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Document(s)

Most Deserving of Death? An Analysis of the Supreme Court’s Death Penalty Jurisprudence

By Kenneth Williams / Ashgate Publishing, on 1 January 2012


2012

Book

United States


More details See the document

The book looks at issues such as jury selection, ineffective assistance of counsel, innocence, and race, and how these issues reflect on who is sentenced to death. Prof. Williams concludes that that application of the death penalty is inconsistent and incoherent, partly because of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence, and this leads to a lack of public confidence in the system.

  • Document type Book
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Due Process , Fair Trial, Capital offences,

Document(s)

Cruel and Unusual: The American Death Penalty and the Founders’ Eighth Amendment

By John D. Bessler / Northeastern University Press, on 1 January 2012


Book

United States


More details See the document

Bessler examines the Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment case law and concludes that the death penalty may well be declared unconstitutional in time. Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, called the book, “A searing indictment of capital punishment, this pioneering history of the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause is destined to reframe America’s death penalty debate.

  • Document type Book
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list International law, Public debate,

Document(s)

Early Supreme Court Cases on the Death Penalty

By Robert Bohm / Carolina Academic Press, on 1 January 2012


Book

United States


More details See the document

A new book by Professor Robert Bohm of the University of Central Florida looks at death-penalty decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court prior to the modern era of capital punishment that began in 1968. In The Past As Prologue, Bohm examines 39 Court decisions, covering issues such as clemency, jury selection, coerced confessions, and effective representation.

  • Document type Book
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list International law, Trend Towards Abolition,

Document(s)

Executions by County in the United States

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2011


2011

NGO report


More details See the document

Although counties do not carry out executions, in almost all states the decision to seek the death penalty is made by the county district attorney. A small number of counties are responsible for a disproportionate number of the executions in the United States. Search results can be sorted by county.

  • Document type NGO report

Document(s)

Survivor on Death Row

By Amazon Digital Services / Clare Nonhebel, on 1 January 2012


2012

Book

United States


More details See the document

Survivor on Death Row, a new e-book co-authored by death row inmate Romell Broom and Clare Nonhebel, tells the story of Ohio’s botched attempt to execute Broom by lethal injection in 2009. In September of that year, Broom was readied for execution and placed on the gurney, but the procedure was terminated after corrections officials spent over two hours attempting to find a suitable vein for the lethal injection.

  • Document type Book
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment,

Document(s)

The Death of the American Death Penalty

By L. Koch / Northeastern University Press / J. Galliher, on 1 January 2012


Book

United States


More details See the document

A new book by Larry Koch, Colin Wark and John Galliher discusses the status of the death penalty in the U.S. in light of recent legislative activity and court decisions. In The Death of the American Death Penalty, the authors examine the impact of factors such as economic conditions, public sentiment, the role of elites, the media, and population diversity on the death penalty debate.

  • Document type Book
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Public opinion, Public debate,

Document(s)

Human Rights Council, 39th session – Question of the death penalty

By United Nations, on 8 September 2020


2020

NGO report


More details See the document

Pursuant to Human Rights Council decision 18/117, the present report is submitted to update previous reports on the question of the death penalty. In his report the Secretary-General confirms that the trend towards the universal abolition of the death penalty is continuing. During the reporting period, initiatives limiting the use of the death penalty and implementing the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty were also recorded in several States. A minority of States continued to use the death penalty, in contravention of international human rights law. As requested by the Council in its resolution 22/11, the report also includes information on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Themes list Juveniles, Death Penalty,

Document(s)

Public Executions in Virginia

By Harry M. Ward / McFarland Publishing, on 1 January 2012


2012

Book

United States


More details See the document

A new book by Professor Harry M. Ward of the University of Richmond examines the death penalty in Virginia at a time when executions were carried out for all to see.

