details Download [ pdf - 390 Ko ]
Factsheet for the media – World Day Against the Death Penalty 2018.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Death Row Conditions, Death Row Phenomenon, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Death Penalty,
- Available languages Fiche pratique pour les médias
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)
A Comparative Analysis of Capital Punishment: Statutes, Policies, Frequencies, and Public Attitudes the World Over
By Dagny Dlaskovich / Rita Simon / Lexington Books, on 1 January 2002
Book
More details See the document
A Comparative Analysis of Capital Punishment provides a concise and detailed history of the death penalty. Incorporating and synthesizing public opinion data and empirical studies, Simon and Blaskovich’s work compares, across societies, the types of offenses punishable by death, the level of public support for the death penalty, the forms the penalty takes, and the categories of persons exempt from punishment.
- Document type Book
- Themes list Public opinion,
Document(s)
The Phantom
By Patrick Forbes, on 10 August 2021
2021
Multimedia content
Innocence
Public Opinion
United States
More details See the document
THE PHANTOM tells the story of one of the darkest episodes in the long history of American justice. A story of how the State of Texas knowingly sent an innocent man to his death and left a serial killer at large. A case in which – for the first time – it can be conclusively proven that the US courts executed a blameless man.
This film uncovers the shocking truth behind a tale of murder, corruption and lies that unfolded in the dusty, desperate streets of a Texas oil town nearly thirty years ago.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence / Public Opinion
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)
From seventy-eight to zero: Why executions declined after Taiwan’s democratization
By Fort Fu-Te Liao / Punishment and Society, on 8 September 2020
2020
Article
Taiwan
More details See the document
This article examines, from a legal perspective, why executions in Taiwan declined from 78 in 1990 to zero in 2006. The inquiry focuses on three considerations: the number of laws that authorized employment of the death penalty; the code of criminal procedure; and the manner in which executions were carried out, including the manner in which amnesty was granted. The article argues that the ratification of international covenants and constitutional interpretations did not play a significant role in the decline, and that several factors that did play a role included the annulment or amendment of laws, changes in criminal procedure, establishment of and further amendments to guidelines for execution and two laws for reducing sentences. This article maintains that the absence of executions in 2006 is a unique situation that will not last because some inmates remain on death row, meaning that executions in Taiwan will continue unless the death penalty is abolished. However, the article concludes that the guarantee of the utmost human right, the right to life, can be sustained in Taiwan through the demands of democratic majority rule.
- Document type Article
- Countries list Taiwan
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report 2017
By NLU Delhi , on 1 January 2017
2017
NGO report
More details See the document
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Legal Representation, Death Penalty, Statistics,
Document(s)
EU Policy on Death Penalty
By Council of Europe, on 1 January 2014
2014
Arguments against the death penalty
More details See the document
This page contains videos and documents on issues dealing with the death penalty.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
Document(s)
Stephen Bright v. Death Penalty
By Moblogic TV / YouTube, on 1 January 2008
2008
Arguments against the death penalty
More details See the document
Renowned capital defense attorney Stephen Bright discusses the death penalty in light of recent Supreme Court decisions.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Death Penalty – Mistake (Leonel Herrera)
By Amnesty International / YouTube, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
United States
esMore details See the document
This video explores the story of Leonel Herrera who was sentenced to death for the murder of a police man. A statement from his nephew came many years later that shed light on Leonels innocence.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Death Penalty - Mistake (Leonel Herrera)
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions in 2016
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2017
2017
NGO report
esfrMore details See the document
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2016. As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: official figures; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives; reporting by other civil society organizations; and media reports. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Death Penalty, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages Condenas a muerte y ejecuciones 2016condamnations à mort et exécutions en 2016
Document(s)
Arcs of Global Justice
By Oxford University Press / Margaret M. Guzman / Diane Marie Amann, on 1 January 2018
2018
Book
More details See the document
This work honours William A. Schabas and his career with essays by luminary scholars and jurists from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The essays examine contemporary, historical, cultural, and theoretical aspects of the many arcs of global justice with which Professor Schabas has engaged, in fields including public international law, human rights, transitional justice, international criminal law, and capital punishment.Table of Contents (regarding information on the death penalty)II. Capital PunishmentChapter 5: International Law and the Death Penalty: A Toothless Tiger, or a Meaningful Force for Change?Sandra L. BabcockChapter 6: The UN Optional Protocol on the Abolition of the Death PenaltyMarc BossuytChapter 7: The Right to Life and the Progressive Abolition of the Death PenaltyChristof Heyns and Thomas Probert and Tess BordenChapter 8: Progress and Trend of the Reform of the Death Penalty in ChinaZhao Bingzhi
- Document type Book
- Themes list International law, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
A Matter of Life and Death: The Effect of Life Without-Parole Statutes on Capital Punishment
By Harvard Law Review, on 1 January 2006
2006
Article
United States
More details See the document
Activists have embraced the life-without-parole alternative because the availability of parole is often a key factor for jurors deciding whether of not to impose a sentence of life or death.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Sentencing Alternatives,
Document(s)
The most important facts in 2000
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2000
2000
NGO report
enMore details See the document
This is the fourth consecutive year that Hands off Cain is publishing its report on the death penalty. The events registered in 2000 reveal a positive trend towards abolition.As of 31/12/2000, there were 123 abolitionist countries of various types: 77 were fully abolitionist, 12 were abolitionist for ordinary crimes, 30 were de facto abolitionist (they haven´t carried out a death sentence in at least ten years), 2 were engaged in abolishing the death penalty as members of the Council of Europe, 2 had a legal moratoria on executions. Seventy three states retained the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : Sintesi dei fatti più rilevanti del 2000
Document(s)
DO EXECUTIONS LOWER HOMICIDE RATES?: THE VIEWS OF LEADING CRIMINOLOGISTS*
By Michael L. Radelet / Tracy Lacock / The journal of criminal law and criminology, on 1 January 2009
2009
Article
More details See the document
This study is about the question of whether the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than long-term imprisonment has been debated for decades or longer by scholars, policy makers, and the general public. In this Article the authors report results from a survey of the world’s leading criminologists that asked their expert opinions on whether the empirical research supports the contention that the death penalty is a superior deterrent.
- Document type Article
- Themes list Deterrence ,
Document(s)
Capital Punishment Views in China and the United States: A Preliminary Study Among College Students
By Eric G. Lambert / International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology / Shanhe Jiang, on 1 January 2007
2007
Article
China
More details See the document
There is a lack of research on attitudes toward capital punishment in China, and there is even less research on cross-national comparisons of capital punishment views. Using data recently collected from college students in the United States and China, this study finds that U.S. and Chinese students have differences in their views on the death penalty and its functions of deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. This study also reveals that the respondents’ perspectives of deterrence, rehabilitation, retribution, and incapacitation all affect their attitudes toward the death penalty in the United States, whereas only the first three views affect attitudes toward capital punishment in China. Furthermore, retribution is the strongest predictor in the United States, whereas deterrence is the strongest predictor in China.
- Document type Article
- Countries list China
- Themes list Public opinion, Public debate,
Document(s)
Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston
By United Nations / Philip Alston, on 1 January 2007
International law - United Nations
esruzh-hantzh-hantarfrMore details See the document
In addition to reporting on the principal initiatives undertaken in 2006 to address the scourge of extrajudicial executions around the world, this report focuses on four issues of particular importance: (a) the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in armed conflicts; (b) “mercy killings” in armed conflict; (c) the “most serious crimes” for which the death penalty may be imposed; and (d) the international law status of the mandatory death penalty.
