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Paper ini merupakan catatan monitoring KontraS terhadap praktek hukuman mati di Indonesia. Indonesia merupakan salah satu negara di dunia yang masih menerapkan hukuman mati dalam aturan pidananya. Padahal, hingga Juni 2006, lebih dari setengah negara-negara di dunia telah menghapuskan praktek hukuman mati baik secara de jure atau de facto. Di tengah kecenderungan global akan moratorium hukuman mati, praktek ini justru makin lazim diterapkan di Indonesia. Paling tidak selama empat tahun berturut-turut telah dilaksanakan eksekusi mati terhadap para orang narapidana. Pro-kontra penerapan hukuman mati ini semakin menguat, karena tampak tak sejalan dengan komitmen Indonesia untuk tunduk pada kesepakatan internasional yang tertuang dalam Kovenan Internasional tentang Hak Sipil dan Politik serta Kovenan Internasional tentang Hak Ekonomi, Sosial dan Budaya.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Indonesia

日本では、死刑執行の予定日に刑務所の外で監視行動などがおこなわれることはない。処刑がおこなわれるかどうかは当局だけが知るところだからである。また処刑は通常、国会が閉会中で処刑の問題を国会で協議することができないような時期におこなわれる。臼井日出男元法相によれば、「死刑についての論議を大々的にする」機会を野党議員に与えないために、このような方針がとられているということである。死刑の執行に関して唯一明らかにされているのは、定期的に法務省が出す統計情報である。執行された人の名前は明らかにはされず、家族が公開しないかぎり知ることはできない。法務省はこうした秘密主義は, 死刑囚の家族を、身内が処刑されたと知られないよう、保護するためだとしている。

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Japan
• Themes list Transparency, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Japan: "Will this day be my last?" The death penalty in Japan“¿Será éste mi último día?” La pena de muerte en Japón

Amnesty International juga prihatin akan adanya seruan untuk memperluas jenis masalah kejahatan yang dapat dijatuhi pidana mati. Saat ini pidana mati dapat dijatuhkan pada pelaku kejahatan yang berhubungan dengan masalah pembunuhan; kejahatan menentang keamanan negara; pembunuhan Presiden atau Wakil Presiden dan kejahatan yang berhubungan dengan narkoba. Berlawanan dengan kecenderungan internasional yang ingin menghapuskan atau mengurangi jumlah kasus kejahatan yang dapat dijatuhi pidana mati, dua undang-undang yang berhubungan dengan kejahatan terhadap kemanusiaan dan terorisme yang telah diadopsi selama empat tahun terakhir mencantumkan pidana mati atas beberapa kejahatan. Pada tahun-tahun belakangan ini juga telah ada seruan untuk menjatuhkan pidana mati bagi pelaku penebangan kayu ilegal dan pelaku korupsi.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Indonesia
• Themes list Networks, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Indonesia: A briefing on the death penalty

廃止推進団体の努力にもかかわらず、世論には、死刑制度の継続を支持する強い傾向があることは確かです。死刑適用の実状を政府が隠し、これまでよかったといわれた治安が徐々に悪化していることもあり、この時機に政府が、国民に不人気な決断をすることはないでしょう。欧州評議会をはじめとする、国際組織からの圧力に対して、政府は「内政に対する許しがたい干渉」ときめつけています。保守派が与党の政府において、廃止に向けての議論が政治決定となる気配はありません。 日本のすべての弁護士が加盟する日弁連は、廃止法案提案でコンセンサスに至らなかったという事実が、現時点で死刑がなくなる可能性が少ないことを雄弁に物語っています。

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Japan
• Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages The Death Penalty in Japan: A Practice Unworthy of a DemocracyLa peine de mort au Japon, une pratique indigne d'une démocratie

Katika hoja zinazotumika sana kutetea adhabu ya kifo ni kuwa inasaidia kupunguza uhalifu. Inaelezewa kuwa adhabu ya kifo inalinda jamii dhidi ya watu waliohatari na kuzuia wengine wasije wakafanya uhalifu. Hoja hizi zimethibitishwa kutokuwa na ukweli wowote. Je adhabu ya kifo inalinda jamii dhini ya uhalifu? Hailekei kuwa hivyo. Jamii zinazotumia adhabu ya kifo hazina ulinzi dhidi ya uhalifu kuliko zaidi ya zile jamii zisizotumia adhabu hiyo. Mahali ambapo kuna adhabu mbadala kama vile kifungo, ulinzi wa jamii, hautegemei kuwaondosha kimwili wahalifu. Zaidi ya hapo, inaweza kuelezwa kuwa tahadhari zinazochukuliwa kuzuia wanaosubiri, kuuwawa kujiua inaonyesha wazi kuwa kumuondosha kimwili mhalifu sio sababu ya msingi ya adhabu ya kifo.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list United Republic of Tanzania
• Themes list Transparency, Mandatory Death Penalty,
• Available languages Tanzania: the death sentence institutionnalisedTanzanie: La peine de mort institutionnalisée

• Document type United Nations report
• Themes list International law, Death Penalty,
• Available languages A/HRC/RES/42/24 - قراراعتمده مجلس حقوق الإنسان في 27 أيلول/سبتمبر 2019 ٤2/2٤- مسألة عقوبة الإعدامA/HRC/RES/42/24 - Резолюция, принятая Советом по правам человека 27сентября2019 года - Вопрос о смертной казниA/HRC/RES/42/24 - Résolution adoptée par le Conseil des droits de l'homme le 27 septembre 2019 - La question de la peine de mortA/HRC/RES/42/24 - 人权理事会 2019 年 9 月 27 日通过的决议 - 死刑问题A/HRC/RES/42/24 - Resolución aprobada por el Consejo de Derechos Humanos el 27 de septiembre de 2019 - La cuestión de la pena de muerte

The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 36/17,of the Human Rights Council. The report examines the consequences arising at various stages of the imposition and application of the death penalty on the enjoyment of the human rights of persons facing the death penalty and other affected persons. It pays specific attention to the impact of the resumption of the use of the death penalty on human rights

• Document type United Nations report
• Themes list International law, Death Penalty,
• Available languages A/HRC/42/28 - Смертная казнь и осуществление мер, гарантирующих защиту прав лиц, приговоренных к смертной казниA/HRC/42/28 - Peine capitale et application des garanties pour la protection des droits des personnes passibles de la peine de mortA/HRC/42/28 - 死刑和保护死刑犯权利的保障措施的执行情况عقوبة الإعوداموتنفيو الضومات الويتكفو حمايوةحقووقالو ي يواجهوونعقوبة الإعدام - A/HRC/42/28

