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Document(s)
The Death Penalty in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – Special edition for the 4th World Congress Against the Death Penalty
By Vietnam Committee on Human Rights / International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Viet Nam
More details See the document
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,
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
NGO report
Viet Nam
More details See the document
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,
Document(s)
Iran/death penalty: A state terror policy
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Antoine Bernard, on 1 January 2009
2009
NGO report
enMore details See the document
As momentum is gathering across the world towards abolition of capital punishment, Iran ranks second for number of executions, after China, and first for per capita executions. Unfair trials, execution of juveniles, targeting of ethnic and religious minorities… the death penalty is applied in blatant violation of Iran’s obligations under international human rights law. A very wide range of offences (including economic, drug-related, so-called sexual offences, apostasy…) carry the death penalty and the methods of execution (public hangings, stoning…)amount to the most inhuman and degrading treatment.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Minorities, Fair Trial, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages ایران: مجازات اعدام - سیاست دولتی ایجاد وحشت
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in Japan: The Law of Silence – Going Against the International Trend
By Florence Bellivier / International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Dan Van Raemdonck / Jiazhen Wu, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Japan
frMore details See the document
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
Document(s)
Slow march to the gallows: Death penalty in Pakistan
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Anne-Christine Habbard, on 1 January 2007
2007
NGO report
More details See the document
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,
Document(s)
Pakistan, a long march for democracy and the rule of law
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Fatma Cosadia / Odette Lou Bouvier, on 1 January 2009
2009
NGO report
frMore details See the document
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
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in Taiwan: Towards Abolition?
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Sharon Hom / Penelope Martin / Siobhan Ni Chulachain, on 1 January 2006
2006
NGO report
More details See the document
This report highlights serious concerns regarding the conditions of detention of prisoners in Taiwan. Although there has been some improvement in conditions in recent years, FIDH and TAEDP report severe problems of overcrowding and inadequate medical treatment for prisoners, requiring urgent attention. In addition, the mission found that the use of shackles, in violation of international standards, is widespread. Prisoners, in particular those on death row, regularly have their legs chained together for 24 hours per day, in violation of the prohibition against cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Despite recent reforms to the criminal justice system, FIDH and TAEDP found that serious failings continue to lead to miscarriages of justice. The report highlights persistent problems including discrimination, limited access to legal representation, piecemeal and only partially implemented reforms and unsatisfactory appeals procedures. FIDH and TAEDP found that training and supervision for actors within the system, including police, is grossly inadequate, leading to failures in the collection and preservation of evidence, whilst prosecutors and judges are inclined to “rubber stamp” police findings.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Death Row Conditions, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in Uzbekistan: Torture and Secrecy
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Christine Martineau / Caroline Giraud / Richard Wild, on 1 January 2005
2005
NGO report
rufrMore details See the document
On August 1, 2005, President Karimov announced, through a presidential decree, that the abolition of the death penalty was planned for January 1, 2008. The report concludes that the Uzbek authorities are responsible of serious and systematic human rights violations in the framework of the administration of criminal justice. The rights of those arrested are systematically violated. They often lack any access to a lawyer during their pre-trial detention, their families are not informed and torture is used in order to extort confessions, which often serve as a basis for their condemnation.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Torture, Death Row Conditions, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages Смертная казнь в Узбекистане: пытки и секретностьLa peine de mort en Ouzbékistan: torture et opacité
Document(s)
Uganda: Challenging the Death Penalty
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Thomas Lemaire / Eric Mirguet / Mary Okosun, on 1 January 2005
NGO report
More details See the document
The general feeling of NGOs and abolitionists in Uganda is that the most pressing issue is the situation of ordinary prisoners, while the death penalty as administered by the military should be addressed at a second stage. The questions relating to the military are sensitive issues in Uganda, which might also explain that position. The focus of the present report is consequently mainly on the death sentences pronounced by ordinary criminal courts.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in Guatemala: On the road towards abolition
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Catherine Delanoë-Daoud / Marcela Talamas / Emmanuel Daoud, on 1 January 2005
NGO report
More details See the document
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,
Document(s)
Chad, Death Penalty: ending a moratorium, between security opportunism and settling of scores
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Mahfoudh Ould Bettah / Isabelle Gourmelon / Olivier Foks, on 1 January 2004
2004
NGO report
frMore details See the document
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
Document(s)
Swahili : Tanzania: Adhabu ya Kifo Imerasimishwa?
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Eric Mirguet / Arnold Tsunga, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
United Republic of Tanzania
enfrMore details See the document
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(s)
The Death Penalty in North Korea: In the machinery of a totalitarian State
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Speedy Rice, on 1 January 2012
2012
NGO report
frMore details See the document
The death penalty is a violation of the right to life; however, its use in the DPRK has, overthe years, been particularly extensive and substantially different from other countries. Thisis partly due to the DPRK’s totalitarian system, characterized by widespread and systematichuman rights violations that aim at maintaining social order and political control.While the government of the Republic of Korea (also known as South Korea) has retained thedeath penalty, it is considered to be abolitionist in practice, having carried out no executionssince December 1997. By contrast, the DPRK has consistently used the death penalty, and hasnever allowed any organization to investigate the matter. Nevertheless, information derivedfrom witness observations and the few existing reliable reports, reveal thousands of executionssince the 1950s, with the largest numbers in the 1990s and the 2000s. Since 2010, dozens ofpeoplehavebeenexecuted.TheDPRK’sintensesecrecyjustifiestheconclusionthattheselargenumbersarelowerthantheactualfiguresinreality.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages La peine de mort en Corée du Nord : dans les rouages d’un État totalitaire
Document(s)
2016 World day against the death penalty
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2016
2016
NGO report
More details See the document
On 10 October 2016 Amnesty International joins the global abolitionist movement in marking the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty, whose focus on the use of the death penalty for terrorism-related offences is timely. While armed and other violent attacks are not a new phenomenon, recent years have seen repeated high-profile violent attacks – in many cases against a backdrop of political instability and conflict – that have sent shockwaves throughout the world.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list International law, Deterrence , World Coalition Against the Death Penalty,
Document(s)
What Strategies Towards the Abolition of the Death Penalty in West Africa? : Report of the Symposium in Dakar
By FIACAT, on 1 January 2012
2012
NGO report
More details See the document
The regional seminar on the abolition of the death penalty in West Africa took place inDakar (Senegal) from 12-14 November 2012. This workshop brought together nineteenACAT members affiliated to FIACAT. It was therefore possible for each of the nine West Afri-can ACATs1to be represented by two participants (with the exception of Senegal, whichwas represented by three members).Participants at the workshop attended lectures and had the opportunity to developnational action plans for achieving abolition in their countries. According to feedbackreceived at the end of the seminar, attendees found the practical nature of the lectures,and the opportunity to network with other ACATs and learn from the experiences of otherparticipants, particularly beneficial.This document is a collection of all of the lectures from the Dakar seminar, as well asinternational and African texts relating to the death penalty. It is intended as a practicaltool to assist us as we progress towards abolition in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Member organizations, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
No one is spared – The widespread use of the death penalty in Iran
By League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran, on 5 November 2020
2020
Drug Offenses
Fair Trial
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Juveniles
Women
More details See the document
- Document type Array
- Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
- Themes list Drug Offenses / Fair Trial / Juveniles / Women
Document(s)
Manifesto for a Protocol to the African Charter on the abolition of the death penalty
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / FIACAT, on 1 January 2014
2014
Working with...