  • Document type Book
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Life After Death Row: Exonerees’ Search for Community and Identity

By Kimberly J Cook / Saundra D Westervelt / Rutgers University Press, on 1 January 2012


Book

United States


More details See the document

n Life After Death Row: Exonerees’ Search for Community and Identity, the authors focus on three central areas affecting those who had to begin a new life after leaving years of severe confinement: the seeming invisibility of these individuals after their release; the complicity of the justice system in allowing that invisibility; and the need for each of them to confront their personal trauma

  • Document type Book
  • Countries list United States

Document(s)

DNA and the Death Penalty

By Brandon Garrett / Joshua Marquis / CATO Unbound / Jeffrey Kirchmeier / George H. Smith, on 1 January 2012


Article

United States


More details See the document

Essays on the theme of the issue of the DNA and the Death Penalty

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

Document(s)

Awaiting Death

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2008


2008

Multimedia content

Kyrgyzstan


More details See the document

This film gives an insight into prison life for 174 men convicted and sentenced to death or to life imprisonment in Kyrgyzstan.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Kyrgyzstan
  • Themes list Retribution, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Behind Bars

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2012


2012

Multimedia content


More details See the document

This 2012 documentary film ‘Behind Bars’ was produced under the EU funded project ‘Progressive Abolition of the Death Penalty and Alternatives that Respect International Human Rights Standards’.The film reflects the application of life sentence, conditions of lifers and long sentenced prisoners and the State’s attitude towards these offenders in the countries of the South Caucasus.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Themes list Death Row Conditions,

Document(s)

Death Penalty: Trials and Tribulations

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2012


Multimedia content

Uganda


More details See the document

In Uganda, 28 crimes can attract the death penalty – including robbery, smuggling, acts of treason and terrorism, and non-lethal military sentences, and death sentences continue to be handed out after judicial proceedings which fail to meet international standards for a fair trial. This film produced by PRI’s Ugandan partner the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative provides a moving insight into the situation of prisoners on death row and others serving life sentences in the country.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Uganda
  • Themes list Most Serious Crimes, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Forgotten

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2012


Arguments against the death penalty


More details See the document

This 2011 film ‘Forgotten’ was produced under the EU funded project ‘Progressive Abolition of the Death Penalty and Alternatives that Respect International Human Rights Standards’. The film reflects the conditions for those sentenced to life imprisonment in the countries of Central Asia.

  • Document type Arguments against the death penalty
  • Themes list Death Row Conditions, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

The Innocence Network Exonerations 2011

By The Innocence Network, on 1 January 2011


2011

Working with...


More details See the document

21 people were exonerated by the Innocence Network in 2011. Proving their innocence took years of work by dedicated teams of lawyers and staffers. These 21 represent a small fraction of the thousands of people who are behind bard for crimes they didn’t commit.

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

Document(s)

Searchable Execution Database

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2011


NGO report


More details See the document

This new database search includes the county of conviction, as well as gender of victim. All results will display in chronological order by default. To sort by other criteria, click on the headings for those fields in the search results.

  • Document type NGO report

Document(s)

No to the Death Penalty

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2008


2008

Multimedia content

Kazakhstan


More details See the document

This film is based on the death penalty in Kazakhstan. The death penalty was formerly a common charge for the most obscene crimes, and was at its greatest prominence in 1995, when 101 males on charges of death sentences were executed by the firing squad.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Kazakhstan
  • Themes list Most Serious Crimes, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Myth #6 – The death penalty applies to everyone equally

By Reprieve / Emmanuelle Purdon , on 8 September 2020


2020

Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: The death penalty applies to everyone equally, regardless of race, wealth or background. FACT: People who are convicted of the same crime receive vastly different penalties, across the world and within the same country or even case.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Arbitrariness,

Document(s)

Pathways to Justice: Implementing a Fair and Effective Remedy following Abolition of the Mandatory Death Penalty in Kenya

By The Death Penalty Project, on 1 January 2019


2019

NGO report


More details See the document

This report draws on experiences in other jurisdictions where capital sentencing laws have been struck down or abolished, thereby generating the need for prisoners already unlawfully sentenced to death to be given substitute sentences. It delineates the ways in which other common law jurisdictions have addressed the practical and procedural challenges of resentencing following the abolition of the mandatory death penalty – navigating potential human rights infringements and ensuring that satisfactory requirements of due process are met. Resentencing procedures must also be scalable and practically accessible to the large number of individuals (thousands in the case of Kenya) entitled to relief.