Tis general comment replaces general comments No. 6, adopted by the Committee at its sixteenth session (1982), and No. 14, adopted by the Committee at its twenty-third session (1984)

• Document type United Nations report
• Themes list Right to life, Death Penalty,
• Available languages : التعليق العام رقم 36 المادة 6 ( الحق في الحياة )Замечание общего порядка No 36 - Статья 6: право на жизньObservation générale n°36 - Article 6 : droit à la vieObservación general núm. 36 - Artículo 6: derecho a la vida第36号一般性意见第六条：生命权

In this report, SHAMS emphasizes that in Palestine they apply inconsistent legal combination of laws that punish with death penalty, which are not Palestinian laws basically.The problem is that capital punishment violates against an essential human right, and it is irreversible once executed. It doesn’t represent a public deterrent so; it is nothing but a form of violence not a solution for it.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list State of Palestine
• Themes list Death Penalty,
• Available languages مركز “شمس” يصدر تقريراً حول واقع عقوبة الإعدام في الأراضي الفلسطينية في العام 2017

Hector Black’s daughter was murdered after she surprised an intruder in her Atlanta home. In this powerful recording, Black discusses how he found peace in forgiving the man who murdered his child.

• Document type Working with...
• Themes list Murder Victims' Families, Death Penalty,

The permanent missions to the United Nations in New York listed below have the honour to refer to General Assembly resolution 67/176, entitled “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”, which was adopted by the Third Committee on 19 November 2012, and subsequently by the General Assembly on 20 December 2012 by a recorded vote. The permanent missions wish to place on record that they are in persistent objection to any attempt to impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty or its abolition in contravention of existing stipulations under international law, for the following reasons:

• Document type United Nations report
• Countries list Afghanistan / Antigua and Barbuda / Bahrain / Bangladesh / Barbados / Botswana / Brunei Darussalam / Chad / China / Democratic People's Republic of Korea / Egypt / Equatorial Guinea / Eritrea / Eswatini / Ethiopia / Grenada / Guyana / India / Iran (Islamic Republic of) / Iraq / Jamaica / Kuwait / Lao People's Democratic Republic / Libya / Malaysia / Mauritania / Myanmar / Nigeria / Oman / Pakistan / Papua New Guinea / Qatar / Saint Kitts and Nevis / Saint Lucia / Saint Vincent and the Grenadines / Saudi Arabia / Singapore / Solomon Islands / Somalia / Sudan / Syrian Arab Republic / Tonga / Trinidad and Tobago / Uganda / United Arab Emirates / Yemen / Zimbabwe
• Themes list Moratorium
• Available languages مذكرة شفوية مؤرخة 16 نيسان/أبريل 2013 موجهة إلى الأمين العام من البعثة الدائمة لمصر لدى الأمم المتحدةNota verbal de fecha 16 de abril de 2013 dirigida al Secretario General por la Misión Permanente de Egipto ante las Naciones UnidasNote verbale datée du 16 avril 2013, adressée au Secrétaire général par la Mission permanente de l’Égypte auprès de l’Organisation des Nations UniesВербальная нота Постоянного представительства Египта при Организации Объединенных Наций от 16 апреля 2013 года на имя Генерального секретаря2013年4月16日埃及常驻联合国代表团给秘书长的普通照会

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,

The IPS ‘Death Penalty Abolition Project’, supported bythe European Union, has recorded the voices of many of those who have played a key role in the recently fast-moving journey towards a death-penalty-free world. In doing so, IPS has been guided by the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.Collected here are some 100 reports from dozens ofcountries and every continent. The voices of those who have spoken out here – many hundreds in number – include activists,academics, lawyers and, of course, those waiting for that dreaded last knock on their cell door.

• Document type Book
• Themes list Moratorium , Trend Towards Abolition, Death Penalty,

Two decades after Iran ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the authorities continue to show contempt for one of its core principles – the prohibition of the death penalty for juvenile offenders (people younger than 18 at the time of the crime). Indeed, Iran tops the grim global table of executioners of juvenile offenders.The report analyses the Iranian Penal System with regard to juvenile offenders, acknowledges the reforms, presents the recent trends and points out the major shortcomings that still need to be addressed in view of a full compliance of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the international standards.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Juveniles, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Iran: Synthèse et les conclusions du rapport sur la peine de mort en Iran.

This year, jurors in Texas imposed the fewest new death sentences since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state’s revised capital punishment statute in 1976. According to the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty’s (TCADP) report, Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2015: The Year in Review, juries newly condemned three individuals to death. They rejected the death penalty in four other trials. The first death sentence of the year was not imposed until October 7, 2015.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Country/Regional profiles,

The use of the death penalty in the U.S. declined by virtually every measure in 2015. The 28 executions this year marked the lowest number since 1991. As of December 15, fourteen states and the federal government have imposed 49 new death sentences this year, a 33% decline over last year’s total and the lowest number since the early 1970s when the death penalty was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Only six states conducted executions this year, the fewest number of states in 27 years. Eighty-six percent of executions this year were concentrated in just three states: Texas (13), Missouri (6), and Georgia (5). Executions in 2015 declined 20 percent from 2014, when there were 35. This year was the first time in 24 years that the number of executions was below 30.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,

Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who have committed heinous crimes present hard cases for the American system of justice. The violence that occasionally erupts into murder can easily overcome the special respect that is afforded most veterans. However, looking away and ignoring this issue serves neither veterans nor victims. PTSD has affected an enormous number of veterans returning from combat zones. Over 800,000 Vietnam veterans suffered from PTSD. At least 175,000 veterans of Operation Desert Storm were affected by “Gulf War Illness,” which has been linked to brain cancer and other mental deficits. Over 300,000 veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts have PTSD. In one study, only about half had received treatment in the prior year.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Mental Illness,

The Report of the UN Hugh Commissioner for human Rights provides a summary of the high-level discussion on the question of the death penalty, held on 4 March 2015, at the twenty-fifth session of the Council. The aim of the panel discussion was to exchange views on the question of the death penalty, and to address regional efforts aiming at the abolition of the death penalty and the challenges faced in that regard.