frMore details See the document
Continental Conference on the Death Penalty2-4 July 2014, Cotonou, BeninHuman Rights Organisations’ Manifesto for a Protocolto the African Charter on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list International law,
- Available languages Manifeste pour un Protocole à la Charte africaine sur l’abolition de la peine de mort en Afrique
Document(s)
Japanese : 死刑民主主義国家にあるまじき行為
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Sharon Hom / Etienne Jaudel / Richard Wild, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Japan
enfrMore details See the document
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
Document(s)
Death Penalty in Belarus: Murder on (Un)lawful Grounds
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Viasna Human Rights Center, on 1 January 2016
2016
NGO report
ruMore details See the document
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
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in the United States
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Antoine Bernard, on 1 January 2002
2002
NGO report
More details See the document
The report indicates that most of the people sentenced to capital punishment, especially the poor and indigent, did not benefit from a fair trial, and that the conditions of detention – which is very long – constitute “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments”. Furthermore, the FIDH fears that the possible moratoriums on the executions considered by several States only aims at improving the criminal procedures prior to the executions.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Geometrical Justice: The Death Penalty in America
By Scott Phillips and Mark Cooney, on 12 October 2022
2022
Book
United States
More details See the document
In their new book, released in the Summer of 2022, University of Denver criminology and sociology professor Scott Phillips and University of Georgia sociologist Mark Cooney apply the concept of “social geometry,” developed in the 1970s by sociologist Donald Black, to analyze outcomes of capital cases. After reviewing extensive data collected in connection with the landmark Baldus Study of capital sentencing in Georgia and from the national Capital Jury Project, they conclude that the sentencing outcomes in the cases in those databases support key principles of Black’s theory: the higher the social status of the victim and the lower the social status of the defendant, the more likely a death sentence will be imposed.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Death Penalty and the Indian Supreme Court (2007-2021)
By Project 39A, on 8 December 2022
2022
NGO report
India
More details See the document
Death Penalty and the Indian Supreme Court (2007-2021) maps the important trends and developments in the Supreme Court’s death penalty jurisprudence. These past 15 years have witnessed significant developments in the law on capital sentencing, post-mercy jurisprudence, and other procedural developments pertaining to the administration of the death penalty. Imagined as an intellectual successor of PUCL and Amnesty International’s doctrinal study of the Supreme Court’s death penalty cases between 1950 to 2006, in ‘Lethal Lottery: The Death Penalty in India’, this report highlights the sustained inconsistency and judge-centric reasoning in capital cases, with particular emphasis on the problem of arbitrariness in approaches to capital sentencing at the Supreme Court.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list India
Document(s)
Faith in Action
By Amnesty International - USA, on 1 January 2006
2006
Campaigning
More details See the document
Using faith to combat the death penalty: This document has sermons, prayers and services, essays, views on the death penalty, resources for discussion and action, resources for next steps.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Death Penalty for Female Offenders
By Victor Streib / Ohio Northern University, on 1 January 2009
2009
Article
United States
More details See the document
The data herein are updated as often and as quickly as possible, with the last date of entry noted on the cover page. However, given the difficulty of gathering complete information from all jurisdictions and as soon as cases develop, these reports may under-report the number of female offenders under death sentences. The subjects of these reports are female offenders sentenced to death. They are not all referred to as women, since some were as young as age fifteen at the time of their crimes. However, no such very young female offenders are currently under death sentences. —- See bottom left hand corner of web page.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Women,
Document(s)
Philippines – Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women – Death Penalty – June 2022
on 21 July 2022
2022
NGO report
Philippines
Women
More details Download [ pdf - 443 Ko ]
The Government of the Philippines has taken commendable steps toward protecting and promoting the rights of women overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), but those workers remain vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and when they come into conflict with the law in their host countries, their vulnerabilities are compounded by linguistic and legal barriers, as well as judicial systems which fail to account for the gendered context in which they allegedly committed criminal acts. The Government of the Philippines should do more to ensure protection of the rights of these women OFWs, particularly when they are at risk of being sentenced to death.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Women
Document(s)
International Network of Academics Against the Death Penalty
By International Academic Network for the abolition of capital punishment, on 8 September 2020
2020
Working with...
More details See the document
It is of the utmost importance, in the short and medium-term, to develop an intense work of academically nature both of study and disclosure of the problems of the abolition of the death penalty in the international scenario, to complement and help the work of the diplomatic action and non-governmental organizations. To this effect it is proposed to keep REPECAP as an ever – growing scientific world network comprising academic law scholars, human rights centers, institutions of public law and Ngos, with expertise and skill in the problems of death penalty and interests in the field of international criminal justice, as well as young researchers who have been dealing with these topics or wish to get involved with the subject, regardless of nationality or locations.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
The war on drugs, forensic science and the death penalty in the Philippines
By Maria Corazon A.De Ungria and Jose M.Jose, on 10 August 2021
2021
Academic report
Drug Offenses
Philippines
More details See the document
The effectiveness of the death penalty to deter heinous crimes remains a contentious issue even though it has been abolished in many countries. Three years into President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, the push to re-impose the death penalty is being taken seriously.
There is urgency in providing options to the drug problem other than killing drug suspects in the streets or sentencing them to death. The drug problem is a complex issue and exposes the human vulnerability of its users for criminal exploitation.
We propose here that addressing these vulnerabilities in a balanced and comprehensive manner through health-focused, rights-based criminal justice responses, conducting forensic science-based drug investigations and determining the social causes of drug abuse is an alternative solution that demands cooperation across different sectors of society as well as underscores the fundamental value of human life.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
European Court for Human Rights cases involving the death penalty
By European Court for Human Rights Press Unit, on 24 June 2022
2022
International law - Regional body
Regional body report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
More details See the document
“[T]he [European Court of Human Rights] in Öcalan did not exclude that Article 2 [of the European Convention on Human Rights, protecting the right to life,] had already been amended so as to remove the exception permitting the death penalty. Moreover, … the position has evolved since then. All but two of the Member States have now signed Protocol No. 13 [to the Convention, concerning the abolishment of the death penalty in all circumstances,] and all but three of the States which have signed have ratified it. These figures, together with consistent State practice in observing the moratorium on capital punishment, are strongly indicative that Article 2 has been amended so as to prohibit the death penalty in all circumstances. Against this background, the Court does not consider that the wording of the second sentence of Article 2 § 1 continues to act as a bar to its interpreting the words ‘inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ in Article 3 [of the Convention, prohibiting torture and inhuman or degrading treatment,] as including the death penalty …” (Al-Saadoon and Mufdhi v. the United Kingdom judgment of 2 March 2010, § 120).