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

Document(s)

Advocacy Toolkit: Abolition Of The Death Penalty In Africa

By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2019


Lobbying


More details See the document

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

  • Document type Lobbying

Document(s)

Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on a gender-sensitive approach to arbitrary killings

By United Nations, on 8 September 2020


2020

International law - United Nations


More details See the document

In the report, the Special Rapporteur considers key elements of a gender-sensitive perspective to the mandate, in the interests of strengthening an inclusive application of critical norms and standards related to the right to life. These elements include consideration of the impact of gender identity and expression, intersecting with other identities, on the risks factors to killings or death, the degree of predictability of harm and States’ implementation of its due diligence obligations. Applying gender lenses to the notion of arbitrariness, the Special Rapporteur highlights that gender-based killings — when committed by non-State actors — may constitute arbitrary killings. It also shows that violations of the right to life stem not only from an intentional act of deprivation of life by the State or a non-State actor, but also from the deprivation of basic conditions that guarantee life, such as access to essential health care

  • Document type International law - United Nations
  • Themes list International law, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Torture, Arbitrariness, Death Row Conditions, Death Penalty,

Document(s)

Executions per Death Sentence

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2010


2010

NGO report


More details See the document

Executions per Death Sentence, with cumulative death sentences (1977 through 2010), cumulative executions (1977 through 2010) and executions per death sentence, per State.

  • Document type NGO report

Document(s)

Death Penalty Trends in Asia Have Possible Implications for China

By Dui Hua Human Rights Journal , on 1 January 2011


2011

Article


More details See the document

This article analyses the latest controversy over the use of the death penalty that erupted not in mainland China but across the strait in Taiwan. In January, the defense ministry there was forced to issue a public apology for a wrongful execution in 1997, followed in early March by the execution of five prisoners without notifying their families.

  • Document type Article
  • Themes list Networks,

Document(s)

Listing of verifiable executions worldwide reported this month.

By Capital Punishment U.K., on 8 September 2020


2020

NGO report


More details See the document

Listing of verifiable executions worldwide reported per month.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Themes list Statistics,

Document(s)

Myth #1 – Innocent people are not executed

By Reprieve / Clive Stafford Smith , on 8 September 2020


Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: Only guilty prisoners are sent to their death. FACT: Professionals in the justice system know that innocent people have been executed.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Innocence,

Document(s)

Myth #3 – The death penalty saves money

By Reprieve / Clive Stafford Smith , on 8 September 2020


Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: The death penalty saves money. It costs less to kill people than to imprison them for life. FACT:The death penalty costs millions more than a sentence of life without parole. Taxpayers’ money could be used more efficiently on crime prevention programs and police.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Sentencing Alternatives, Financial cost,

Document(s)

Myth #4 – Only evil people are executed

By Reprieve / Clive Stafford Smith , on 8 September 2020


Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: Only evil people are executed. People on death row are truly evil. FACT: There is a lot more to a human being than his worst action.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Right to life,

Document(s)

Myth #5 – Death penalty trials are a fair process

By Reprieve / Emmanuelle Purdon , on 8 September 2020


Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: Death penalty trials are a fair process. Trials and appeals are closely scrutinised. The defendant’s basic rights are protected. FACT: People are executed around the world every day because they did not have a fair trial.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Fair Trial,

Document(s)

Myth #7 – Executions are humane

By Reprieve / Emmanuelle Purdon , on 8 September 2020


Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: Executions are humane. The process is painless and orderly. FACT: There is no decent way to kill a prisoner. Hanging, stoning, beheading and electrocuting all constitute cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment,

Document(s)

The situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran : note by the Secretary-General

By United Nations, on 1 January 2011


2011

NGO report

rufrzh-hantes
More details See the document

Document(s)

Myth #8 – Executions help victims’ families to heal

By Reprieve / Emmanuelle Purdon , on 8 September 2020


2020

Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: Executions help victims’ families to heal. FACT: Whilst we cannot speak for all victims’ families, it is clear that not all families are healed after the execution. Rather, the death penalty creates more victims and more brutality.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Retribution, Murder Victims' Families,