• Document type International law - United Nations
• Themes list Death Penalty,
• Available languages Обсуждение вопроса о смертной казни в рамках дискуссионной группы высокого уровня. Доклад Верховного комиссара Организации Объединенных Наций по правам человекаRéunion-débat de haut niveau sur la question de la peine de mort. Rapport du Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme死刑问题高级别小组讨论会. 联合国人权事务高级专员的报告Mesa redonda de alto nivel sobre la cuestión de la pena de muerte. Informe del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos

The Report examines the possible consequences of the imposition and application of the death penalty on the enjoyment of various human rights, including human dignity, the right to life, the right to freedom from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to a fair trial and the right to equality and non-discrimination. It further examines the human rights consequences of the lack of transparency in the imposition and application of the death penalty.

• Document type United Nations report
• Themes list Fair Trial, Right to life, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment,
• Available languages Смертная казнь и осуществление мер, гарантирующих защиту прав лиц, приговоренных к смертной казни. Ежегодное дополнение Генерального секретаря к его пятилетнему докладу по вопросу о смертной казниPeine capitale et application des garanties pour la protection des droits des personnes passibles de la peine de mort. Supplément annuel au rapport quinquennal du Secrétaire général sur la peine capitale死刑和保护死刑犯权利的保障措施的执行情况 秘书长关于死刑问题的五年一度报告的年度补编La pena capital y la aplicación de las salvaguardias para garantizar la protección de los derechos de los condenados a la pena de muerte. Suplemento anual del Secretario General de su informe quinquenal sobre la pena capital

Despite strong protests from local and international human rights organisations, the new Indonesian administration under President Joko Widodo has executed 14 people, including Indonesian and foreign nationals, in 2015. All of them had been convicted of drug trafficking. In other occasions President Widodo also stated publicly that the government would deny any application for clemency made by people sentenced to death for drug-related crimes. This report, which builds on Amnesty International’s past work over three decades documenting the use of death penalty in Indonesia, includes research carried out during a March 2015 visit to the country. The report highlights 12 individual cases of death row prisoners, out of a total of 131 people on death row, which point to systemic problems in Indonesia’s administration of justice that resulted in violations of international human rights law and standards.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Fair Trial, Drug Offences, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Indonesian : Kaedilan ang Cacat. Peradilan Yang Tidak Adil Dan Hukuman Mati di IndonesiaUne justice déficiente. Procès iniques et recours à la peine de mort en Indonésie

Drug-related offences are still punishable with the death penalty in more than 30 countries despite clear restrictions set out in international law to limit use of the death penalty to the “most serious crimes”. The 2015 World Day Against the Death Penalty (10 October) draws attention to the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences as a human rights violation.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Drug Offences,

Experience has proved that for certain governments it is not easy to balance international drug laws with human rights, public health, alternatives to incarceration, and experimentation with regulation.This Report intends to provide a primer on why governments must not turn a blind eye to pressing human rights and public health impacts of current drug policies.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Drug Offences,

The report, published for the 13th World Day against the Death Penalty, analyzes how the death penalty is applied for drug-related crimes in Asia, evaluates the most common arguments used by governments to justify their use of this inhumane and illegal measure, and exposes why these arguments are unjustified. Asia is the continent that executes the most people for drug-related crimes. However, the death penalty has not proven to be effective in reducing drug crimes in Asia.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Drug Offences, Country/Regional profiles,

This Q&A was prepared by Harm Reduction International (www.ihra.net), the International Drug PolicyConsortium (www.idpc.net) and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (www.worldcoalition.org) aheadof World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October 2015.

• Document type Academic report
• Themes list Drug Offences,
• Available languages Questions-Réponses: peine de mort et trafic de drogue

The 2015 Amnesty International’s Report on Saudi Arabia gravely confirms that Saudi Arabia remains one of the most prolific executioners in the world. Between January 1985, the earliest year from when information on executions is available, and June 2015 it executed at least 2,200 persons, almost half of whom were foreign nationals. Over one third of these executions were carried out for offences that do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” for which the death penalty can be imposed under international law. Most of these crimes, such as drug-related offences, are not mandatorily punishable by death according to the authorities’ interpretation of Islamic Shari’a law.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Saudi Arabia
• Themes list Drug Offences, Foreign Nationals, Most Serious Crimes, Death Penalty,

PRI has witnessed the death penalty’s abolition in a majority of the world’s nations, but it continues to be used in most Muslim countries. One of the main reasons for this is the justification that it is permitted by the Quran, the Islamic holy book. In many Islamic countries which continue to carry out executions, the death penalty has become a taboo subject. Governments frequently use Sharia to justify why they retain and apply capital punishment, and this can seem to close discussion on the subject. However, Sharia law is not as immutable on the death penalty as many scholars or states say. Among the misconceptions about Sharia law is the belief that there is a clear and unambiguous statement of what the punishments are for particular offences. In fact, there are several different sources referring to punishments, and different schools of Sharia law give different weight to them.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Religion , Methods of Execution,

Pursuant to Human Rights Council decision 18/117, the present report is submitted to update previous reports on the question of the death penalty. The report confirms that the trend towards the universal abolition of the death penalty is continuing. However, a minority of States continued to use the death penalty in contravention of international human rights law. As requested in Human Rights Council resolution 22/11, the present report also includes information on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed.

• Document type International law - United Nations
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
• Available languages Вопрос о смертной казни Доклад Генерального секретаря 2016Question de la peine de mort: Rapport du Secrétaire général 2016死刑问题 秘书长的报告 2016La cuestión de la pena capital: Informe del Secretario General 2016

How are prison guards affected by overseeing prisoners on death row or even participating in executions? What effects does it have in the short and the longer term?This short paper draws on research and interviews with prison guards to outline the psychological impact that guards who have worked with prisoners for many years on death row can experience when a prisoner is put to death.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Death Row Conditions, Death Row Phenomenon,

This report highlights the death penalty situation and executions in Asian countries between 2010 and 2013. It also gives an overview over the legal protection measures for the mentally impaired and intellectually disabled in Asian countries where the death penalty is used. Furthermore, we have listed Asian countries that have acceded to the ICCPR and its Second Optional Protocol. We have also collected excerpts from international human rights documents. By using these documents for mutual reference, death penalty activists in Asia will be able to get a more comprehensive picture of the use of the death penalty and executions in Asian countries.