- Document type International law - United Nations
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
- Available languages Informe del Relator Especial, Philip Alston, sobre las ejecuciones extrajudiciales, sumarias o arbitrariasДоклад Специального докладчика по вопросу о внесудебных казнях, казнях без надлежащего судебного разбирательства или произвольных казнях Филипа Алстона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تقرير المقرر الخاص المعني بحالات الإعدام خارج نطاق القضاءRapport du Rapporteur spécial sur les exécutions extrajudiciaires, sommaires ou arbitraires, M. Philip Alston
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS IN BRIEF 2004 (and up to September 15, 2005)
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2005
2005
NGO report
enfrMore details See the document
The worldwide situation to date: The worldwide trend towards abolition, underway for at least a decade, was again confirmed in 2004 and the first half of 2005. There are currently 138 countries that to different extents have decided to renounce the death penalty. Of these: 86 are totally abolitionist; 11 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 35 are de facto abolitionist (i.e. no executions have taken place in those countries for at least ten years). Since the beginning of 2004, 3 countries have passed from retention to an extent of abolition, whereas 5 countries have advanced within the categories of the abolitionist group.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : SINTESI DEI FATTI PIU’ IMPORTANTI DEL 2004 (e dei primi mesi del 2005)LES FAITS LES PLUS IMPORTANTS DE 2004 (ET DES PREMIERS NEUF MOIS DE 2005)
Document(s)
Striving to Eliminate Unjust Executions: Why the ABA’s Individual Rights & Responsibilities Section Has Issued Protocols on Unfair Implementation of Capital Punishment
By Ronald J. Tabak / Ohio State Law Journal, on 8 September 2020
2020
Article
United States
More details See the document
The ABA concluded in 1997 that pervasive unfairness in capital punishment regimes warranted a halt to executions unless all of the systemic problems the ABA identified were corrected. Four years later, with those problems still pervasive, the ABA’s Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities issued protocols designed to facilitate the evaluation of the fairness—or lack thereof—of a jurisdiction’s capital punishment system. The protocols are particularly timely because many state legislative bodies are authorizing, or considering authorizing, studies of death penalty implementation. The protocols provide an overview, a list of questions to consider, and recommendations with regard to each topic area they cover. While these are not exhaustive, and are not fully applicable in every death penalty jurisdiction, they should prove invaluable to any group seeking to seriously evaluate the manner in which capital punishment is actually administered today.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
The Last Verdict
By Jamie Arpin-Ricci, on 1 January 2016
2016
Book
Canada
More details See the document
What would you do if your child was murdered?What would you do if your child was convicted of murder?Alice Goodman has known great loss. Since the brutal murder of her daughter Madeline decades earlier, she has tirelessly fought to see the killer pay for his crime. Now, after twenty years, the day has arrived that she will witness his long-delayed execution. Will justice finally be done? Will she finally find the peace that has long eluded to her?Lori Williams knows she was not the perfect mother, but she never believed her son Mark could be guilty of the crime that placed him on death row. Confronting every challenge along the way, she refused to give up her pursuit of the truth—a truth she believed would set her son free. Will it be enough?Both women are fighting for a justice they believe has been denied their children. Now, their lives are on a collision course with each other. Is either woman prepared for the truth?
- Document type Book
- Countries list Canada
- Themes list Right to life, Clemency, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
A New Profession for an Old Need: Why a Mitigation Specialist Must be Included on the Capital Defense Team
By Pamela Blume Leonard / Hofstra Law Review, on 1 January 2003
2003
Article
United States
More details See the document
The fundamental task of the mitigation specialist is to conduct a comprehensive social history of the defendant and identify all relevant mitigation issues. The 2003 revised edition of the American Bar Association Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases recognizes the mitigation specialist as an “indispensable member of the defense team throughout all capital proceedings.” What are the particular responsibilities and contributions of a mitigation specialist and what makes them so essential to the capital defense team as to warrant this long overdue recognition by the ABA Guidelines?
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Legal Representation,
Document(s)
A Life in the Balance: The Billy Wayne Sinclair Story, A Journey from Murder to Redemption Inside America’s Worst Prison System
By Jodie Sinclair / Billy Wayne Sinclair / Arcade Publishing, on 8 September 2020
2020
Book
United States
More details See the document
Life in the Balance: a book on the Billy Wayne Sinclair Story, A Journey from Murder to Redemption Inside America’s Worst Prison System. The New York Times Book Review called it a “numbing tale of crime, punishment, and redemption.”
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
The Needs of the Wrongfully Convicted: A Report on a Panel Discussion
By Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's Research & Analysis Unit / Northwestern University School of Law, on 1 January 2002
2002
Working with...
More details See the document
This report has been prepared for Governor Ryan’s Commission on Capital Punishment to provide additional information on those who have been wrongfully convicted of murder and subsequently incarcerated. It is hoped that this information is useful in the Commission’s consideration of possible improvements in the way criminal justice agencies and allied entities meet the needs of those who have been wrongfully convicted.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
The Court in Brief (the European Court of Human Rights)
By Council of Europe, on 1 January 2011
2011
Working with...
enfrMore details See the document
The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1959. It rules on individual or State applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1998 it has sat as a full-time court and individuals can apply to it directly.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages German : Der in Kürze GerichthofLa Cour en Bref
Document(s)
The Prevalence and Potential Causes of Wrongful Conviction by Fingerprint Evidence.
By Simon A. Cole / Golden Gate University Law Review, on 1 January 2006
2006
Article
United States
More details See the document
As the number of post-conviction DNA exonerations mounted and the Innocence Project undertook to treat these exonerations as a data set indicating the principal causes of wrongful conviction, the absence of fingerprint cases in that data set could have been interpreted as soft evidence that latent print evidence was unlikely to contribute to wrongful convictions. That situation changed in 2004 when Stephan Cowans became the first – and thus far the only – person to be exonerated by DNA evidence for a wrongful conviction in which fingerprint evidence was a contributing factor. Cowans’s wrongful conviction in Boston in 1997 for the attempted murder of a police officer was based almost solely on eyewitness identification and latent print evidence. The Cowans case not only provided dramatic additional support for the already established proposition that wrongful conviction by fingerprint was possible, it also demonstrated why the exposure of such cases, when they do occur, is exceedingly unlikely. These points have already been made in a comprehensive 2005 study of exposed cases of latent print misattributions. In this article, I discuss some additional things that we have learned about the prevalence and potential causes of wrongful conviction by fingerprint in the short time since the publication of that study.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence,
Document(s)
The Peculiar Forms of American Capital Punishment
By David Garland / Social Research: An International Quarterly, on 1 January 2007
2007
Article
United States
More details See the document
There are two puzzles that confront observers of American capital punishment at the start of the 21st century. One concerns the legal and administrative arrangements through which it is enacted, which strike many commentators as irrational, or at least poorly adapted to the traditional ends of criminal justice. The other concerns the persistence of capital punishment in the USA in a period when comparable nations have decisively abandoned its use. In this essay, I will address both of these two questions, beginning with the first and offering conclusions that bear upon the second.The historical struggles around issues of capital punishment, structured as they have been by the American polity with its distinctive mix of federalism, sectionalism, and democratic populism, form the necessary basis for understanding the American present and for comparing America’s current practices with those of other western nations. Any explanation of American capital punishment ought to begin by focusing attention on these structures and these struggles.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2002
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2003
2003
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The worldwide situation to date: The practice of the death penalty has drastically diminished in the past few years. Today the countries or territories that have abolished it or decline to apply it number 130. Of these: 78 are totally abolitionist; 14 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes; 2 are committed to abolition as members of the Council of Europe and in the meanwhile observe a moratorium; 6 countries are currently observing a moratorium and 30 are de facto abolitionist, not having executed any death sentences in the past ten years.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : I FATTI PIU´ IMPORTANTI DEL 2002
Document(s)
China: Death penalty log in 1999
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2000
2000
NGO report
More details See the document
The attached Log gives available details of death sentences and executions occurring in China throughout 1999.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
Document(s)
Clemency Procedures in Death Penalty States
By Capital Punishment in Context, on 8 September 2020
2020
Working with...