- Document type International law - Regional body / Regional body report
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Death Row Conditions / Fair Trial
Document(s)
The death penalty worldwide developments in 2007
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2008
2008
NGO report
fresarMore details See the document
In 2007 the world continued to move closer to the universal abolition of the capital punishment. A historical landmark is the resolution on a moratorium on executions endorsed by the United Nations. By the end of the 2007, 91 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. The death penalty has now been abolished in law or practice by 135 countries. Other subjects covered in this report include commutations, judicial reviews, use against child offenders; and extradition.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages La peine de mort dans le monde : évolution en 2007LA PENA DE MUERTE EN EL MUNDO: NOTICIAS DEL AÑO 2007تطورات عقوبة العدام على النطاق العالمي في 2007
Document(s)
The Death Penalty Worldwide – Developments in 2006 (With amendments)
By Amnesty International, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
arfresMore details See the document
The world continued to move closer to the universal abolition of capital punishment during 2006. By the end of the year 88 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes. The death penalty has now been abolished in law or practice by 128 countries. Other subjects covered in this document include significant judicial decisions; the use of the death penalty against child offenders; resumptions of executions; and campaigning activities to promote abolition.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages التطورات المتعلقة بعقوبة العدام في شتى أنحاء العالم في العام ٢٠٠٦La peine de mort dans le monde : évolution en 2006LA PENA DE MUERTE EN EL MUNDO: NOTICIAS DEL AÑO 2006
Document(s)
Infographic: the Death Penalty in the Americas
By IACHR , on 1 January 2014
2014
Multimedia content
esMore details See the document
On the occasion of the International Day against the Death Penalty, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urges member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) that retain the death penalty to abolish it, or to impose a moratorium on its application as a step toward abolition, and to ensure full compliance with decisions of the IACHR concerning death penalty cases. While a majority of the member States of the OAS has abolished capital punishment, a substantial minority retains it. The United States is currently the only country in the Western hemisphere to carry out executions.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Themes list Death Penalty, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages Infografía: la Pena de Muerte en las Américas
Document(s)
Pathways to abolition
By Death Penalty Worldwide / Cornell Law School, on 1 January 2016
2016
Academic report
More details See the document
This report documents the processes by which 14 jurisdictions abolished the death penalty in law. The conclusions attempt to identify patterns and draw conclusions in the hope that they will provide ideas, insights and inspiration to countries that either already are on their path to abolition or yet have to embark on it.
- Document type Academic report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions in 2009
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2010
2010
NGO report
arfresMore details See the document
This document summarizes Amnesty International’s global research on the use of the death penalty in 2009. More than two-thirds of the countries of the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. While 58 countries retained the death penalty in 2009, most did not use it. Eighteen countries were known to have carried out executions, killing a total of 714 people; however, this figure does not include the thousands of executions that were likely to have taken place in China, which again refused to divulge figures on its use of the death penalty. For an update to this document please see http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ACT50/005/2010/en
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages أحكام الإعدام وعمليات الإعدام في عام 2009CONDAMNATIONS À MORT ET EXÉCUTIONS RECENSÉES EN 2009CONDENAS A MUERTE Y EJECUCIONES 2009
Document(s)
Portuguese : Faça ouvir A sua voz na União Europeia!
By Civil Society Contact Group, on 8 September 2020
2020
Academic report
enenenenenenenenenfresMore details See the document
Facultando informações talhadas à medida sobre as instituições comunitárias ou sobre o modo de funcionamento das ONG europeias, fornecendo igualmente conselhos sobre a actividade de lobbying, este manual de formação, ilustrado com exemplos de campanhas realizadas ao nível europeu, foi elaborado com a intenção de servir as ONG e as(os) activistas que começaram agora a preocupar-se com a definição e a afirmação da sua própria estratégia europeia.
- Document type Academic report
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Bulgarian : Как гласът ни да бъде чут в ЕС:Наръчник за НПОRomanian : Cum s v face i vocea auzit în cadrul Uniunii Europene: Îndreptar pentru Organiza iile Non-GuvernamentaleEstonian : Enda kuuldavaks tegemine Euroopa Liidus: juhend vabaühendusteleItalian : Far sentire la propria voce nell’UE Guida per le ONGGerman : Einfluss nehmen in der EU: Ein Handbuch für NROsHungarian : Hallassuk hangunkat az EU-ban: útmutató civil szervezeteknekLatvian : Tava balss Eiropas Savieniba: Rokasgramata NVOSlovene : Naj se slisi vas glas v EU: Prirocnik za nevladne organizacijeMaking your Voice Heard in the EU: A Guide for NGOsFaire Entendre votre voix dans l'UE: Un Guide à l'Usage des ONGHaciéndose oír en la UE: Una Guía para ONG
Document(s)
America’s Experiment With Capital Punishment: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of the Ultimate Penal Sanction
By Carol S. Steiker / James R. Acker / Jordan M. Steiker / Richard J. Wilson / Robert Blecker / Stephen B. Bright / Charles S. Lanier / Robert M. Bohm / Carolina Academic Press / Ernest van den Haag / Ruth D. Peterson / William C. Bailey / Jon Sorensen / James Marquart / Victor L., on 8 September 2020
Book
United States
More details See the document
The second edition of America’s Experiment with Capital Punishment is an updated and expanded version of the comprehensive first edition. Chapters, authored by the country’s leading legal and social science scholars, have been revised to include a host of important developments since the 1998 edition. Thus, new evidence and information is presented concerning racial disparities in the administration of the death penalty, wrongful convictions, deterrence, the prediction of future dangerousness, jury decision-making, public opinion about the death penalty, the effects of the capital punishment process on murder victims’ and offenders’ relatives, death row incarceration, the costs of capital punishment, execution methods, and many other issues.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Women and the Death Penalty in Iran
By Iran Human Rights, on 8 October 2021
2021
NGO report
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Women
More details See the document
In observation of the 2021 World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to women, Iran Human Rights is providing a report on the women executed in Iran over the last 12 years (2010-2021). The executions in this period are by no means representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s complete history of executing women; the number of female political prisoners executed in the 1980s must be acknowledged due to their sheer volume and abhorrent nature. But even today, there is ample evidence of their cruel and inhuman treatment of female prisoners, which will be highlighted in this report.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
- Themes list Women
Document(s)
Resource Guide for Managing Capital Cases Volume II: Habeas Corpus Review of State Capital Convictions
By Asifa Quraishi, Esq. / Federal Judicial Center, on 1 January 2010
2010
Working with...
More details See the document
This guide was created to assist judges and court staff in managing capital habeas corpus cases by providing a summary of relevant law and case-management procedures. Section II, “Management of Individual Capital Habeas Cases,” summarizes the substantive law of federal habeas corpus that has an impact on case management and procedure (such as jurisdiction to appoint counsel, statutes of limitations, and evidentiary hearings) and describes various techniques judges have used to manage individual cases. Section III, “District-Wide and Circuit-Wide Approaches to Capital Habeas Corpus Case Management,” describes several practices used in the federal courts to monitor and streamline capital case management at a district- or circuit-wide level.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Italian Poster 2005
By World coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2005
2005
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
More details See the document
Italian Poster 2005
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
Document(s)
Initiatives World Day 2004
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2004
2004
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details See the document
Initiatives World Day 2004
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Initiatives journée mondiale 2004
Document(s)
Death Penalty For Drug Offences: Global Overview 2020
By Harm Reduction International (HRI), on 4 May 2021
2021
NGO report
Drug Offenses
More details See the document
Harm Reduction International has monitored the use of the death penalty for drug offences worldwide since our first ground-breaking publication on this issue in 2007.
This report, our tenth on the subject, continues our work of providing regular updates on legislative, policy and practical developments related to the use of capital punishment for drug offences, a practice which is a clear violation of international law.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Bloodshed and Lies: Mohammed bin Salman’s Kingdom of Executions
By Reprieve UK and European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, on 31 January 2023
2023
NGO report
Saudi Arabia
arMore details See the document
Saudi Arabia is a flagrant abuser of the right to life. Between 2010 and 2021, Saudi Arabia executed at least 1243 people, making it one of the most rampant executioners in the world. As of December 2022, the Saudi regime had executed at least a further 147 people in 2022, including 81 people in one day in a mass execution on 12 March 2022.
Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty has drastically increased since 2015. This escalation has taken place on the watch of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, who acceded the throne on 23 January 2015, and his son, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The annual rate of executions has almost doubled since King Salman and Mohammed bin Salman came to power in 2015. From 2010-2014 there was an average of 70.8 executions per year. From 2015-2022 there was an average of 129.5 executions per year – a rise of 82%. The six bloodiest years of executions in Saudi Arabia’s recent history have all occurred under the leadership of Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022).
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Saudi Arabia
- Available languages سفك الدماء والأكاذيب: مملكة إعدام محمد بن سلمان
Document(s)
Testimonies tool – World Day 2022
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 28 June 2022
2022
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 764 Ko ]
The World Coalition and its members have collected testimonies of victims of torture in the death penalty. Confessions, death row phenomenon, moments before the execution, psychological torture of those not sentenced to death, methods of execution. Read the stories of these victims.
We thank all those who agreed to share their testimonies and their stories.
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages Outil témoignages - Journée mondiale 2022
Document(s)
Carrying out executions took a secret toll on workers — then changed their politics
By Chiara Eisner, on 16 November 2022
2022
Article
United States
More details See the document
Most of the workers NPR interviewed reported suffering serious mental and physical repercussions. But only one person said they received any psychological support from the government to help them cope. The experience was enough to shift many of their perspectives on capital punishment. No one who NPR spoke with whose work required them to witness executions in Virginia, Nevada, Florida, California, Ohio, South Carolina, Arizona, Nebraska, Texas, Alabama, Oregon, South Dakota or Indiana expressed support for the death penalty afterward, NPR found.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Annual Report: Death Penalty in Iran 2011
By Iran Human Rights (IHR), on 1 January 2011
2011
NGO report
enfafrfafrMore details See the document
The execution wave that began after the June 2009 post-election protests in Iran continues with high frequency. According to the present report, the execution figure in 2011 is currently the highest since the beginning of 1990’s.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Minorities, Religion , Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages Annual Report: Death Penalty in Iran 2012گزارش سالانھ مجازات اعدام در ایران سال ۲۱۰۲Rapport Annuel sur la peine de mort en Iran 2012گزارش سالانه اعدام در ایرا سال ۱۱۲۲Rapport annuel sur la peine de mort en Iran 2011
Document(s)
Towards the abolition of the death penalty in Lebanon
By LACR / National Campaign for the Abolition of Death Penalty in Lebanon, on 1 January 2009
2009
Campaigning
More details See the document
Educational booklet compiling testimonies, arguments, legal and historical facts about the path towards abolition in Lebanon.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Public opinion, Public debate, Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
Triggers for the abolition of the death penalty in Africa: a Southern African perspective
By Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH), on 1 January 2017
2017
NGO report
frMore details See the document
In Africa, more than 80% of countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice, with only 10 countries executing within the past decade, said FIDH and DITSHWANELO in their joint study, “Triggers for the abolition of the death penalty in Africa: a Southern African perspective”.The 36 pages study identifies the triggers leading to the abolition of the death penalty in Africa. It was released simultaneously with a documentary called #Gambia has decided which shows the current abolitionist process experienced in The Gambia.
- Document type NGO report
- Available languages Les déclencheurs de l'abolition de la peine de mort en Afrique: une perspective de l'Afrique australe
Document(s)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
By United Nations, on 1 January 1966
1966
United Nations report
arrufrzh-hantesMore details See the document
Article 61. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present Covenant and to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court.3. When deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide, it is understood that nothing in this article shall authorize any State Party to the present Covenant to derogate in any way from any obligation assumed under the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases.5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women.6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the present Covenant.
- Document type United Nations report
- Themes list International law,
- Available languages العهد الدولي الخاص بالحقوق المدنية والسياسيةМеждународный пакт о гражданских и политических правахPacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques公民权利和政治权利国际盟约Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos
Document(s)
Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty
By United Nations, on 1 January 1984
1984
United Nations report
arrufrzh-hantesMore details See the document
Approved by Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 19841. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, capital punishment may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, it being understood that their scope should not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences.
- Document type United Nations report
- Themes list Fair Trial, International law, Most Serious Crimes,
- Available languages الضمانات التي تكفل حماية حقوق الذين يواجهون عقوبة الإعدامМеры, гарантирующие защиту прав тех, кому грозит смертная казньGaranties pour la protection des droits des personnes passibles de la peine de mort关于保护面对死刑的人的 权利的保障措施Salvaguardias para garantizar la protección de los derechos de los condenados a la pena de muerte
Document(s)
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
on 21 August 2021
2021
NGO report
World Coalition
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
frMore details See the document
The signatory organizations are convinced that the death penalty is incompatible with the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, which is a peremptory norm of international law (jus cogens) and should thus be abolished. The death penalty is only tolerated by international law and standards to the extent that it may only be imposed for the most serious crimes and applied in a way that causes the least possible suffering. However, the signatory organizations believe that from the sentencing to the execution, the death penalty inevitably causes physical harm and psychological suffering amounting to torture or ill-treatments.
The present position paper documents the extent to which international and regional organisation have already recognised a violation of the absolution prohibitionof torture in the application and imposition of the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
- Available languages La peine de mort et l'interdiction de la torture et des peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants
Document(s)
Deterrence and the Death Penalty Guide
By The Death Penalty Project, on 1 November 2022
2022
NGO report
Public Opinion
More details See the document
The most common justification for the retention of the death penalty among the minority of states that continue to sentence to death and execute individuals who are found guilty of committing certain serious offences is a belief that this punishment has a unique deterrent effect. The Death Penalty Project produced this resource on deterrence and the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Public Opinion
Document(s)
Public Opinion and the Death Penalty Guide
By The Death Penalty Project, on 1 November 2022
NGO report
Public Opinion
More details See the document
When faced with calls to join the majority of states worldwide that have now abolished capital punishment, a key justification, typically relied upon by retentionist states, is that their citizens are not yet ready for abolition, and that political leaders must represent ‘the will of the people.’ The Death Penalty Project produced this resource on public opinion and the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Public Opinion
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in Japan: A report on Japan’s legal obligations under the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights and an assessment of public attitudes to capital punishment
By Saul Lehrfreund / Death Penalty Project, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Japan
More details See the document
This report was commissioned by the Death Penalty Project in order to assess Japan’s legal obligations on the use of the death penalty under the ICCPR, and to examine the related subject of public attitudes toward capital punishment in Japan.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Japan
- Themes list International law, Public opinion,
Document(s)
Issues Impacting LGBTQ+ Prisoners
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 3 September 2024
2024
NGO report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Fair Trial
United States
More details See the document
LGBTQ+ people, especially people of color and low income, experience high levels of policing and criminalization, leading to an overrepresentation of these individuals in the incarcerated population. A 2017 study from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, suggests that LGBTQ+ people are three times as likely to be incarcerated than the general population. Once incarcerated, LGBTQ+ people are often subjected to violence from correctional staff and fellow prisoners, as well denied medical care and access to mental health services.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Fair Trial
Document(s)
Doomed to Repeat: The Legacy of Race in Tennessee’s Contemporary Death Penalty
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 16 June 2023
2023
NGO report
Fair Trial
United States
More details See the document
This report explores the current issues with capital punishment in Tennessee through a historical lens, tracing the origins of the use of the death penalty from lynchings and other forms of racial violence directed at Black Tennesseans. The stories of individuals and communities that have interacted with different facets of Tennessee’s justice system throughout history suggest that, in many ways, even though centuries have passed, the experiences of discrimination toward Tennessee’s communities of color continue. A meaningful understanding of the state’s history and its legacy of violence and racism is essential to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Fair Trial
Document(s)
Responsible Business Engagement on the Death Penalty. A Practical Guide
By Responsible Business Initiative on the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2019
2019
Working with...