• Document type Article
• Themes list International law, Public debate, Most Serious Crimes,
• Available languages 亞洲不公平審判報告 II : 死刑並非亞洲的共同價值

The Economic and Social Council, by its resolution 1745 (LIV) of 16 May 1973, invited the Secretary-General to submit to it, at five-year intervals starting from 1975, periodic updated and analytical reports on capital punishment. The Council, by its resolution 1995/57 of 28 July 1995, recommended that the quinquennial reports of the Secretary-General should continue to cover also the implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty. By the same resolution, the Council requested the Secretary-General, in preparing the quinquennial report, to draw on all available data, including current criminological research. The present ninth quinquennial report reviews the use of and trends in capital punishment, including the implementation of the safeguards during the period 2009-2013.

• Document type United Nations report
• Themes list International law, Trend Towards Abolition, Most Serious Crimes,
• Available languages Смертная казнь и применение мер, гарантирующих защиту прав тех, кому грозит смертная казнь : Доклад Генерального секретаряPeine capitale et application des garanties pour la protection des droits des personnes passibles de la peine de mort : Rapport du Secrétaire général死刑和保护死刑犯权利的保障措施的执行情况 : 秘书长的报告La pena capital y la aplicación de las salvaguardias para garantizar la protección de los derechos de los condenados a la pena de muerte : Informe del Secretario General

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,

In a new article for the University of Chicago Law Review, Professors Carol S. Steiker (left) of the University of Texas School of Law and Jordan M. Steiker (right) of Harvard Law School examine the racial history of the American death penalty and what they describe as the U.S. Supreme Court’s “deafening silence” on the subject of race and capital punishment. They assert that the story of the death penalty “cannot be told without detailed attention to race.” The Steikers’ article recounts the role of race in the death penalty since the early days of the United States, including the vastly disproportionate use of capital punishment against free and enslaved blacks in the antebellum South and describes the racial and civil rights context in which the constitutional challenges to the death penalty in the 1960s and 1970s were pursued. The authors contrast the “salience of race” in American capital punishment law and practice through the civil rights era with the “relative invisibility [of race] in the judicial opinions issued in the foundational cases of the modern era.”

• Document type Article
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Discrimination,

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 СМЕРТНЫЕ ПРИГОВОРЫ И КАЗНИ 2014Condamnations à mort et exécutions en 2014Condenas a muerte y ejecuciones 2014

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 ,

The Iranian authorities use the drug issue to enforce their rule and repress ethnic nationalities and members of opposition groups. Whenever it faces escalating crises, internally or externally, new and harsher laws against drugs and addicts are adopted and public hangings of members of ethnic nationalities increase dramatically. The following periods of hangings and drug laws illustrate this policy.

• Document type Article
• Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
• Themes list Drug Offences,
• Available languages ایران: استفاده از مجازات اعدام در جرایم مربوط به موادمخدر بعنوان ابزاری برای کنترل سیاسیt

Whether the death penalty will be sought in a murder may depend more on the budget of the county in which it is committed than on the severity of the crime, according to several prosecutors. A report by the Marshall Project found that the high costs of capital cases prevent some district attorneys from seeking the death penalty.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Networks,

United Nations General Assembly Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2014 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/69/488/Add.2 and Corr.1)] 69/186. Moratorium on the use of the death penalty

• Document type International law - United Nations
• Available languages قرار ٦٩/١٨٦ - وقف العمل بعقوبة الإعدامResolución 69/186 - Moratoria del uso de la pena de muerteRésolution 69/186 - Moratoire sur l’application de la peine de mortРезолюция 69/186 - Мораторий на применение смертной казни大会决议69/186 - 暂停使用死刑

This submission addresses the United States’ compliance with its human rights obligations with regard to its use of the death penalty. This submission concludes that the United States, in continuing to allow a sentence of death, does not guarantee its citizens adequate protection against cruel and unusual punishment, freedom from discrimination, rights to life, liberty and security of person, due process, and equal protection. It also is failing to provide an adequate remedy for those whose rights are violated.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Due Process , Right to life, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Innocence, Discrimination, Foreign Nationals, Lethal Injection, Country/Regional profiles,

This submission informs on Malawi’s international human rights obligations with regard to its use of the death penalty. This report will also examine and discuss the judicial process applied in cases involving punishment by the death penalty. Reports and commentary indicate that there is a serious problem of prison conditions and access to justice for the vast majority of individuals accused of crimes for which the death penalty is a possible punishment. This report has been compiled from a combination of sources, including the Malawi Penal Code, experts, news reports, non-governmental organizations, and other commentary. Further, this report makes recommendations that steps be taken to alleviate such conditions. These steps include both reducing the maximum possible sentence from death to one that is fair, proportionate and respects international human rights standards, complete abolition of capital punishment, universal access to adequate legal representation and provision of clean, safe, and appropriate prison conditions as well as regular monitoring.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Due Process , Death Row Conditions, Country/Regional profiles,

DPIC’s 2014 Year-End Report. Death sentences were at a 40-year low and executions were at a 20-year low. Texas, Missouri, and Florida accounted for 80% of all the executions in the United States. There were 7 exonerations this year and it took an average of 30 years to discover their innocence.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Innocence, Statistics,

With 35 executions this year, 2014 marks the fewest people put to death since 1994, according to this report by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). The 72 new death sentences in 2014 is the lowest number in the modern era of the death penalty, dating back to 1974. Executions and sentences have steadily decreased, as Americans have grown more skeptical of capital punishment. The states’ problems with lethal injections also contributed to the drop in executions this year.Death sentences—a more current barometer than executions—have declined by 77% since 1996, when there were 315. There were 79 death sentences last year. This is the fourth year in a row that there have been fewer than 100 death sentences.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Mental Illness, Innocence, Intellectual Disability, Lethal Injection, Statistics,

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 СМЕРТНЫЕ ПРИГОВОРЫ И КАЗНИ 2015Condamnations à mort et exécutions en 2015Condenas a muerte y ejecuciones 2015

Sentenced to death for a crime allegedly committed when he was just 14, a Bangladeshi boy’s case became the centre of a lengthy legal battle which ultimately led to mandatory executions being declared unconstitutional.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Juveniles, Trend Towards Abolition, Mandatory Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

This article focuses on Lorilei Guillory, the mother of a 6-year-old Iowa boy murdered 11 years ago. Guillory wantsto be allowed to ask jurors for mercy for the man who allegedly molested and killed her child. Judge Al Gray said he will allow Guillory “to testify and ask for mercy if she wishes” during any penalty phase, but prosecutors are appealing the decision ot the Louisiana Supreme Court. Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation filed an amicus curiae brief in the Louisiana Supreme Court in support of Lorilei Guillory’s effort to testify in the penalty phase of the trial of the man who murdered her 6 year old son Jeremy and to express her opposition to the execution of her son’s murderer

• Document type Working with...
• Themes list Public debate, Murder Victims' Families, Death Penalty,

In response to recent exonerations, federal and state governments have passed laws to prevent such injustices; lawyers and police have changed their practices; and advocacy organizations have multiplied across the country. Together, these activities are often referred to as the “innocence movement.” Exonerated provides the first in-depth look at the history of this movement through interviews with key leaders such as Barry Scheck and Rob Warden as well as archival and field research into the major cases that brought awareness to wrongful convictions in the United States.