Document(s)

Myth #9 – The Bible supports the death penalty

By Reprieve / Emmanuelle Purdon , on 8 September 2020


Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: The Bible preaches retribution. Jesus supports the death penalty. FACT: People have been arguing for decades over interpretations of the Bible. The Church has officially declared its opposition to the death penalty. The concept of “mercy” is preached in the majority of religions.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Religion ,

Document(s)

Myth #10 – The death penalty is not political

By Reprieve / Emmanuelle Purdon , on 8 September 2020


Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: The death penalty is not political. FACT: The death penalty is often driven by politics rather than a desire to repair social problems and bring justice.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Fair Trial,

Document(s)

The Night I Forgave My Daughter’s Killer

By Marietta Jaeger-Lane / Yes! Magazine / Lynsi Burton, on 1 January 2011


2011

Legal Representation


More details See the document

How a grieving mother put compassion before vengeance, and found closure along the way.

  • Document type Legal Representation
  • Themes list Murder Victims' Families,

Document(s)

Locked up and Forgotten: The Need to Abolish the Death Penalty in Ghana

By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2017


2017

NGO report


More details See the document

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

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

Document(s)

China’s deadly secret

By Amnesty International, on 8 September 2020


2020

NGO report

China

zh-hant
More details See the document

The Chinese government continues to conceal the extent to which capital punishment is being used in China, despite more than four decades of requests from UN bodies and the international community and despite the Chinese authorities’ own pledges to bring about increased openness in the country’s criminal justice system. This report focuses on the extent to which the authorities maintain near absolute secrecy over the death penalty system, while using partial and generally unverifiable disclosures to claim progress and reject demands for greater transparency.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Countries list China
  • Themes list Drug Offences, Death Penalty, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,
  • Available languages 中国的致命秘密

Document(s)

Anthony Graves: The TT Interview

By Brandi Grissom / The Texas Tribune, on 1 January 2011


2011

Legal Representation


More details See the document

The state of Texas incarcerated him for nearly two decades — and nearly executed him twice — for murders he didn’t commit. And now, the state is balking at giving him the $1.4 million he’s owed for all the years he spent wrongfully imprisoned.

  • Document type Legal Representation
  • Themes list Innocence,

Document(s)

Getting It Right Project

By Brandon Garret / The Innocence Project, on 1 January 2011


Legal Representation


More details See the document

Getting it right is a project to learn more about the central causes of wrongful convictions and suggested reforms to prevent future injustice. It analyses the role of eyewitness, forensics, confessions, informants, representation and law enforcement.

  • Document type Legal Representation
  • Themes list Innocence,

Document(s)

Innocence Database

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2011


NGO report


More details See the document

This database can be searched using any combination of the search filters below. All columns are sortable by clicking the title at the top of the column. To find out more about a case in the list, click on the name of the individual.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Themes list Innocence,

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on 1 January 2014


2014

International law - Regional body


More details See the document

This publication covers the period 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 and offers a concise update that highlights only those changes in the status of the death penalty made since the last Background Paper.

  • Document type International law - Regional body

Document(s)

Death penalty’s unlikely opponents

By Death Penalty Information Center / Eliott C. McLaughlin, on 8 September 2020


2020

Academic report

United States


More details See the document

This article reviews several cases where the families of victim’s speak out against the death penalty.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Murder Victims' Families,

Document(s)

Freedom Inside The Walls

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2005


2005

Arguments against the death penalty


More details See the document

Shot in Benin, Kenya and Malawi ‘Freedom Inside These Walls’ provides disturbing footage of prison conditions inside these countries, which are common to many other prisons in Africa. It highlights the challenges in accessing justice faced by poor people in conflict with the law.