More details See the document
This file is relevant to the US, giving a list of states where governors can grant clemency, where the governor must have recommendations of clemency and where governors recieve a non-binding recommendation of clemency.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Words beyond death row
By Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM), on 1 January 2013
2013
Multimedia content
frMore details See the document
English version starts at 15 minutes and 59 seconds. ‘Words beyond death row’, extracts from testimonies of death row prisoners illustrated by a photo screening, in partnership with PhotoEspaña. This movie was presented during the 5th World Congress against the death penalty in Madrid in June 2013, by Ensemble contre la peine de mort – ECPM (Together against the death penalty) #Abolition201
- Document type Multimedia content
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
- Available languages Des mots par-delà le couloir
Document(s)
How a chronically shy child ended up on death row
By Coalition for the Abolition of Death Penalty in ASEAN (CADPA), on 1 January 2017
2017
Multimedia content
More details See the document
As a young girl Rita was so self-conscious she would only sweep the floor inside the house. Nonetheless, poverty drove her to work overseas. Learning she was coming home one day, an acquaintance – Eka – pressed her to bring back a suitcase with some clothes. Rita was too afraid to refuse. The bag was lined with drugs. Eka is still out there. Rita’s only hope is that Malaysia revises its death penalty policy.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Themes list Juveniles, Death Row Phenomenon, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
3 questions to Susan Kigula, former death row prisoner
By Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM), on 1 January 2018
2018
Working with...
More details See the document
Sentenced to death in Uganda for murder, Susan Kigula never stopped to claim her innocence. Creator of a death row inmates’ choir and law graduate from the University of London, she finally obtained her release after 15 years in prison. In Uganda, she became a real symbol of the fight against the death penalty. She continues the fight with us, and created the Susan Kigula African Child Foundation.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions 2013
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2014
2014
NGO report
arfresfaruMore details See the document
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2013. Amnesty International records figures on the use of the death penalty based on the best available information.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Penalty, Statistics,
- Available languages أحكام الإعدام وعمليات الإعدام في عام 2013Condamnations à mort et exécutions en 2013Condenas a muerte y ejecuciones en 2013احکام اعدام و اجرای مجازات اعدام در سال 2013Смертные приговоры и казни в 2013 году
Document(s)
2017 World Day report
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2018
2018
NGO report
frMore details Download [ pdf - 2252 Ko ]
On 10 October 2017, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty along with abolitionist activists worldwide marked the 15th World Day against the Death Penalty by drawing attention to the death penalty and its link with poverty. This report presents the activities organised for the 15th world day and the media coverage it received.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Death Penalty,
- Available languages Rapport Journée mondiale 2017
Document(s)
Stakeholder report for Iraq UPR
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty / The Advocates for Human Rights / Iraqi Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2014
2014
NGO report
More details See the document
The Advocates for Human Rights, in collaboration with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the Iraqi Coalition Against the Death Penalty, submitted a joint stakeholder report to the U.N. Human Rights Council for its October-November 2014 Universal Periodic Review of Iraq. This submission describes Iraq’s international human rights obligations with regard to its use of the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Minorities, Due Process , Fair Trial, International law, Transparency, Torture, Discrimination, Legal Representation, Most Serious Crimes, Hanging, Death Penalty, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Outliers and Outcomes: How 9 of 10 Death Cases End with a Life Sentence & Why That Matters
By Ohioans to Stop Executions, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
United States
More details See the document
OTSE is a coalition of individuals and organizations working to reduce use of and ultimately end capital punishment in Ohio. The purpose of the report is to provide information and analysis to the media, members of the general public, legislators and state leaders.The death penalty in Ohio has become increasingly rare and is relegated to just a few high-use,outlier counties.Indeed, although Ohio has set an execution schedule unmatched by any state in the country up to the year 2023, it seems doubtful, based on its history of litigation and execution drug shortages, that Ohio will execute all those individuals.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
My Life As a Death Row Executioner
By YouTube / Real Stories, on 1 January 2020
2020
Multimedia content
United States
More details See the document
Published on Real Stories YouTube channel, this documentary casts a penetrating look at the consequences of the death penalty through three powerful stories – the rare perspective of a former state executioner who comes within days of executing an innocent person; a Boston Marathon bombing victim who struggles to decide what justice really means; and the parents of a murder victim who choose to fight for the life of their daughter’s killer. As the battle to overturn capital punishment comes to a head in the U.S., this provocative film challenges viewers to question their deepest beliefs about justice.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Public debate, Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Poster World Day 2003
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2003
2003
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
More details See the document
Poster for the world day against the death penalty 2003
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
Document(s)
Outlook: The release of Sierra Leone’s longest serving female death row prisoner.
By BBC, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
Sierra Leone
More details See the document
The release of Sierra Leone’s longest serving female death row prisoner.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list Sierra Leone
- Themes list Innocence,
Document(s)
How to answer the deterrence argument
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2015
2015
Arguments against the death penalty
frMore details Download [ pdf - 1642 Ko ]
It was created to help all abolitionists answer the deterrent argument. It gives a definition of the deterrent theory, concrete reasons why academic studies have failed to prove the deterrent effect of the death penalty and compares figures about criminal rates in relation to abolition. It does not provide simple and easy answers, but explain, step by step, what to answer to those who believe that the death penalty has a deterrent effect.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Themes list Deterrence ,
- Available languages Comment répondre à l'argument de l'effet dissuasif
Document(s)
The Last Defense
By Death Penalty Information Center / Viola Davis / Julius Tennon, on 1 January 2018
2018
Working with...
More details See the document
The Last Defense is a new documentary series premiering for the first time at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on April 27. The seven-episode documentary series exposes flaws in the U.S. justice system through the personal narratives of death row prisoners Darlie Routier and Julius Jones, both whom maintain their innocence.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Innocence, Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Japanese : The Chaplain
By Japan Society Film, on 8 September 2020
2020
Multimedia content
Japan
More details See the document
The late, great Ren Osugi (Hana-bi) stars as a prison chaplain working on death row in this thought-provoking chamber drama—his final film as an actor and first as a producer. Visiting with a regular roster of inmates who await their final sentence—including a converted ex-yakuza and a philosophy-spouting mass murderer—the newly appointed clergyman gradually learns of their circumstances and is forced to confront his own understanding of life, death and salvation. Featuring unforgettable characters and a restrained visual style, Dai Sako’s searching film takes on the rarely-addressed topic of Japan’s death penalty in order to question the state of the country’s soul.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list Japan
- Themes list Retribution, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
International Affairs Forum. Capital Punishment Around the World
By Center for International Relations, on 1 January 2015
2015
International law - Regional body
More details See the document
The summer issue of International Foreign Affaires focuses on the topic of capital punishment around the world. It collects articles and interviews dealing with the issues of death penalty, the path towards abolition, and the situation of capital punishment in the world.