• Document type Book
• Countries list United States

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,

Individual Statement of Commissioner Renny Cushing

• Document type Working with...
• Themes list Murder Victims' Families, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

• Document type Working with...
• Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Murder Victims' Families, Death Penalty,

Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation and Various Iranian Religious AuthoritiesAbdorrahman Boroumand FoundationNovember 16, 2017Report

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

The Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York listed below have the honour to refer to General Assembly resolution 71/187, entitled “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”, which was adopted by the Third Committee on 17November 2016 and subsequently by the Assembly on 19 December 2016 by a recorded vote. The Permanent Missions wish to place on record that they are in persistent objection to any attemptto impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty or its abolition in contravention of existing stipulations under international law, for the following reasons:

• Document type United Nations report
• Countries list Antigua and Barbuda / Bangladesh / Barbados / Botswana / Brunei Darussalam / Chad / China / Democratic People's Republic of Korea / Egypt / Ethiopia / Grenada / Iran (Islamic Republic of) / Iraq / Jamaica / Kuwait / Libya / Malaysia / Maldives / Nigeria / Oman / Pakistan / Papua New Guinea / Saint Kitts and Nevis / Saint Lucia / Saint Vincent and the Grenadines / Saudi Arabia / Singapore / Sudan / Syrian Arab Republic / United Arab Emirates / Yemen / Zimbabwe
• Themes list Moratorium
• Available languages مذكرة شفوية مؤرخة 7 أيلول/سبتمبر 2017 موجهة إلى الأمين العام من البعثة الدائمة لمصر لدى الأمم المتحدةNota verbal de fecha 7 de septiembre de 2017 dirigida al Secretario General por la Misión Permanente de Egipto ante las Naciones Unidas.Note verbale datée du 7 septembre 2017, adressée au Secrétaire général par la Mission permanente de l’Égypte auprès de l’Organisation des Nations UniesВербальная нота Постоянного представительства Египта при Организации Объединенных Наций от 7 сентября 2017 года на имя Генерального секретаря2017 年 9 月 7 日埃及常驻联合国代表团给秘书长的普通照会

tences remained near historically low levels in 2017, as public support for the death penalty fell to its lowest level in 45 years, according to a report released today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Eight states carried out 23 executions, half the number of seven years ago, and the second lowest total since 1991. Only the 20 executions in 2016 were lower. Fourteen states and the federal government are projected to impose 39 new death sentences in 2017, the second lowest annual total since the U.S. Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972. It was the seventh year in a row that fewer than 100 death sentences were imposed nationwide.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Capital offences, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Arbitrariness, Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list International law, Member organizations, Death Penalty,

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list International law, Member organizations, Death Penalty,

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list International law, Member organizations, Death Penalty,

The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 30/5 of the Human Rights Council. The report examines the consequences arising at various stages of the imposition and application of the death penalty on the enjoyment of the human rights of those facing the death penalty. It pays specific attention to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the context of the use of the death penalty. The report also highlights the discriminatory application of the death penalty to foreign nationals.

• Document type United Nations report
• Themes list International law, Right to life, Death Penalty,

OSCE participating States have made a number of commitments regarding the death penalty, including considering the potential abolition of capital punishment, to exchange information toward that end and to make information on the use of the death penalty available to the public.1 Where the death penalty is still in use, participating States have agreed that it could be imposed only for the most serious crimes and only in line with international commitments.2 In light of these commitments and its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) monitors trends and new developments regarding human rights standards and practices among OSCE participating States related to the death penalty. The findings are presented each year in the Background Paper on the Status of the Death Penalty in the OSCE Area. The background paper is based on the information provided by participating States, in the form of responses to ODIHR questionnaires. The information from their responses has been included in the present report, to the extent possible, and is supplemented with information from international and regional human rights bodies, non-governmental organizations and media reports.

• Document type International law - Regional body
• Themes list International law, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

Singapore has recorded a significant reduction in its use of the death penalty in recent years, with executions dropping from more than 70 per year in the mid-1990s to single figures in the subsequent decade. Despite this progress, the death penalty in the country continues to be used in violation of international law and standards, particularly with respect to its mandatory application and use for drug-related offences.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Singapore
• Themes list Mandatory Death Penalty, Member organizations, Death Penalty,

• Document type Article
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Deterrence , Member organizations, Death Penalty,

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,

This toolkit is for the use of activists who are working on the abolition of the death penalty in West Africa. It is intended to equip activists with some key advocacy tools to effectively influence the institutions and individuals who can make abolition a reality.

• Document type Lobbying
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Manuel de plaidoyer - Abolition de la peine de mort en Afrique de l'Ouest

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 30/5. It provides a summary of the high-level discussion on the question of the death penalty held on 1 March 2017 at the thirty-fourth session of the Council. The objective of the panel discussion was to continue the exchange of views on the question of the death penalty and to address violations related to the use of the death penalty, in particular with respect to the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

• Document type International law - United Nations
• Themes list International law, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

In March 2017, Rick Scott, Governor of Florida, responded to a State Attorney’s decision not to pursue the death penalty because of its demonstrable flaws by ordering her replacement with a prosecutor willing to engage in this lethal pursuit. Since then the governor has transferred 27 capital murder cases to his preferred prosecutor. Two of these cases have already resulted in juries voting for death sentences.