frMore details See the document
Business engagement in the death penalty is critical because of the impact it can have. Putsimply: the power is in your hands. If your business is looking for a human rights issue whereit can achieve measurable change, advocacy on the death penalty must be considered.Global support for the death penalty is declining. Meanwhile, competition for investment isfierce. Governments and the public at large care more about job creation and a healthy economythan a system of executions. Therefore, the voices of businesses and business leaders havea huge role to play in shaping public dialogue about whether to keep – or end – the use ofcapital punishment.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks, Death Penalty,
- Available languages Entreprises Responsables et Engagements sur la Peine de Mort: Guide Pratique
Document(s)
The Last Meals Project
By The Last Meals Project, on 8 September 2020
2020
Working with...
More details See the document
This series visually documents the face and last meal of a convicted killer and is without question honest and true. This will be an ongoing project as executions continue to take place in the United States.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Key legal Instruments and texts adopted on Abolition of the death penalty by the Council of Europe
By Council of Europe, on 24 January 2023
2023
Regional body report
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details See the document
All the Council of Europe documents related to abolition of the death penalty gathered in one page : decisions of the Committee of Ministers, resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly, Treaties…
- Document type Regional body report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Instruments juridiques clés et textes adoptés sur l'abolition de la peine de mort par le Conseil de l'Europe
Document(s)
Anything But Humane
By Amnesty International - USA, on 8 September 2020
2020
Arguments against the death penalty
More details See the document
A fact sheet on the lethal injection in the United States. This page details the process of lethal injection with statements of US health professional associations on participation in execution.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Themes list Lethal Injection,
Document(s)
Procedure (Communications Procedure of the African Commission for Human and Peoples rights)
By African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, on 8 September 2020
Working with...
frfrenMore details See the document
This document describes the procedures of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights stating who can apply to the court and what measures they may take.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Ligne Directrices pour la Commission Africaine des Droits de l'Hommes et des PeuplesProcedure (de la Communication de la Commission Africaine des Droits de l'Homme et Des Peuples)Guidelines for Submitting Communications
Document(s)
Guidelines for Submitting Communications
By African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, on 8 September 2020
Working with...
frfrenMore details See the document
This document outlines the functions of the Commission, how to make presentations in front of the Commission, the procedures of examining the communication and the recommendations of the Commission.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Ligne Directrices pour la Commission Africaine des Droits de l'Hommes et des PeuplesProcedure (de la Communication de la Commission Africaine des Droits de l'Homme et Des Peuples)Procedure (Communications Procedure of the African Commission for Human and Peoples rights)
Document(s)
The Death Penalty Is Dead Wrong: Jus Cogens Norms and the Evolving Standard of Decency
By Geoffrey Sawyer / Penn State International Law Review, on 1 January 2004
2004
Article
Nigeria
More details See the document
The conviction of Amina Lawal in Nigeria for committing adultery and sentence of death by stoning created an international outcry of support to overturn her sentence. The support she received is a reflection of the outrage many around the world feel toward this particular method of execution, and in a larger context the growing social norm that the death penalty should be abolished. As more of the world looks upon the death penalty as unfair, or cruel and unusual, or as torture, arguably, a jus cogens norm prohibiting the death penalty has developed in international law, and will ultimately be the vehicle by which the death penalty will be abolished worldwide. Part I of this comment will detail the plight of Amina Lawal, and how her situation is indicative of the globalization of human rights norms. In Part II, this comment will examine the meaning of a jus cogens norm and how it can be established in the context of capital punishment. Using human rights treaties, the law and practice of other nations, and international tribunal decisions, Part III will assert, citing other contexts, such as the “right to life,” and the already entrenched jus cogens norm prohibiting torture, that a jus cogens norm abolishing the death penalty has arguably already been established. Finally, Part IV will assess what the effect of the establishment of a jus cogens norm prohibiting capital punishment.
- Document type Article
- Countries list Nigeria
- Themes list Stoning,
Document(s)
Death sentences and executions 2020
By Amnesty International , on 26 May 2021
2021
NGO report
aresfafrruMore details See the document
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2020. As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including:
– official figures;
– judgements;
– information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives;
– media reports;
– and, for a limited number of countries, other civil society organizations.
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. In many countries governments do not publish information on their use of the death penalty. In China and Viet Nam, data on the use of the death penalty is classified as a state secret. During 2020 little or no information was available on some countries – in particular Laos and North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) – due to restrictive state practice.
- Document type NGO report
- Available languages أحكام وعمليات اإلعدام في2020CONDENAS A MUERTE Y EJECUCIONES 2020احکام مرگ و اعدامها۲۰۲۰سالCondamnations à mort et exécutions 2020ГЛОБАЛЬНЫЙ ДОКЛАД СМЕРТНЫЕ ПРИГОВОРЫ И КАЗНИ 2020
Document(s)
ISOLATION AND DESOLATION CONDITIONS OF DETENTION OF PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH MALAYSIA – Bahasa Melayu
By Carole Berrih, Ngeow Chow Ying, ECPM, ADPAN, on 27 May 2021
2021
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
Malaysia
More details See the document
Isolation and Desolation – Conditions of Detention of People Sentenced to Death in Malaysia is the first ever fact-finding mission report on the conditions of detention of death row prisoners in Malaysia.
It examines the use of death penalty in Malaysia as well as the actual situation of people on death row.
This report is not meant to point fingers but rather to put the facts on the table in a transparent manner and work from there. It is mainly an advocacy tool for all abolitionist stakeholders, from civil society actors to the parliamentarians who will keep fighting for the abolition of the death penalty.
—————————————
Isolation and Desolation – Conditions of Detention of People Sentenced to Death di Malaysia adalah satu-satunya laporan berasaskan misi mengkaji fakta (fact-finding mission) mengenai keadaan-keadaan penahanan bagi banduan-banduan hukuman mati di Malaysia.
Laporan ini mengkaji pelaksanaan hukuman mati di Malaysia dan juga keadaan sebenar orang-orang yang dijatuhkan hukuman mati.