- Document type International law - Regional body
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
The Condemned
By The Intercept, on 1 January 2019
2019
International law - Regional body
More details See the document
Forty-three years after the Supreme Court reversed course and reinstated the death penalty, reliable data on the individuals sent to death row is maddeningly difficult to obtain. The Intercept set out to compile a comprehensive dataset on everyone sentenced to die in active death penalty jurisdictions since 1976. The findings show that capital punishment remains as “arbitrary and capricious” as ever.
- Document type International law - Regional body
- Themes list Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Addressing Capital Punishment Through Statutory Reform
By Douglas A. Berman / Ohio State Law Journal, on 1 January 2002
2002
Article
United States
More details See the document
State legislatures principally have been responsible for the acceptance and evolution (and even sometimes the abandonment) of capital punishment in the American criminal justice system from the colonial and founding eras, through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and now into the twenty-first century. A number of colonial legislative enactments, though influenced by England’s embrace of the punishment of death, uniquely defined and often significantly confined which crimes were to be subject to capital punishment.[1] State legislatures further narrowed the reach of the death penalty through the early nineteenth century as states, prodded often by vocal abolitionists and led by developments in Pennsylvania, divided the offense of murder into degrees and provided that only the most aggravated murderers would be subject to the punishment of death. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also saw states, as the product of legislative enactments, move away from mandating death as the punishment for certain crimes by giving juries discretion to choose which defendants would be sentenced to die. Throughout all these periods, statutory enactments have also played a fundamental role in the evolution of where and how executions are carried out.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
The cultural lives of capital punishment: comparative perspectives
By Sangmin Bae / David T. Johnson / Virgil K.Y. Ho / Evi Girling / Agata Fijalkowski / Julia Eckert / Christian Boulanger / Austin Sarat / Stanford University Press / Botagoz Kassymbekova / Shai Lavi / Jürgen Martschukat, on 1 January 2005
2005
Book
China
More details See the document
They undertake this “cultural voyage” comparatively—examining the dynamics of the death penalty in Mexico, the United States, Poland, Kyrgyzstan, India, Israel, Palestine, Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea—arguing that we need to look beyond the United States to see how capital punishment “lives” or “dies” in the rest of the world, how images of state killing are produced and consumed elsewhere, and how they are reflected, back and forth, in the emerging international judicial and political discourse on the penalty of death and its abolition.
- Document type Book
- Countries list China
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Human Rights and Democracy: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
By United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Afghanistan
More details See the document
The report covers the period from January to December 2010, though some key events in early 2011 have also been included. It highlights the important progressbeing made, serious concerns that we have, and what we are doing to promote our values around the world. It will rightly be studied closely by Parliament, NGOs and the wider public. There is a chapter dedicated to the death penalty, as well as 2010 figures on the death penalty in target countries.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Afghanistan
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
USA: The execution of mentally ill offenders
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2006
2006
NGO report
More details See the document
More than 1,000 men and women have been put to death in the USA since executions resumed there in 1977. Dozens of these people had histories of mental impairment, either from before the crimes for which they were sentenced, or at the time of their execution. The report discusses many cases and includes an illustrative list of 100 people. It does not attempt to answer the complex question of precisely which defendants should be exempt from the death penalty on the grounds of mental illness at the time of the crime.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Mental Illness, Intellectual Disability,
Document(s)
Stuck in the Dark Ages: Supreme Court Decision Making and Legal Developments
By James R.P. Ogloff / Psychology, Public Policy and Law / Sonia R. Chopra, on 1 January 2004
2004
Article
United States
More details See the document
In the latter quarter of the 20th century, the United States Supreme Court has generally refused to narrow the procedural and substantive conditions under which adults may be sentenced to death for capital murder. The current status of social science evidence is briefly reviewed to evaluate the Court’s treatment of 3 specific categories of evidence: The death-qualified jury, prejudicial capital sentencing, and juror comprehension of capital-sentencing instructions. The role of perceptions of public opinion in the perseverance of capital punishment statutes is considered. It appears that the Court, in general, does not place much weight on social science evidence. Suggestions are made for future areas of research and practice for social scientists interested in capital punishment.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
The ‘Mumia Exception’
By Free Mumia Abul Jamal Coalition (NYC), on 1 January 2009
2009
Legal Representation
More details See the document
In 1981, Mumia worked as a cab driver at night to supplement his income. On December 9th he was driving his cab through the red light district of downtown Philadelphia at around 4 a.m. Mumia testifies that he let off a fare and parked near the corner of 13th and Locust Streets. Upon hearing gunshots, he turned and saw his brother, William Cook, staggering in the street. Mumia exited the cab and ran to the scene, where he was shot by a uniformed police officer and fell to the ground, fading in and out of consciousness. Within minutes, police arrived on the scene to find Officer Faulkner and Mumia shot; Faulkner died. Mumia was arrested, savagely beaten, thrown into a paddy wagon and driven to a hospital a few blocks away (suspiciously, it took over 30 minutes to arrive at the hospital). The trial began in 1982 with Judge Sabo (who sent more people to death row than any other judge) presiding. Mumia wished to represent himself and have John Africa as his legal advisor, but before jury selection had finished, this right was revoked and an attorney was forcibly appointed for him. Throughout the trial, Mumia was accused of disrupting court proceedings and was not allowed to attend most of his own trial.
- Document type Legal Representation
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Executing the Insane: The Story of Scott Panetti
By The Texas Defender Service / Google videos, on 1 January 2007
2007
Legal Representation
More details See the document
Scott Panetti was accused of killing his parents in law and convicted. Scott suffered from severe mental illness for many years, Schizophrenia. He dismissed his legal counsel and represented himself at trial wearing a cow boy suit and asking irrelavent questions. This video tells the story of Scott Panetti’s case and questions whether he was mentally stable to attend trial and represent himself.