  • Document type Arguments against the death penalty
  • Themes list Death Row Conditions, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

The Final Request

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2012


2012

Multimedia content


More details See the document

This 2012 animation “The Final Request” was produced under the EU funded project ‘Progressive Abolition of the Death Penalty and Alternatives that Respect International Human Rights Standards’. The three-minute animation provides a basic overview of the application of the death penalty in the Middle East and North African region.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment,

Document(s)

Singapore: Cooperate or die: Singapore’s flawed reforms to the mandatory death penalty

By Amnesty International, on 8 September 2020


2020

NGO report

Singapore


More details See the document

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

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

Document(s)

2014 Report – Moratorium on the use of the death penalty

By United Nations, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

arrufrzh-hantes
More details See the document

The present report is submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to its resolution 67/176. It discusses trends towardsthe abolition of the death penalty andthe establishment of moratoriums on executions. The report also reflects on the application of international standards relating to the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty and discusses various international and regional initiativesfor the implementation of resolution67/176.

Document(s)

Flawed Justice: Unfair Trial and the Death Penalty in indonesia

By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2015


2015

NGO report

enfr
More details See the document

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

Document(s)

Italian : COS’È L’OSCE?

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on 8 September 2020


2020

Academic report

enenrufres
More details See the document

L’Europa affronta nuove minacce e sfide. Grazie al suo approccio globale alla sicurezza, l’OSCE offre alla regione un forum per il dialogo e per i negoziati politici, nonché una piattaforma per partenariati multilaterali che attuano iniziative concrete sul terreno.

Document(s)

Portuguese : Instruções: FORMULÁRIO PARA APRESENTAR PETIÇÃO SOBREVIOLAÇÕES DOS DIREITOS HUMANOS

By Organization of American States, on 8 September 2020


Academic report

esfren
More details See the document

O formulário que se segue foi preparado pela Secretaria Executiva da CIDH e se destina a facilitar a apresentação de petições referentes a violações dos direitos humanos praticadas por Estados membros da OEA, denunciadas pelas vítimas de tais violações, por seus familiares, organizações da sociedade civil ou outras pessoas.

Document(s)

Portuguese : Tribunal Africano dos Direitos Humanos e dos Povos

By African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, on 8 September 2020


Academic report

enfr
More details See the document

O Tribunal Africano dos Direitos Humanos e dos Povos foi estabelecido pelo Protocolo à Carta Africana dos Direitos Humanos e dos Povos relativamente ao Estabelecimento do Tribunal Africano dos Direitos Humanos e dos Povos. A missão do Tribunal consiste em complementar e reforçar as funções da Comissão promovendo e protegendo os direitos, as liberdades e as obrigações do homem e dos povos nos Estados membros da União Africana. O Tribunal é composto por onze (11) juízes cidadãos dos Estados membros da União Africana e eleitos em função de suas capacidades individuais.

Document(s)

Last 100 executed: Who are they?

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2014


2014

Arguments against the death penalty


More details See the document

Some defendants who commit murder are automatically excluded from the death penalty in the U.S., such as juveniles and the intellectually disabled. Others with similar deficits are regularly executed. A new study by Robert Smith (l.), Sophie Cull, and Zoe Robinson examined the mitigating evidence present in 100 recent cases resulting in execution, testing whether the offenders possessed mitigating qualities similar to those spared from execution. This infographic presents some of their findings.

  • Document type Arguments against the death penalty
  • Themes list Mental Illness, Arbitrariness,

Document(s)

2015 World Day Against the Death Penalty: Not the Solution to Drug-Related Crimes

By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2015


2015

NGO report


More details See the document

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

  • Document type NGO report
  • Themes list Drug Offences,

Document(s)

Killing in the Name of Justice. The Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia

By Amnesty International / Amnesty International UK, on 8 September 2020


2020

NGO report

Saudi Arabia


More details See the document

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

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

Document(s)

Sharia law and the death penalty

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2015


2015

NGO report


More details See the document

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

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

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on 1 January 2014


2014

International law - Regional body


More details See the document

The 2014 Background Paper covers the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June2014. It highlights changes in the status of the death penalty in the OSCE areathat have taken place since the publication of the 2013 Background Paper.8As inprevious years, the background paper provides information on two participatingStates – Belarus and the United States of America – that continue to impose thedeath penalty, and on four participating States – Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia andTajikistan – that are de facto abolitionist, but retain the death penalty in law. It alsoprovides an overview of relevant developments in some of the 51 OSCE participatingStates that have an abolitionist status.