Laporan ini bukan bertujuan untuk menunding jari terhadap mana-mana pihak, tetapi bertujuan untuk memberi pencerahan kepada fakta-fakta yang ditemui dan berusaha ke atasnya. Laporan ini bertujuan utama sebagai alat advokasi kepada semua pihak yang mempunyai kepentingan dalam pemansuhan, bermula dari ahli persatuan kemasyarakatan sehingga ahli parlimen yang akan berusaha berterusan untuk memansuhkan hukuman mati.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Malaysia
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Myths and Facts about the Death Penalty
By Death Penalty Focus, on 1 January 2009
2009
Arguments against the death penalty
esMore details See the document
8 Myths about the death penalty are explored in this text: 1. the death penalty is needed to keep society safe, 2. the death penalty is applied fairly, 3. the death penalty is used worldwide, 4. the death penalty deters crime, 5. execution is cheaper than permanent imprisonment, 6. the death penalty offers justice to victims’ families, 7. only the truly guilty get the death penalty, 8. religious teachings support the death penalty.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Mitos y Realidades de la Pena de Muerte
Document(s)
Isolation and desolation conditions of detention of people sentenced to death Malaysia
By Carole Berrih, Ngeow Chow Ying, ECPM, ADPAN, on 27 May 2021
2021
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
Malaysia
frMore details See the document
Isolation and Desolation – Conditions of Detention of People Sentenced to Death in Malaysia is the first ever fact-finding mission report on the conditions of detention of death row prisoners in Malaysia.
It examines the use of death penalty in Malaysia as well as the actual situation of people on death row.
This report is not meant to point fingers but rather to put the facts on the table in a transparent manner and work from there. It is mainly an advocacy tool for all abolitionist stakeholders, from civil society actors to the parliamentarians who will keep fighting for the abolition of the death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Malaysia
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
- Available languages Isolement et désespoir conditions de détention des condamnés à mort Malaisie
Document(s)
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS OF 2003
By HANDS OFF CAIN, on 1 January 2004
2004
NGO report
enMore details See the document
The worldwide situation to date: The worldwide situation concerning the death penalty has once again registered a trend towards abolition in the past year. The countries or territories that to different extents have decided to give up the practice of capital punishment total 133, including the first months of 2004. Of these 81 have abolished the death penalty completely; 14 have abolished it for ordinary crimes; 1, Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe is committed to abolish it and in the meanwhile apply a moratorium on executions; 5 are observing moratoriums and 32 countries are de facto abolitionist, not having carried out executions for at least 10 years.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages Italian : I FATTI PIU´ IMPORTANTI DEL 2003 (e dei primi mesi del 2004)
Document(s)
Annual Statistics Report 2022
By Project 39A, on 22 February 2023
2023
NGO report
India
More details See the document
This is the seventh edition of the Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report published by Project 39A at National Law University, Delhi. 2022 represents a significant shift in death penalty adjudication, with the Supreme Court recognising the need to reconsider the capital sentencing framework for the first time since it was laid down in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab in 1980. In a momentous order, the Supreme Court noted the gaps in the death penalty sentencing framework and has sought to address these concerns through a Constitution Bench towards establishing the components of a real, meaningful and effective capital sentencing hearing. In another decision, the Court laid down guidelines for the collection of mitigating material by trial courts. However, in the same year that the Supreme Court cast grave doubts on the death penalty sentencing framework and its implementation by trial courts, it is of concern that 165 death sentences were imposed by Sessions Courts, the highest in a single year since 2000.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list India
Document(s)
NGO Media Outreach: Using the Media as an Advocacy Tool
By Coalition for the International Criminal Court, on 1 January 2003
2003
Working with...
More details See the document
A guide for NGOs to use media effectively. This guide explains the importance of media, how to create contacts, how to prepare a media outreach campaign, how to deliver a campaign to the media and how to use available resources to support your media campaign.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
10 Steps to Writing a UPR Stakeholder Report
By The Advocates for Human Rights, on 1 January 2014
2014
Working with...
More details See the document
This four-page document proposes a roadmap for organisations interested in submitting reports to the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list International law,
Document(s)
The International Library of Essays on Capital Punishment, Volume 3 : Policy and Governance
By Peter Hodgkinson / Ashgate Publishing, on 8 September 2020
2020
Book
More details See the document
This volume provides analyses of a range of subjects and issues in the death penalty debate, from medicine to the media. The essays address in particular the personal complexities of those involved, a fundamental part of the subject usually overridden by the theoretical and legal aspects of the debate. The unique personal vantage offered by this volume makes it essential reading for anyone interested in going beyond the removed theoretical understanding of the death penalty, to better comprehending its fundamental humanity. Additionally, the international range of the analysis, enabling disaggregation of country specific motivations, ensures the complexities of the death penalty are also considered from a global perspective.
- Document type Book
- Themes list Death Penalty,
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
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)
The International Library of Essays on Capital Punishment, Volume 1 : Justice and Legal Issues
By Peter Hodgkinson / Ashgate Publishing, on 8 September 2020
Book
More details See the document
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)
Capital Punishment A Hazard to a Sustainable Criminal Justice System?
By Ashgate Publishing / Lill Scherdin, on 8 September 2020
Book
More details See the document
This book questions whether the death penalty in and of itself is a hazard to a sustainable development of criminal justice. As most jurisdictions move away from the death penalty, some remain strongly committed to it, while others hold on to it but use it sparingly. This volume seeks to understand why, by examining the death penalty’s relationship to state governance in the past and present. It also examines how international, transnational and national forces intersect in order to understand the possibilities of future death penalty abolition.The chapters cover the USA – the only western democracy that still uses the death penalty – and Asia – the site of some 90 per cent of all executions. Also included are discussions of the death penalty in Islam and its practice in selected Muslim majority countries. There is also a comparative chapter departing from the response to the mass killings in Norway in 2011. Leading experts in law, criminology and human rights combine theory and empirical research to further our understanding of the relationships between ways of governance, the role of leadership and the death penalty practices.
- Document type Book
- Themes list Due Process , International law, Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
Capital Punishment: New Perspectives
By Peter Hodgkinson / Ashgate Publishing, on 1 January 2013
2013
Book
More details See the document
The authors argue that capital litigators should use their skills challenging the abuses not just of process, but of the conditions in which the condemned await their fate, namely prison conditions, education, leisure, visits, medical services, etc. In the aftermath of successful constitutional challenges it is the beneficiaries (arguably those who are considered successes, having been ‘saved’ from the death penalty and now serving living death penalties of one sort or another) who are suffering the cruel and inhumane alternative.Part I of the book offers a selection of diverse, nuanced examinations of death penalty phenomena, scrutinizing complexities frequently omitted from the narrative of academics and activists. It offers a challenging and comprehensive analysis of issues critical to the abolition debate. Part II offers examinations of countries usually absent from academic analysis to provide an understanding of the status of the debate locally, with opportunities for wider application.
- Document type Book
Document(s)
No Human Way to Kill
By Robert Priseman / Artfractures, on 1 January 2009
2009
Working with...
More details See the document
‘No Human Way to Kill’ comprises an exhibition of twelve etchings produced by the Goldmark Atelier in 2007 and a 102 page book published by Seabrook Press in association with the Human Rights Centre at the Universtiy of Essex in 2009. The etchings were first displayed at the University of San Francisco in 2008 and the European Commission Gallery in 2009.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Closing the Slaughterhouse
By Dale M Brumfield, on 8 December 2022
2022
Book
United States
More details See the document
On July 1, 2021, Virginia ended a 413-year tradition by abolishing the death penalty.
Many of those convicted from 1608 to 2017 deserved harsh punishment – but Virginia took harsh to a whole new level with its “finality over fairness” philosophy. Four hundred years of her racist, mob-driven capital punishment system ensnared many innocent and undeserving victims under the toxic guises of protecting white citizens or being “tough on crime.” So many of those killed by the state died with their guilt or innocence lost to history.