- Document type Legal Representation
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society
By United Nations, on 1 January 2008
2008
Working with...
ruzh-hantfresMore details See the document
Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society is addressed to the civil society actors who, every day in every part of the world, contribute to the promotion, protection and advancement of human rights. Developed following a survey among users of the first edition of the Handbook—Working with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: A Handbook for NGOs (2006)—this comprehensively updated and revised second edition puts United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms at its centre. Speaking to all civil society actors, including but not only non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Handbook explains how civil society can engage with various United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms. It is the hope of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that this Handbook will enable more people to enjoy and make claim to their human rights through these bodies and mechanisms.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Как работать по Программе ООН в области прав человека Справочник для гражданского общества参与联合国人权事务 民间社会手册Travailler avec le Programme des Nations Unies pour les Droits de l’Homme: Un Manuel pour la Société CivileTrabajando con el Programa de las Naciones Unidas en el ámbito de los Derechos Humanos Un manual para la sociedad civil
Document(s)
The Prejudicial Nature of Victim Impact Statements: Implications for Capital Sentencing Policy
By Edith Greene / Bryan Myers / Psychology, Public Policy and Law, on 1 January 2004
2004
Article
United States
More details See the document
Victim impact evidence is presented during sentencing hearings to convey the harm experienced by victims and victims’ relatives as a result of a crime. Its use in capital cases is highly controversial. Some argue that the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the admission of victim impact statements (VIS) during capital sentencing proceedings (Payne v. Tennessee, 1991) invites prejudice and judgments based on emotion rather than reason. Others reason that it provides an important voice for survivors and affords the jury an opportunity to learn about the victim. The authors outline the chief psychological issues that arise in the context of VIS, including their relevance to jurors’ judgments of blameworthiness, concerns that the social worth of the victim will influence jurors’ sentencing decisions, and issues related to the emotional appeal of VIS. Psycholegal research on the influence of VIS on mock jurors is reviewed, and implications of this work for capital sentencing policy and suggested directions for future research are discussed.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Fair Trial, Murder Victims' Families,
Document(s)
Death Penalty Mitigation A Handbook for Mitigation Specialists, Investigators, Social Scientists, and Lawyers
By Oxford University Press / Jose B. Ashford / Melissa Kupferberg, on 1 January 2013
2013
Book
More details See the document
This book provides an introduction to socio-legal forms of mitigation in capital sentencing. It helps mitigation specialists, defense investigators, social scientists, and lawyers in developing socio-cultural themes of mitigation. It examines scientific formulations, concepts, and frameworks for structuring social history investigations and assessments of moral culpability. A fundamental aim of this handbook was to provide mitigation professionals not only with an understanding of the context of mitigation in criminal justice thinking, but also ways of contextualizing issues of blame and culpability.
- Document type Book
- Themes list Due Process ,
Document(s)
Death Sentences and executions in 2012
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2013
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The report covers the judicial use of death penalty for the period January to December 2012.It summarises Amnesty International’s global research on the death penalty. Information was gathered from various sources including official statistics (where available), non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations, human rights defenders, the media and interviews with survivors of human rights violations
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Penalty, Statistics,
- Available languages أحكام الإعدام وما نُفذ منها في عام 2012
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions in 2015
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2016
2016
NGO report
fresruMore details See the document
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2015. As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: official figures; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives; reporting by other civil society organizations; and media reports. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages Condamnations à mort et exécutions en 2015Condenas a muerte y ejecuciones 2015СМЕРТНЫЕ ПРИГОВОРЫ И КАЗНИ 2015
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions 2014
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2015
2015
NGO report
fresruMore details See the document
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2014. As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: official figures; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives; reporting by other civil society organizations; and media reports. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages Condamnations à mort et exécutions en 2014Condenas a muerte y ejecuciones 2014СМЕРТНЫЕ ПРИГОВОРЫ И КАЗНИ 2014
Document(s)
Poster World Day 2004
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2004
2004
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
esfrMore details Download [ pdf - 17 Ko ]
Poster world day against the death penalty 2004
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Poster Spanish 2004Affiche journée mondiale 2004
Document(s)
Sentenced to oblivion. Fact-finding mission on death row. Cameroon
By Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM) / Nestor Toko / Carole Berrih, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
frMore details See the document
The report “Sentenced to oblivion. Fact-finding mission on death row. Cameroon”, which was officially launched on 21 June at the Delegation of the European Union from Yaoundé to Cameroon, is the result of an unprecedented fact-finding mission, conducted from May to October 2018 in five Cameroonian prisons by the Cameroonian Lawyers’ Network against the Death Penalty (Racopem) and the association ECPM (Ensemble contre la peine de mort).
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages Condamnés à l'oubli. Mission d'enquête dans les couloirs de la mort. Cameroun
Document(s)
Detailed Fact Sheet: Progress Made in 10 years and Challenges Ahead
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty / Detailed Fact Sheet, on 1 January 2012
2012
Campaigning
More details Download [ pdf - 251 Ko ]
This Fact Sheet details the progress made in the past 10 years and challenges ahead, stressing the fact that Death Sentences and Executions Have Decreased, there is a Growing Use of a Moratorium, a Growing Restrictions on the Scope of the Death Penalty: Elimination of Mandatory Death Sentences, Growing Restrictions on the Scope of the Death Penalty, Growing Support for the UN General Assembly Resolutions Calling for a Moratorium, Increasing Ratifications of the Protocols to Abolish the Death Penalty, Growing International Statements and a Growing Abolitionist Movement.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
Write a Letter to the Editor
By National Coalition Against the Death Penalty / Wisconsin Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2007
2007
Working with...
More details See the document
Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or submitting a story to a local blog, is a great way to fight the continued use of the death penalty. This site gives helpful tips on how to write such a letter.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Arab Charter on Human Rights
By League of Arab States, on 1 January 2004
2004
Regional body report
arfrMore details See the document
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
Document(s)
The Final Request
By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2012
2012
Multimedia content
More details See the document
This 2012 animation “The Final Request” was produced under the EU funded project ‘Progressive Abolition of the Death Penalty and Alternatives that Respect International Human Rights Standards’. The three-minute animation provides a basic overview of the application of the death penalty in the Middle East and North African region.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment,
Document(s)
How to Work with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
frMore details Download [ pdf - 592 Ko ]
The World Coalition has developed and published a training manual on working with the African Union’s human rights organ, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). This how-to guide was created specifically for civil society to help encourage successful interaction with the ACHPR, a growing and influential human rights mechanism on the continent.
- Document type Academic report
- Themes list Public debate, Member organizations, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty,
- Available languages Comment travailler avec la Commission africaine des droits de l'Homme et des Peuples pour l'abolition de la peine de mort?
Document(s)
The Punishment
By Andres Segura, on 1 January 2018
2018
Multimedia content
United States
More details See the document
“The Punishment” is a short film that takes place in 1978 at a Texas State Penitentiary. The story follows inmate Randle Kohler’s last hours on Death Row leading up to his execution. The only human being he’s able to communicate with is the Prison Guard assigned to bring him his last meal. As their conversation develops we begin to see more and more layers of Kohler’s past and the events that led him to the prison cell.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Electrocution, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
What Caused The Crime Decline?