• Document type Academic report
• Themes list Fair Trial, Legal Representation, Country/Regional profiles,

Death sentences in Ghana continue to be imposed. At the end of 2016, 148 people were on death row, all sentenced to death for murder. While the last executions were carried out in July 1993, there is no official moratorium on executions in Ghana. Research carried out by Amnesty International in Ghana has highlighted concerns with the use of the death penalty, access to fair trial rights and poor prison conditions. Amnesty International calls on the Ghanaian authorities to commute the death sentences of all people on death row and to abolish the death penalty for all crimes.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Public debate, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

The number of abolitionist countries continued to grow in 2016, but national crises have created a political climate that heightens the risk that the death penalty will be reintroduced in a handful of abolitionist nations.The Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide assesses the evolutions of the worldwide situation of the death penalty in 2016.

• Document type Article
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Member organizations, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Death Penalty,

United Nations General Assembly Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December 2016 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/71/484/Add.2] 71/187. Moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

• Document type International law - United Nations
• Available languages ١٨٧ - وقف العمل بعقوبة الإعدام /٧١Resolution 71/187 - Moratoria del uso de la pena de muerteRésolution 71/187 - Moratoire sur l’application de la peine de mortРезолюция 71/187 - Мораторий на применение смертной казни大会决议71/187 - 暂停使用死刑

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,

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,

Although,by all functional measures, Oregonians have abandoned the death penalty, 35 condemned inmates remain on Oregon’s death row.What do we know about those people, and about the quality of justice that resulted in their death sentences? This report examines the cases of the condemned men and women in Oregon to see how they ended up there, and what patterns emerged.Here’s what we found: In Oregon, two-thirds of death row inmates possess 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
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Mental Illness, Death Row Phenomenon, Intellectual Disability, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

Figures on the application of the death penalty in the US in 2016: Another record decline in death penalty use

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Death Penalty, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,

Use of the death penalty fell to historic lows across theUnited States in 2016. States imposed the fewest deathsentences in the modern era of capital punishment, sincestates began re-enacting death penalty statutes in 1973. Newdeath sentences are predicted to be down 39% from 2015’s40-year low. Executions declined more than 25% to theirlowest level in 25 years, and public opinion polls alsomeasured support for capital punishment at a four-decadelow.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Death Penalty, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,

The permanent missions to the United Nations in New York listed below have the honour to refer to General Assembly resolution 69/186, entitled “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”, which was adopted by the Third Committee on 21 November 2014 and subsequently by the General Assembly on 18 December 2014 by a recorded vote. The permanent missions wish to place on record that they are in persistent objection to any attempt to impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty or its abolition in contravention of existing stipulations under international law, for the following reasons:

• Document type United Nations report
• Countries list Antigua and Barbuda / Bangladesh / Botswana / Brunei Darussalam / China / Democratic People's Republic of Korea / Egypt / Ethiopia / Guyana / Iran (Islamic Republic of) / Iraq / Jamaica / Kuwait / Libya / Malaysia / Nigeria / Oman / Pakistan / Qatar / Saudi Arabia / Singapore / Sudan / Syrian Arab Republic / Trinidad and Tobago / United Arab Emirates / Yemen / Zimbabwe
• Themes list Moratorium
• Available languages مذكرة شفوية مؤرخة 28 تموز/يوليه ٢٠١٥ موجهة إلى الأمين العام من البعثة الدائمة لمصر لدى الأمم المتحدةNota verbal de fecha 28 de julio de 2015 dirigida al Secretario General por la Misión Permanente de Egipto ante las Naciones UnidasNote verbale datée du 28 juillet 2015, adressée au Secrétaire général par la Mission permanente de l’Égypte auprès de l’Organisation des Nations UniesВербальная нота Постоянного представительства Египта при Организации Объединенных Наций от 28 июля 2015 года на имя Генерального секретаря2015年7月28日埃及常驻联合国代表团给秘书长的普通照会

In June 2016, FIDH and its member organisation in Belarus, the Human Rights Center ″Viasna″(HRC ″Viasna″), conducted an international fact-finding mission on the issue of the death penaltyin Belarus. The use of the death penalty (execution by shooting) in Belarus is provided for by Art. 24 of theConstitution of the Republic of Belarus as an exceptional measure of punishment for the mostserious crimes.Apart from the very fact of taking a person’s life, which is not only cruel, but also ineffective infighting and preventing crime, the use of the death penalty in Belarus is accompanied by many grosshuman rights violations.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Смертная казнь в Беларуси: убийства на (не)законных основаниях

The background paper provides information on changes and developments withregard to the death penalty in the OSCE area and new developments on the internationallevel. In this year’s edition, there is a specific focus on the relationship betweencapital punishment and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhumanor degrading treatment or punishment.

• Document type International law - Regional body
• Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

The present report is submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to its resolution 69/186. It discusses developments towards the abolition of the death penalty and the establishment of moratoriums on executions. The report also reflects on trends in the use of the death penalty, including the application of international standards relating to the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty. It also discusses the role of national human rights institutions and private companies, as well as regional and international initiatives for advancing the abolition of the death penalty.

• Document type United Nations report
• Themes list International law, Moratorium , Trend Towards Abolition,
• Available languages Доклад 2016 - Мораторий на применение смертной казниRapport 2016 - Moratoire sur l’application de la peine de mort2016报告 - 暂停使用死刑Informe 2016 - Moratoria del uso de la pena de muerte

Many family members who have lost loved ones to murder feel that the death penalty will not heal their wounds nor will it end their pain. This webpage provides resources for those looking to connect with murder victims’ families organisations.

• Document type Academic report
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Networks,

This is a document which can be used for those petitioning to have DNA evidence re-examined. Specific to Arizona but can be used as a guide in other jurisdictions.

• Document type Working with...
• Themes list Networks,

The present report shows that, although the formal judicial process which leads to the imposition of the death penalty is theoretically in accordance with the international legal standards, serious miscarriages of justice can result in condemnations to the capital punishment. By lasting up to 84 days, the long police custody creates conditions that favour possible cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments. The difficult access to legal aid, both during police custody and the trial process, does not provide sufficient safeguards that the rights of the defence are fully respected. The conditions of detention in prisons, and notably the fact that death row inmates are chained 24 hours a day, may amount to torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Country/Regional profiles,

The report notably points to the great number of crimes which entail the death penalty in Egypt and to the fact that civilians may be tried by military courts, sentenced to death and executed without delay, in violation of the rights of the defence and sometimes in abstentia. The only remedy is the unlikely pardon of the President of the Republic. Confessions obtained under duress are often accepted in court and form the basis of the sentence. The FIDH report recommends to the Egyptian authorities to put an immediate end to the state of emergency which, after 23 years, is no longer justified in Egypt today; the state of emergency is conducive to serious violations of human rights, including administrative detention without any effective judicial control, unfair trials of civilians before military courts, and widespread torture of detainees, including during the pre-trial stage. The Egyptian authorities should inquire into all allegations of torture and bring to justice those responsible.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages عقوبة العدام في مصرLa peine de mort en Egypte