Virginia leads the nation with 1,390 executions. After a 1976 Supreme Court decision, Virginia institutionalized and streamlined the parade to the death chamber more efficiently than any other state, executing between 1976 and 2017 a breathtaking 73 percent of all who received death sentences. The national average is 16 percent.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Japanese : 死刑囚の子ども達の 未来に向けて
By Oliver Robertson / Quaker United Nations Office, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
enarfafresMore details See the document
本レポートは,初めに死刑囚の子どもについての基本的情報,すなわち,親が刑事司法制度において裁かれるに全過程を通じて現れる諸問題を提示する。次に,一般的な受刑者の子どもが直面する問題点との類似性を踏まえつつ,死刑囚の子どものケースは異なるものであることに焦点を当てる。世界における受刑者の子どもが置かれた状況の詳細については, 勧告や望ましい実践例も含め,QUNO発刊のCollat-eralConvicts (2012) を参照していただきたい。第三に,死刑囚の子どもだけが体験する根本的に特有な問題点を検討する。本レポートは,限られた数の勧告のみを掲示している。これは,網羅的であることを意図するのではなく,前向きな展開が明確な分野の勧告のみを取り上げたためである。
- Document type NGO report
- Available languages Lightening the Load of the Parental Death Penalty on Childrenتخفيف العبء عن الأطفال المحكوم آباؤهم أو أمهاتهم بالإعدامکاهش بار مجازات اعدام پدر یا مادر برای فرزندانAlléger le fardeau de la condamnation à mort d’un parent sur les enfantsCómo aliviar la carga que supone para los menores la condena a muerte de un(a) progenitor(a)
Document(s)
Nigeria: Waiting for the Hangman
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2008
2008
NGO report
frMore details See the document
More than 720 men and 11 women are under sentence of death in Nigeria’s prisons. They have one thing in common, beyond not knowing when they will be put to death. They are poor. From their first contact with the police, through the trial process, to seeking pardon, those with the fewest resources are at a serious disadvantage. This text describes the treatment of the death penalty in Nigeria.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Due Process , Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages Nigéria: Pour qui vient le bourreau?
Document(s)
The Logical Framework Approach
By Greta Jenson / Bond - For International Development, on 1 January 2010
2010
Campaigning
More details See the document
The logframe is a tool for concisely describing the results of an LFA project design process, as it summarises in a standard format: What the project is going to achieve, what activities will be carried out, what means/resources/inputs (human, technical, infrastructural, etc.) are required, what potential problems could affect the success of the project, how the progress and ultimate success of the project will be measured and verified.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Children of parents sentenced to death
By Helen F. Kearney / Quaker United Nations Office, on 1 January 2012
2012
NGO report
More details See the document
This paper will raise awareness of some of the issues facing the child. It will consider and elaborate on each of these issues in as much detail as the current literature permits.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Murder Victims' Families, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Turning the tide in the Caribbean: towards an end to the death penalty
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2013
2013
Campaigning
More details See the document
This toolkit is for activists working towards the abolition of the death penalty in the English-speaking Caribbean. Drawing on many years of Amnesty International’s work to promote all human rights and to oppose violations of those rights, including the death penalty, it provides practical tips and suggestions for advocacy and campaigning. It sets out key arguments and relevant international human rights standards and provides information about resources that activists can use to strengthen and broaden the campaign against the death penalty in the English-speaking Caribbean.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Public debate, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
Lightening the Load of the Parental Death Penalty on Children
By Oliver Robertson / Quaker United Nations Office, on 1 January 2013
NGO report
enarfafresMore details See the document
This paper begins by providing some basic information about children of parents sentenced to death, issues that persist through the whole of a parent’sinteraction with the criminal justice system. Next, it looks at issues that aresimilar to those faced by other children of prisoners, but focuses on the ways inwhich children of parents sentenced to death are different. For a more detailedaccount of the situation of children of prisoners worldwide, including recommendations and examples of good practice, read QUNO’s 2012 paperCollateral Convicts. Thirdly, the fundamentally different issues are considered, thoseonly children of parents sentenced to death experience. There are a limitednumber of recommendations included throughout: these are not intended to becomprehensive, instead only covering those areas where there is already clarity about a positive way forward.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Murder Victims' Families,
- Available languages Japanese : 死刑囚の子ども達の 未来に向けてتخفيف العبء عن الأطفال المحكوم آباؤهم أو أمهاتهم بالإعدامکاهش بار مجازات اعدام پدر یا مادر برای فرزندانAlléger le fardeau de la condamnation à mort d’un parent sur les enfantsCómo aliviar la carga que supone para los menores la condena a muerte de un(a) progenitor(a)
Document(s)
Joint Letter Calling on the HRC to Renew the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran
By Human Rights Watch / Impact Iran , on 1 January 2018
2018
Multimedia content
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
More details See the document
In this joint letter many Iranian and international human rights organizations, urge the governments they called to support the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, during the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
- Document type Multimedia content
- Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Discrimination,
Document(s)
Handbook of Forensic Psychiatric Practice in Capital Cases
By The Death Penalty Project / Nigel Eastman / Richard Latham / Marc Lyall / Sanya Krljes, on 1 January 2018
Working with...
More details See the document
The Death Penalty Project and Forensic Psychiatry Chambers have released two new publications, together providing an authoritative guide on the application of mental health law in capital cases. The resources respond to the knowledge that, in many countries that retain the death penalty, mental health issues are not being sufficiently addressed by the courts, leading to miscarriages of justice and putting vulnerable individuals at risk.This Handbook guides the reader through the role of the forensic psychiatrist in criminal proceedings and key principles of mental health law.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Casebook of Forensic Psychiatric Practice in Capital Cases
By The Death Penalty Project / Marc Lyall, on 1 January 2018
Working with...
More details See the document
The Death Penalty Project and Forensic Psychiatry Chambers have released two new publications, together providing an authoritative guide on the application of mental health law in capital cases. The resources respond to the knowledge that, in many countries that retain the death penalty, mental health issues are not being sufficiently addressed by the courts, leading to miscarriages of justice and putting vulnerable individuals at risk.This Casebook uses real-life examples to address ethical and professional questions and explore the application of legal principles.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Death by Geography: A County By County Analysis of the Road to Execution in California
By Natasha Minsker / Romy Ganschow / American Civil Liberties Union / Jeff Gillenkirk / Elise Banducci, on 1 January 2008
2008
NGO report
More details See the document
California’s death penalty is arbitary, unnecessary and a waste of critical resources. Whilst the vast majority of California’s counties have largely abandoned execution in favor of simply sentencing people to die in prison, 10 counties continue to aggressively sentence people to execution, accounting for nearly 85 percent of death sentences since 2000. California’s death penalty has become so arbitary that the county border, not the facts of the case, determines who is sentenced to execution and who is simply sentenced to die in prison. Pursuing executions provides no identifiable benefit to these counties but costs millions.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
The death penalty in Egypt: Ten year after the uprising
By Jeed Basyouni - Reprieve, on 10 August 2021
2021
NGO report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Egypt
Fair Trial
More details See the document
Reprieve wrote this report about the use of the death penalty in Egypt.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Egypt
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Death Row Conditions / Fair Trial
Document(s)
The Death Penalty: The Ultimate Punishment
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2008
2008
Campaigning
enfresMore details See the document
Campaigning toolkit published by Amnesty International. A 16-page detailed advocacy document explaining why the abolition of the death penalty is necessary and how the theories behind capital punishment get it wrong.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Korean : 사형제도 극단적 형벌La Peine de Mort: Le Châtiment SuprêmeLa Pena de Muerte: El Castigo Máximp
Document(s)
Juvenile Offenders Awaiting Execution in Yemen : “Look at Us with a Merciful Eye”
By Human Rights Watch, on 1 January 2013
2013
NGO report
arMore details See the document
The 30-page report found that at least 22 individuals have been sentenced to death in Yemen despite evidence that they were under age 18 at the time of their alleged crimes. In the last five years, Yemen has executed at least 15 young men and women who said they were under 18 at the time of their offense.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Juveniles, Country/Regional profiles,
- Available languages "انظروا إلينا بعين الرحمة" الأحداث على ذمة الإعدام في اليمن
Document(s)
Human Rights and the Death Penalty
By The Advocates for Human Rights, on 1 January 2012
2012
Campaigning
More details See the document
Four-page introduction to the status of the death penalty in international human rights law and the global trend abolition.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list International law, Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
Take action on the death penalty
By The Advocates for Human Rights, on 8 September 2020
2020
Campaigning
More details See the document
Two-page guide with tips and contacts for individuals interested in getting started in anti-death penalty activism in the US.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Public opinion,
Document(s)
WMA Resolution to Reaffirm the WMA’s Prohibition of Physician Partecipation in Capital Punishment
By World Medical Association, on 8 September 2020
NGO report
More details See the document
The World Medical Association has strengthened its opposition to capital punishment with a resolution at its recent conference in Bangkok that “physicians will not facilitate the importation or prescription of drugs for execution.”