By Brennan Center for Justice / Oliver Roeder / Lauren-Brooke Eisen / Julia Bowling, on 1 January 2015
2015
Article
United States
More details See the document
A new study by the Brennan Center for Justice examined several possible explanations for the dramatic drop in crime in the U.S. in the 1990s and 2000s. Among the theories studied was use of the death penalty, which the report found had no effect on the decline in crime.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Deterrence ,
Document(s)
The Innocence Protection Act of 2001
By Senator Patrick Leahy / Hofstra Law Review, on 1 January 2001
2001
Article
United States
More details See the document
The goal of our bill is simple, but profoundly important: to reduce the risk of mistaken executions. The Innocence Protection Act proposes basic, common-sense reforms to our criminal justice system that are designed to protect the innocent and to ensure that if the death penalty is imposed, it is the result of informed and reasoned deliberation, not politics, luck, bias, or guesswork. We have listened to a lot of good advice and made some refinements to the bill since the last Congress, but it is still structured around two principal reforms: improving the availability of DNA testing, and ensuring reasonable minimum standards and funding for court-appointed counsel.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence,
Document(s)
Exonerations in the United States 1989 Through 2003
By Daniel J. Matheson / Kristin Jacoby / Samuel R. Gross / Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology / Nicholas Montgomery / Sujata Patil, on 1 January 2005
2005
Article
United States
More details See the document
In this paper we use reported exonerations as a window on false convictions generally. We can’t come close to estimating the number of false convictions that occur in the United States, but the accumulating mass of exonerations gives us a glimpse of what we’re missing. We located 340 individual exonerations from 1989 through 2003, not counting at least 135 innocent defendants in at least two mass exonerations, and not counting more than 70 defendants convicted in a series of childcare sex abuse prosecutions, most of whom were probably innocent. Almost all the individual exonerations that we know about are clustered in the two most serious common felonies: rape and murder. They are surrounded by widening circles of categories of cases that include false convictions that are rarely detected, if ever: rape convictions that have not been reexamined with DNA evidence; robberies, for which DNA identification is useless; murder cases that are ignored because the defendants were not sentenced to death; assault and drug convictions that are forgotten entirely; misdemeanor convictions that aren’t even part of the picture. Judging from our data, any plausible guess at the total number of miscarriages of justice in America in the last fifteen years must run to the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, in felony cases alone. We can, however, see some clear patterns in those false convictions that have come to light.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence,
Document(s)
Oral Statement: 56th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights
By FIACAT, on 8 September 2020
2020
Article
More details See the document
During the 56th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul, Gambia, 21 April – 7 May 2015, the FIACAT made an oral statement as they would like to would like to congratulate on the actions taken by the Committee for the prevention of torture in Africa since the 55th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR. Nevertheless, FIACAT remains greatly concerned by the number of cases of torture documented by its members (ACATs) and the impunity which torturers enjoy.
- Document type Article
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Compensating the Wrongfully Convicted
By The Innocence Project, on 1 January 2012
2012
Working with...
More details See the document
Those proven to have been wrongfully convicted through postconviction DNA testing spend, on average, 12 years behind bars. The agony of prison life and the complete loss of freedom are only compounded by the feelings of what might have been, but for the wrongful conviction. Deprived for years of family and friends and the ability to establish oneself professionally, the nightmare does not end upon release. With no money, housing, transportation, health services or insurance, and a criminal record that is rarely cleared despite innocence, the punishment lingers long after innocence has been proven. States have a responsibility to restore the lives of the wrongfully convicted to the best of their abilities. This document describes how a state can try to recompensate an exonerated person.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
THE STATE OF AFRICAN REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES AND MECHANISMS 2018-2019
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2019
2019
NGO report
frMore details See the document
The report presents a comprehensive review of the current state and performance of the African regional human rights system in the period between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2019. It appraises the functioning, working methods, outputs and impact of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR); the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC); and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACtHPR) during the reporting period.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list International law,
- Available languages LA SITUATION DES ORGANES ET MÉCANISMES RÉGIONAUX DE PROTECTION DES DROITS HUMAINS EN AFRIQUE
Document(s)
Up the River Without a Procedure: Innocent Prisoners and Newly Discovered Non-DNA Evidence in State Courts.
By Daniel Medwed / Arizona Law Review, on 1 January 2005
2005
Article
United States
More details See the document
This Article aims to provide an examination: An analysis of the state procedures that prisoners may employ after trial to litigate innocence claims grounded on newly discovered non-DNA evidence. Ultimately, the result of this examination is far from sanguine. Little-altered in decades beyond the trend toward recognizing the benefits of DNA testing, the structure of most state procedures means that a prisoner’s quest for justice may turn on the fortuity that a biological sample was left at the crime scene and preserved over time. The fact that DNA testing provides a modicum of certainty to an innocence claim does not imply that claims lacking the possibility of such certainty are spurious; on the contrary, DNA has unearthed holes in the criminal justice system, holes that are likely also prevalent in cases without biological evidence.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence, Networks,
Document(s)
Innocence Unmodified
By Emily Hughes / North Carolina Law Review , on 1 January 2010
2010
Article
United States
More details See the document
The Article proceeds in three parts. Part I explains the pivotal role that “actual” innocence has played in the Innocence Movement. It shows that even though the Innocence Movement has begun to broaden its DNA-based focus to include non-DNA-based claims, its goal has remained constant: achieving justice for “actually” innocent people. Part I then shows how the Innocence Movement has prioritized the cases of “actually” innocent people who were convicted through trial over “actually” innocent people who pleaded guilty. The prioritization of wrongful convictions derived from trials over wrongful convictions from pleas underscores how the Innocence Movement has overlooked the claims of people who have pleaded guilty and are not “actually” innocent, but who may still have strong wrongful conviction claims based on fundamental constitutional violations. Part II examines innocence unmodified in the context of trials and postconviction appeals. It asserts that one reason to protect innocence unmodified is because under the Court‟s existing jurisprudence, “actual” innocence alone is not enough to reverse a wrongful conviction. This is because the Supreme Court has not yet decided whether the Constitution forbids the execution of an “actually” innocent person who was convicted through a “full and fair” trial. Because the Court has not recognized a freestanding “actual” innocence claim, the “actual” innocence of a wrongly convicted person only matters as a door through which to allow a court to reach underlying constitutional claims. Part II uses the example of a recent Supreme Court decision, In Re Troy Davis, to highlight how an isolated prioritization of “actual” innocence does not achieve justice for wrongly convicted people. Part III examines innocence unmodified in the context of pleas. It reveals the degree to which the Court has itself polarized innocence in the context of pleas—prioritizing “actual” innocence over fundamental constitutional protections for all people.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence,
Document(s)
Documentaire: femmes dans la couloir de la mort
By Investigations et Enquêtes , on 17 January 2024
2024
Multimedia content
Death Row Conditions
Gender
United States
Women
More details See the document
Un regard déchirant sur la vie des femmes condamnées et les failles du système judiciaire américain. Aux Etats-Unis, 54 femmes « attendent » l’exécution de leur peine. Linda Carty et Melissa Lucio sont emprisonnées au Texas, Shawna Forde en Arizona. Elles se livrent. Parmi les prisonnières, certaines espèrent la révision de leur procès.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions / Gender / Women
Document(s)
ULUSLARARASI AF ÖRGÜTÜ KÜRESEL RAPORU ÖLÜM CEZALARI VE İNFAZLAR 2022
By ULUSLARARASI AF ÖRGÜTÜ, on 16 May 2023
2023
NGO report
More details See the document
Bu rapor, Ocak-Aralık 2022 dönemi için ölüm cezasının adli kullanımını kapsamaktadır. Uluslararası Af Örgütü yalnızca infazlar, ölüm cezaları ve ölüm cezasının kullanımına ilişkin diğer hususlar (cezanın hafifletilmesi ve beraat gibi) hakkında makul teyitlerin olduğu durumlarda raporlama yapmaktadır. Birçok ülkede hükümetler ölüm cezasının kullanımına ilişkin bilgi yayınlamamaktadır.