Individuals are regularly sentenced to death in murder cases, but no statistics are published about the number of condemnations. Under the Tanzanian Penal Code, the death sentence remains a mandatory penalty for murder while it can also be applied for treason. As of April 2003, 370 persons (359 males and 11 females) were awaiting execution in the prisons of mainland Tanzania in conditions that might amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. There are a number of dysfunctions in the Tanzanian legal system, which seems to represent a threat to the rule of law, and an obstacle to reform: the unwillingness of the Executive to have its decisions challenged in judicial proceedings, and; the existence of a Penal System essentially based on retaliation towards the offenders rather than rehabilitation ; e.g. corporal punishments can still be applied for numerous offences, in spite of the fact that they clearly violate international and regional human rights instruments. Furthermore, pervasive corruption in the police and the judiciary represents a serious threat to the due process of law, including in death penalty cases.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Transparency, Mandatory Death Penalty,
• Available languages Swahili : Tanzania: Adhabu ya Kifo Imerasimishwa?Tanzanie: La peine de mort institutionnalisée

Violations of due process in the case of prisoners condemned to death. There are known cases of torture carried out by agents of the State and there is no legal provision that allows the Executive branch to grant a pardon and, subsequently, to commute a death sentence. The Guatemalan State has executed various individuals despite the fact that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had petitioned for precautionary measures; this constitutes a flagrant and recurrent violation of Guatemala’s international human rights commitments.The Guatemalan State, in addition to not having adequate public policies for prisons, also has no laws regulating prisons and conditions of detention, in spite of the fact that various UN instruments are devoted to that question.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Due Process , Country/Regional profiles,

Regularly denounced by human rights associations, violations of the right to a fair trial and inequality before the law for prisoners who face the death penalty are flagrant. Most prisoners belong to the most disadvantaged social classes or to ethnic or religious minorities. Involved in often questionable circumstances, with confessions extracted under frequent beatings and torture, many litigants are not given an adequate defence. To defend these cases, lawyers appointed ex officio receive 200 rupees per hearing (less than 5 U.S. dollars). Often young and inexperienced to deal with procedures not respecting the minimum fair trial guarantees, these lawyers are not in a position to ensure the mandate entrusted to them.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Due Process , Discrimination, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Pakistan, une longue marche pour la démocratie et l'etat de droit

Pakistan ranks among the countries in the world which issue the most death sentences: currently, over 7,400 prisoners are lingering on death row. In recent years, Pakistan has witnessed a significant increase in charges carrying capital punishment, in convictions to death, as well as in executions. The HRCP and FIDH find that the application of death penalty in Pakistan falls far below international standards. In particular, they find that, given the very serious defects of the law itself, of the administration of justice, of the police service, the chronic corruption and the cultural prejudices affecting women and religious minorities, capital punishment in Pakistan is discriminatory and unjust, and allows for a high probability of miscarriages of justice, which is wholly unacceptable in any civilised society, but even more so when the punishment is irreversible. At every step, from arrest to trial to execution, the safeguards against miscarriage of justice are weak or non-existent, and the possibility that innocents have been or will be executed remains frighteningly high.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Due Process , Discrimination,

This report is the outcome of a fact-finding mission conducted by FIDH in July 2008, in order to assess the measures taken by the Japanese government to implement the recommendations made by a previous investigation, conducted in 2003.The conclusions of the report are appalling. According to Florence Bellivier, General Secretary of FIDH “Japan continues to condemn criminals to death, and incarcerate them up for decades, in prisons where secrecy and isolation are commonplace, in total disregard of the world opinion”. In addition, the rhythm of the executions has accelerated over the recent years. “2008 has been a record year, with more executions this year than in any other of the last fifteen years. We are witnessing a real step backwards” added Dan Van Raemdonck, Vice-President of FIDH. Thirteen persons have been executed since the beginning of the year, and 102 are currently on death row. There has not been a single retrial of a death penalty case since 1986, and no convicted prisoner has been pardoned since 1975.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Japan
• Themes list Transparency, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages La peine de mort au Japon: la loi du silence - À contre-courant de la tendance internationale

در دوراني که حرکت به سوي لغو مجازات اعدام در سراسر جهان رو به گسترش است، تمايز جمهوري اسلامي ايران در تعداد زياد اعدام هايي است که در شرايطي آشکارا ناقض�? موازين بين المللي حقوق بشر انجام مي پذيرد. محاکمه های ناعادلانه، اعدام نوجوانان، هد�? گیری اقلیت های قومی و مذهبی… مجازات اعدام در نقض آشکار تعهدات ایران بر اساس قانون بین المللی حقوق بشر انجام می پذیرد.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
• Themes list Minorities, Fair Trial, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Iran/death penalty: A state terror policy

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

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,

The use of the death penalty is frequent in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV). Capital punishment is applied for 22 offences, including murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking, rape, sexual abuse of children, and a range of economic crimes, such as graft and corruption, fraud and embezzlement (for 500 million dong – $33,200 – or more of state property), illegal production and trade of food, foodstuffs and medicines. Seven political acts perceived as “threats against national security” carry the death penalty as a maximum sentence. Capital punishment is most often used to sanction drug-related offences, followed by corruption, black-market and violent crimes. Vietnam has some of the harshest drug laws in the world. A 1997 law made possession or smuggling of 100g or more of heroin, or 5 kilograms or more of opium, punishable by death. In 2001, 55 sentences were pronounced for drug trafficking alone.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Viet Nam
• Themes list Firing Squad, Country/Regional profiles,

This report covers the various aspects of the topic including: domestic laws, international legal framework, execution of juvenile offenders, religious and ethnic minorities, and methods of execution. According to the report, there are over 20 main categories of offences, some of them with several sub-categories, in the IRI, which are punishable by the death penalty. The majority of those “offences” are certainly not among “the most serious crimes.” Some others should not be considered as “offences” at all. In conclusion, FIDH issued a wide set of recommendations to the IRI and the international community. Among others, it recommended the adoption of an immediate moratorium on executions in light of the serious shortcomings of the guarantees of due process and fair trial.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
• Themes list Minorities, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages ایران: مجازات اعدام سیاست دولتی ایجاد وحشت ـ ویژه نامه برای کنگره ی جهانی ضد مجازات اعدام

This report determined that the death penalty remains a sensitive and secretive issue in Botswana. The authorities are reluctant to encourage public debate about the death penalty and its possible abolition. There is a total lack of transparency in the actual execution process of the death sentence. The hasty way in which most recent hangings have been carried out, further cast doubt upon the willingness of the Government of Botswana to seriously address this issue.