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
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
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)
The Juvenile Death Penalty Today: Death Sentences and Executions for Juvenile Crimes, January 1, 1973 – February 28, 2005
By Victor Streib / Ohio Northern University, on 8 September 2020
Article
United States
More details See the document
This is Issue #77, the final issue of these periodic reports, having first been launched on June 15, 1984. On that date, the death penalty for juvenile offenders (defined as those under age 18 at the time of their crimes) was an obscure issue in law as well as in political and social arenas. During the last twenty-one years, these reports have been with us (1) through the intense litigation of the late 1980s, (2) through our society’s near hysteria about violent juvenile crime in the 1990s, (3) into the era of the international pressure on the United States to abandon this practice, and (4) now at the end of this practice. The validity and influence of these reports is indicated by thecitations to them in the opinions of leading courts, including the United States Supreme Court: Roper v. Simmons, 125 S.Ct. 1183, 1192, 1193, 1210, 1211, 1221 (2005); In re Stanford, 537 U.S. 968, 971 (2002); and Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361, 373 (1989). In the litigation leading up to the final juvenile death penalty case before the United States Supreme Court (Roper v. Simmons, 125 S.Ct. 1183 (2005)), the Missouri Supreme Court majority opinion included 12 citations to these reports: See Simmons v. Roper, 112 S.W.3d 397, 408, 409, 411 (Mo. 2003). This final issue of this periodic report is intended to document the status of the death penalty for juvenile offenders as ofthe day before the United States Supreme Court held this practice to be unconstitutional. These reports sketch the characteristics of the juvenile offenders and their crimes who have been sentenced to death, who have been executed, and who are currently under death sentences. —- See bottom left hand corner of web page.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Juveniles,
Document(s)
Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition
By David Garland / Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, on 8 September 2020
Book
United States
More details See the document
This book offers a fresh perspective on why the death penalty endures in the United States when so many other countries in the Western world have already abolished it. The book seeks to understand the persistence of the death penalty in the U.S. as a social fact, using sociological, historical and legal analyses to explain the unique and peculiar manner in which the death penalty is applied. Garland concludes that the death penalty has survived in the United States because it is deeply connected to the fundamentally American institutions of local autonomy and popular democracy.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Death Penalty: The Political Foundations of the Global Trend Towards Abolition
By Eric Neumayer / Human Rights Review, on 1 January 2008
2008
Article
More details See the document
The death penalty is like no other punishment. Its continued existence in many countries of the world creates political tensions within these countries and between governments of retentionist and abolitionist countries. After the Second World War, more and more countries have abolished the death penalty. This article argues that the major determinants of this global trend towards abolition are political, a claim which receives support in a quantitative cross-national analysis from 1950 to 2002. Democracy, democratisation, international political pressure on retentionist countries and peer group effects in relatively abolitionist regions all raise the likelihood of abolition. There is also a partisan effect, as abolition becomes more likely if the chief executive’s party is left wing-oriented. Cultural, social and economic determinants receive only limited support. The global trend towards abolition will go on if democracy continues to spread around the world and abolitionist countries stand by their commitment to press for abolition all over the world.
- Document type Article
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,
Document(s)
The death penalty wordwide: developments in 2004
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2005
2005
NGO report
fresMore details See the document
This document covers significant events concerning the death penalty during the year 2004. Five countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes, bringing to 84 the number of totally abolitionist countries at year end. Scores of death sentences were commuted in Malawi and Zambia, and moratoria or suspensions of executions were being observed in several other countries. Other subjects covered in this document include significant judicial decisions; the use of the death penalty against the innocent; resumptions of executions; and campaigning activities to promote abolition.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages La peine de mort dans le monde: évolution en 2004La pena de muerte en el mundo: noticias del año 2004
Document(s)
West Africa: Time to abolish the death penalty
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2003
2003
NGO report
frMore details See the document
This doument summarizes each of the 16 ECOWAS countries’ legislation on the death penalty, provides information on the most recent executions and convictions and notes the view currently taken by the governments concerned. Two thirds have already abolished the death penalty
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages AFRIQUE DE L’OUEST : Il est temps d’abolir la peine de mort
Document(s)
A Penalty Without Legitimacy: The Mandatory Death Penalty in Trinidad and Tobago
By Douglas Mendes / Florence Seemungal / Jeffrey Fagan / Roger Hood / The Death Penalty Project, on 1 January 2009
2009
NGO report
More details See the document
As a result of legal challenges, and in line with the trend worldwide, the mandatory death penalty has now been abolished in nine Caribbean countries and a discretion to impose a lesser sentence has been given to the judges of the Eastern Caribbean, Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas. However, in relation to Trinidad & Tobago, in the case of Charles Matthew (Matthew v The State [2005] 1 AC 433), a majority of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council decided – notwithstanding that the mandatory death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment in violation of entrenched fundamental freedoms and human rights established in the Constitution of Trinidad & Tobago – that it remained protected from constitutional challenge by the operation of the “savings clause” in the Constitution. As a result, Trinidad & Tobago remains one of only three Commonwealth Caribbean countries (Barbados and Guyana being the other two) that still retains the mandatory death penalty.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Mandatory Death Penalty,
Document(s)
Death penalty developments in 2005
By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2006
2006
NGO report
fresMore details See the document
This document covers significant events concerning the death penalty during the year 2005. Two countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes, bringing to 86 the number of totally abolitionist countries at year end. Moratoria or suspensions of executions were being observed in several countries. At least 2,148 people were executed in 22 countries, and at least 5,186 were sentenced to death in 53 countries. Eight child offenders were executed in Iran. Other sections include significant judicial decisions; the use of the death penalty against child offenders and resumptions of executions.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Statistics,
- Available languages La peine de mort dans le monde : évolution en 2005LA PENA DE MUERTE EN EL MUNDO: NOTICIAS DEL AÑO 2005