- Document type NGO report
Document(s)
DEATH ROW PHENOMENON VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS
By Human Rights Advocates, on 1 January 2012
2012
NGO report
More details See the document
Conditions surrounding the death penalty and its application necessitate examination and recognition of the tortuous experience endured by death row inmates, as it culminates in the onset of the death row phenomenon
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Row Phenomenon,
Document(s)
Sentenced to Death: A Report on Washington Supreme Court Rulings In Capital Cases
By American Civil Liberties Union / Washington, on 1 January 2001
2001
NGO report
More details See the document
The ACLU conducted an analysis of court rulings in the 25 Washington cases in which the death sentence has been imposed since 1981, when the current death penalty statute took effect. That analysis of almost two decades of death sentences and executions makes it clear that the system by which we impose and review death sentences in Washington is fundamentally flawed.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Death Row U.S.A. Fall 2010
By National Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2010
2010
NGO report
More details See the document
A quarterly report by the Criminal Justice Project of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, on the situation of the death penalty in the USA
- Document type NGO report
Document(s)
2015 World Day Report
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2016
2016
NGO report
frMore details Download [ pdf - 2276 Ko ]
On 10 October 2015, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty along with abolitionist activists worldwide marked the 13th World Day against the Death Penalty by drawing attention to the death penalty for drug crimes. This report presents the activities organised for the 13th world day and the media coverage it received.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Terrorism,
- Available languages Rapport Journée Mondiale 2015
Document(s)
Japan : 111 th Session of the Human Rights Committee
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty / The Advocates for Human Rights / Center for Prisoners' Rights / Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH), on 1 January 2014
2014
Multimedia content
Japan
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This report examinesprison conditionsandthe imposition of the death penalty in Japan in light of international human rights standards.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list Japan
- Themes list Due Process , International law, Death Row Conditions,
Document(s)
Counting the Condemned
By Justice Project Pakistan, on 1 January 2018
2018
NGO report
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Counting the Condemned contains some shocking revelations. There has been almost a 35 percent reduction in Pakistan’s death row population, but we still account for 26 percent of the world’s death row. Every 8th person executed in the world is a Pakistani. And convictions are often so wrongful, an appellate bench of the Supreme Court has overturned a whopping 85 percent of death sentences since 2014.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Penalty, Statistics,
Document(s)
Myanmar: The Administration Of Justice – Grave And Abiding Concerns
By Amnesty International, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Myanmar
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This report discusses Amnesty International’s concern about political imprisonments in Myanmar. Arbitrary arrests; torture and ill-treatment during incommunicado detention; unfair trials; and laws which greatly curtail the rights to freedom of expression and assembly continue as major obstacles to the improvement in the State Peace and Development Council’s human rights record. The section dedicated to the death penalty talks about the death penalty system in relation to specific cases.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Myanmar
- Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Don’t Take His Eye, Don’t Take His Tooth, and Don’t Cast the First Stone: Limiting Religious Arguments in Capital Cases
By John Blume / Sheri Lynn Johnson / William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal, on 1 January 2000
2000
Article
United States
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Religious arguments in the course of particular capital sentencing proceedings are very common. This may be in part because capital punishment jurisprudence, unlike the jurisprudence of reproductive rights or segregation, has itself mandated individualized decision-making. Public discussion of whether religious principles or authority compel (or preclude) the imposition of the death penalty for all police killings (or, more broadly, all killings) has been largely mooted by the Supreme Court’s determination that mandatory death penalty statutes violate the Eighth Amendment.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Religion ,
Document(s)
The International Library of Essays on Capital Punishment, Volume 1 : Justice and Legal Issues
By Peter Hodgkinson / Ashgate Publishing, on 8 September 2020
2020
Book
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This volume provides up-to-date and nuanced analysis across a wide spectrum of capital punishment issues. The essays move beyond the conventional legal approach and propose fresh perspectives, including a unique critique of the abolition sector. Written by a range of leading experts with diverse geographical, methodological and conceptual approaches, the essays in this volume challenge received wisdom and embrace a holistic understanding of capital punishment based on practical experience and empirical data. This collection is indispensable reading for anyone seeking a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the complexity of the death penalty discourse.
- Document type Book
- Themes list Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Ethical Responsibilities of Physicians: Capital Punishment in the 21st Century
By Karen B. Rosenbaum / William Connor Darby / Robert Weinstock / Psychiatric Annals, on 1 January 2015
2015
Article
United States
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The American Medical Association is among many medical professional organizations that prohibit the participation of physicians in the physical act of execution. Despite these clear guidelines, debate remains regarding physician involvement in various aspects of death penalty cases. This article outlines different positions that physicians and specifically forensic psychiatrists have taken on this issue. Our position is that given the overwhelming secondary duty related to their physician role—specifically to do no harm—forensic psychiatrists should not use their expertise if they believe their involvement will be used for the primary purpose of obtaining a death penalty.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Intellectual Disability,
Document(s)
The Unusualness of Capital Punishment
By Louis D. Bilionis / Ohio Northern University Law Review, on 1 January 2000
2000
Article
United States
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The order struck during the regulatory years following Furman v. Georgia and Gregg v. Georgia has been inverted. Executions once were rarities of newsworthy moment; now, they are nearly twice-a-week occurrences that often pass with nary a notice. Skeptical scrutiny of death penalty cases once was the professed and practiced mission of the federal judiciary; now, words like weariness, ennui, and resentment seem better choices to capture the spirit of the federal courts when confronted with complaints from death row. As we will see, the various lines of objection join to form a sophisticated and comprehensive critique.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
COMPETENT CAPITAL REPRESENTATION: THE NECESSITY OF KNOWING AND HEEDING WHAT JURORS TELL US ABOUT MITIGATION
By John H. Blume / Sheri Lynn Johnson / Scott E. Sundby / Hofstra Law Review, on 1 January 2008
2008
Article
United States
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While there are antecedent factual determinations jurors must make, including the existence of a statutory aggravating circumstance, the final decision the jurors must make is not factual in nature. As the courts have noted, this is an “awesome responsibility,” and the jury must make a “reasoned moral” decision whether life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty is the appropriate punishment.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
EU Guidelines: Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
By Council of the European Union / European Union, on 1 January 2009
2009
Working with...
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An integral part of our Human Rights Policy is a series of Guidelines on issues of importance to the Union. These Guidelines are practical tools to help EU representations in the field better advance our policy. The first Guideline, on the Death Penalty, was elaborated in 1998. It was followed by six others focussed on Torture, Dialogues with Third Countries, Children Affected by Armed Conflict, Human Rights Defenders, the Rights of the Child and Violence Against Women. The first five Guidelines were published as a brochure four years ago; this new edition adds those Guidelines adopted since then. In preparation for publishing this booklet, all of the older Guidelines underwent a review and renovation to reflect changes both in the Union and the external environment that have taken place since 2005. There is one other innovation in the edition you hold in your hands: for the first time, we have included a guideline developed in 2005 by Member State legal experts on the topic of International Humanitarian Law. Because of the explosive growth of operations and missions conducted under the European Security and Defence Policy and as a result of our conviction that counterterrorism be conducted within the framework of international law, the Guideline on IHL is growing in importance.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages EU Lignes Directrices: Droits de l'Homme et le Droit International Humanitaire
Document(s)
The International Library of Essays on Capital Punishment, Volume 2 : Abolition and Alternatives to Capital Punishment
By Peter Hodgkinson / Ashgate Publishing, on 8 September 2020
2020
Book
More details See the document
The essays selected for this volume develop conventional abolition discourse and explore the conceptual framework through which abolition is understood and posited. Of particular interest is the attention given to an integral but often forgotten element of the abolition debate: alternatives to capital punishment. The volume also provides an account of strategies employed by the abolition community which challenges tired methodologies and offers a level of transparency previously unseen. This collection tackles complex but fundamental components of the capital punishment debate using empirical data and expert observations and is essential reading for those wishing to comprehend the fundamental issues which underpin capital punishment discourse.