• Document type NGO report
• Countries list Botswana
• Themes list Transparency, Country/Regional profiles,

Despite the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations’ efforts towards improving the defence system, Japanese prisoners – especially those sentenced to death – do not receive a fair trial.The Daiyo Kangoku practice is one amongst several practices which allows suspects to be detained in police stations for 23 days, contravening the rules of a fair trial. Confessions, which can be obtained through strong pressure, give police the basis for accusation. Furthermore, the conditions on death row themselves amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments: Once the death sentence has been delivered, the prisoner is held in solitary confinement. Detainees have extremely limited contact with families and lawyers and meetings are closely monitored. Above all, prisoners live with the constant fear of never knowing if today will be their last day. The prisoner is informed that the execution will take place on the very same day, and family members are notified the following day.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Japanese : 死刑民主主義国家にあるまじき行為La peine de mort au Japon, une pratique indigne d'une démocratie

The report is damning, showing a system of justice which attaches little importance to regional and international instruments for the protection of human rights ratified by Chad. The case was conducted with a haste wholly incompatible with the respect for the right to a fair trial – proceedings exclusively for the prosecution, confessions obtained under torture, refusal to take account of evidence brought by the defence during the investigation, no lawyer present during the investigation stage. This iniquitous trial proves the hypothesis that justice has been manipulated in order to hide the true nature of a crime and the identity of its perpetrators, whilst securing the executions of persons judged undesirable.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Fair Trial, Country/Regional profiles,
• Available languages Tchad, Peine de mort: la levée d'un moratoire, entre opportunisme sécuritaire et règlement de compte

Any potential increase in executions or lobbying for the death penalty as a result of the use of lethal injection is of serious concern. The increased pressure on medical professionals to participate in executions also raises serious ethical and human rights issues. This paper reviews developments with respect to lethal injection executions over the past decade.

• Document type NGO report
• Themes list Lethal Injection, Statistics,
• Available languages Ejecución por inyección letal: Un cuarto de siglo de muertes por envenenamiento a manos del Estado

This document provides state by state information in the United States regarding laws that govern the death penalty.

• Document type Working with...
• Themes list Networks,

Article 1The States Parties to this Protocol shall not apply the death penalty in their territory to any person subject to their jurisdiction.

• Document type Regional body report
• Themes list International law,
• Available languages PROTOCOLO A LA CONVENCIÓN AMERICANA SOBRE DERECHOS HUMANOS RELATIVO A LA ABOLICIÓN DE LA PENA DE MUERTE

This article briefly explores the underpinnings of the contemporary capital punishment moratorium movement and examines executive and legislative responses to calls for a halt to executions, including suggestions for studying the death penalty process. Although most investigations focus on select issues like innocence, ineffective counsel, and race bias, this article suggests that a wide-ranging constellation of issues should be investigated in any legitimate attempt to evaluate the administration of the death penalty. The article canvasses this broader sweep of issues, discusses related research evidence, and then considers the policy implications of conducting such a thorough empirical assessment of the administration of capital punishment in this country.

• Document type Article
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Moratorium ,

Despite the interest in the death penalty, no statistical studies have isolated the social and political forces that account for the legality of this punishment. Racial or ethnic threat theories suggest that the death penalty will more likely be legal in jurisdictions with relatively large black or Hispanic populations. Economic threat explanations suggest that this punishment will be present in unequal areas. Jurisdictions with a more conservative public or a stronger law and order Republican party should be more likely to legalize the death penalty as well. After controlling for social disorganization, region, period, and voilent crime, panel analyses suggest that minority presence and economic inequality enhance the likelihood of a legal death penalty. Conservative values and Republican strength in the legislature have equivalent effects; A supplement time-to-event analysis supports these conclusions. The results suggest that a political approach has explanatory power because threat effects expressed through politics and effects that are directly political invariable account for decisions about the legality of capital punishment.

• Document type Article
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Networks,

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,

Judges, jurors, police officers, and others are sometimes asked to make a variety of decisions based on judgments of dangerousness. Reliance on judgments of dangerousness in a variety of legal contexts has led to considerable debate and has been the focus of numerous publications. However, a substantial portion of the debate has centered on the accuracy and improvement of risk assessments rather than the issues concerning the use of dangerousness as a legal criterion. This article focuses on whether dangerousness judgments can play a useful role in capital sentencing decisions within the framework of “guided discretion” and “individualized assessment” set forth by the Supreme Court of the United States. It examines the relationship between these legal doctrines and contemporary approaches to risk assessment, and it discusses the potential tension between these approaches to risk assessment and these legal doctrines. The analysis suggests that expert testimony has the potential to undermine rather than assist the sentencer’s efforts to make capital sentencing decisions in a manner consistent with Supreme Court doctrine. This analysis includes a discussion of the advances and limitations of current approaches to risk assessment in the context of capital sentencing.

• Document type Article
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Networks,

The United States has repeatedly failed to notify detained foreign nationals of their rights to consular notification and access under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. In capital cases, US non-compliance with this ratified Treaty has led to litigation by foreign governments and individual lawyers in domestic courts and international tribunals. While these efforts have had mixed results in individual cases, litigation by Mexico, Germany and other actors has led to increased compliance with Article 36, and a growing recognition of the significance of US treaty obligations.

• Document type Article
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Foreign Nationals,

Many human rights organizations and intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Union, see the death penalty as one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time and have taken an active role in persuading countries to halt executions. The debate over capital punishment in the United States—be it in the courts, in state legislatures, or on nationally televised talk shows—is always fraught with emotion. The themes have changed little over the last two or three hundred years. Does it deter crime? If not, is it necessary to satisfy society’s desire for retribution against those who commit unspeakably violent crimes? Is it worth the cost? Are murderers capable of redemption? Should states take the lives of their own citizens? Are current methods of execution humane? Is there too great a risk of executing the innocent?

• Document type Article
• Countries list United States
• Themes list Deterrence ,