- Document type Book
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Irreversible Error: Recommended Reforms for Preventing and Correcting Errors in the Administration of Capital Punishment
By The Constitution Project, on 1 January 2014
2014
NGO report
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The Committee also offers a host of other recommendations to prevent and correct wrongfulconvictions. These include recommendations regarding the preservation, testing andpresentation of forensic evidence; the creation of statutory remedies for wrongful convictionsand the implementation of procedures for the systemic review to help avoid future errors; thevideotaping of custodial interrogations – where practical – in order to avoid the documentedproblem of false and otherwise inaccurate confessions; the adoption of best practices foreyewitness identifications; the effective implementation of prosecutors’ constitutionalobligation to disclose exculpatory evidence; and enforcement of the Vienna Convention onConsular Relations.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Innocence,
Document(s)
Innocents Convicted: An Empirically Justified Factual Wrongful Conviction Rate
By D. Michael Risinger / Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, on 1 January 2007
2007
Article
United States
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The news about the astounding accuracy of felony convictions in the United States, delivered by Justice Scalia and Joshua Marquis in the passage set out epigrammatically above, would be cause for rejoicing if it were true. Imagine. Only 27 factually wrong felony convictions out of every 100,000! Unfortunately, it is not true, as the empirical data analyzed in this article demonstrates. To a great extent, those who believe that our criminal justice system rarely convicts the factually innocent and those who believe such miscarriages are rife have generally talked past each other for want of any empirically-justified factual innocence wrongful conviction rate. This article remedies at least a part of this problem by establishing the first such empirically justified wrongful conviction rate ever for a significant universe of real world serious crimes: capital rape-murders in the 1980’s. Using DNA exonerations for capital rape-murders from 1982 through 1989 as a numerator, and a 406-member sample of the 2235 capital sentences imposed during this period, this article shows that 21.45%, or around 479 of those, were cases of capital rape murder. Data supplied by the Innocence Project of Cardozo Law School and newly developed for this article show that only 67% of those cases would be expected to yield usable DNA for analysis. Combining these figures and dividing the numerator by the resulting denominator, a minimum factually wrongful conviction rate for capital rape-murder in the 1980’s emerges: 3.3%. The article goes on to consider the likely ceiling accompanying this 3.3% floor, arriving at a slightly softer number for the maximum factual error rate of around 5%. The article then goes on to analyze the implications of a factual error rate of 3.3%-5% for both those who currently claim errors are extremely rare, and those who claim they are extremely common. Extension of the 3.3%-5% to other capital and non-capital categories of crime is discussed, and standards of moral duty to support system reform in the light of such error rates is considered at length.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
By United Nations, on 1 January 1948
1948
United Nations report
esruzh-hantarfrMore details See the document
On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.” Article 3 – Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
- Document type United Nations report
- Themes list International law, Right to life,
- Available languages Declaración Universal de Derechos HumanosВсеобщую декларацию прав человека世界人权宣言المتحدة الإعلان العالمي لحقوق الإنسانDéclaration universelle des droits de l'homme
Document(s)
Convention on the Rights of the Child
By United Nations, on 1 January 1989
1989
United Nations report
esruzh-hantarfrMore details See the document
Article 37States Parties shall ensure that:(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age.
- Document type United Nations report
- Themes list Juveniles, International law,
- Available languages Convención sobre los Derechos del NiñoКонвенция о правах ребенка儿童权利公约اتفاقية حقوق الطفلConvention relative aux droits de l'enfant
Document(s)
3 questions to Ndume Olatushani, former death row prisoner
By Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM), on 1 January 2018
2018
Academic report
United States
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Ndume, 56 years old, spent 28 years in prison in the US, 20 of which on death row, for a crime he did not commit. Today, he is human rights activist, and fight with us for the abolition of the death penalty. He is also a very gifted painter.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Death Sentencing Database
By Brandon L. Garrett / End of its Rope, on 1 January 2018
Working with...
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This resource website displays data concerning death sentencing in the United States from 1990 to present. Research using these data includes a book, “End of its Rope: How Killing the Death Penalty Can Revive Criminal Justice” published by Harvard University Press in Fall 2017. This research was conducted by Professor Brandon L. Garrett with the support of the University of Virginia School of Law.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Death Penalty, Statistics,
Document(s)
Nobody To Talk To: Barriers to Mental Health Treatment for Family Members of Individuals Sentenced to Death and Executed
By Texas After Violence Project, on 1 January 2019
2019
NGO report
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Four decades after the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States, the harmful impact of death sentences and executions on persons other than the individual offender is still not widely recognized – not even among mental health professionals who specialize in responding to individual and community needs in the aftermath of traumatic events.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Mental Illness, Murder Victims' Families,
Document(s)
#nodeathpenalty – Signs
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
fresfaruzh-hantMore details Download [ pdf - 42 Ko ]
For this 12th World Day Against the Death Penalty the World Coalition has decided to focus on a social media campaign which it hopes will spread the truth about death penalty more widely than ever before. The concept is simple. People will make signs stating why they are against the death penalty and take a photo of themselves holding that sign and upload it onto a social media platform, with the hashtag #nodeathpenalty. With the photo uploaded, the person will nominate at least 3 people to do the same, thus creating an exponential (snowball) effect. Think of it as a cross between the #bringbackourgirls campaign in support for
- Document type Academic report
- Available languages #nodeathpenalty - Pancarte#nodeathpenalty - Signs_Spanish#nodeathpenalty - Signs_Farsi#nodeathpenalty - Signs_Russian#nodeathpenalty - Signs_Chinese
Document(s)
A Guide to Sentencing in Capital Cases
By The Death Penalty Project, on 1 January 2007
2007
Working with...
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Recent years have seen a number of ground-breaking judicial decisions on the mandatory death penalty in various Caribbean and African jurisdictions. In analysing these developments, this manual addresses the key issues that arise in the sentencing and resentencing of offenders following the abolition of the mandatory death penalty for particular crimes. It deals with the general test to be applied when deciding whether an offender should be sentenced to a discretionary death penalty. It also addresses the aggravating and, in particular, mitigating considerations relevant to the sentencing exercise and procedural issues that arise as a result of the discretion now vested in the courts to impose an appropriate sentence in each case.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Vietnam: From “Vision” to Facts: Human Rights in Vietnam under its Chairmanship of ASEAN
By Vietnam Committee on Human Rights / International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Viet Nam
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The use of the death penalty is frequent in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In 2009, the government reduced the number of offences punishable by death from 29 to 22. Capital punishment is applied for crimes including murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking, rape, sexual abuse of children, and a range of economic crimes. Execution is by firing squad. A draft law was introduced in November 2009 proposing the use of two methods of execution, either by firing squad or by lethal injection. Statistics on the number of death sentences and executions are not made public. Indeed, following criticisms by international human rights organisations, in January 2004, Vietnam adopted a decree classifying death penalty statistics as “state secrets”. According to the Vietnamese and international press, at least 100 people are executed each year in Vietnam. In 2007, 104 death sentences were pronounced, including 14 women. In 2010, the official legal magazine Phap Luat (Law) reported 11 death sentences for the month of January alone.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Viet Nam
- Themes list Death Row Conditions, Firing Squad,