  • Document type International law - Regional body
  • Themes list Statistics,

Document(s)

Question of the death penalty: Report of the Secretary-General 2014

By United Nations, on 8 September 2020


2020

NGO report

fresarruzh-hant
More details See the document

Pursuant to Human Rights Council decision 18/117, the present report is submittedin order to update previous reports on the question of the death penalty. The reportconfirms that the trend towards the universal abolition of the death penalty is continuing.However, numerous concerns remain with regard to the lack of respect for internationalhuman rights norms and standards in States that still impose the death penalty. Asrequested in Human Rights Council resolution 22/11, the report also includes informationon the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed

Document(s)

Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

By University of Pittsburgh Law Review / Christof Heyns , on 1 January 2014


2014

International law - United Nations

arrufres
More details See the document

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of hisactivities and considers four topics relating to the protection of the right to life:(a) the role of regional human rights systems; (b) less lethal and unmanned weaponsinlaw enforcement; (c) resumptions of the death penalty; and (d) the role ofstatistical indicators.

Document(s)

Capital punishment and the implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty – Yearly supplement of the Secretary-General to his quinquennial report

By United Nations / Human Rights Council, on 8 September 2020


2020

United Nations report

rufrzh-hantes
More details See the document

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

Document(s)

Sentenced to death without execution: Why capital punishment has not yet been abolished in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados

By Death Penalty Project, on 1 January 2020


2020

NGO report


More details See the document

The report Sentenced to Death Without Execution, Why capital punishment has not yet been abolished in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados, was published on 7 April 2020. It presents the views of opinion formers and was written by Roger Hood and Florence Seemungal with the assistance of Amaya Athill.Six independent nations in the Eastern Caribbean – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, all members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) – and Barbados, retain the death penalty for murder. Most of these countries have not executed anyone sentenced to death for at least ten years with the vast majority not carrying out an execution for more than twenty years.This independent empirical study, which presents the views of 100 ‘opinion formers’, drawn from the seven jurisdictions, aims to shed light on why these countries hang on to capital punishment and what are the barriers to the complete abolition of the death penalty in these nations. The respondents were asked about their knowledge of the use of capital punishment in their respective countries and the extent to which, and why, they either supported the policy of retaining the death penalty or were in favour of its abolition, as well as the factors, beliefs, and assumptions that appeared to account for their government’s unwillingness to embrace complete abolition.Key findings include:- Across these seven nations, 48 of the interviewees favoured retention of the death penalty (18 of them strongly) and 52 were in favour of its abolition (30 of them strongly) Of those who favoured retention of the death penalty, only a minority were committed to retaining it: only 10 of 48 interviewees said they would ‘strongly oppose an Act of Parliament to completely abolish the death penalty by definitely voting against it’. Respondents believed the best strategies to persuade their respective governments to embrace reform were: ‘through creating an influential civil society pressure group ‘Citizens Against the Death Penalty’; by ‘mounting a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty’; or by ‘persuading the government to establish a high-level commission to report on the subject’.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Themes list Legal Representation, Mandatory Death Penalty,

Document(s)

Prison guards and the death penalty

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2015


2015

NGO report


More details See the document

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

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

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in 2014: infographic

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2014


2014

NGO report


More details See the document

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

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

Document(s)

Muzzling critical voices: Politicized trials before Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court

By Amnesty International, on 8 September 2020


2020

NGO report

Saudi Arabia

aresarfr
More details See the document

Despite the Saudi Arabian authorities’ rhetoric about reforms, they have unleashed an intense crackdown on citizens promoting change in the last few years. One of the instruments of that repression has been the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), which was set up in 2008 to try individuals accused of terror-related crimes. Amnesty International has documented the cases of 95 individuals who were tried before the SCC between 2011 and 2019. It has concluded that the SCC’s judges have presided over grossly unfair trials, handing down prison sentences of up to 30 years and numerous death sentences, in an effort to silence dissent.

Document(s)

Unfair trials report II: the death penalty is not the common value of Asia

By Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2015


2015

Article

zh-hant
More details See the document

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

Document(s)

The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of the Death Penalty in the United States

By Carol S. Steiker / Annual Review of Law and Social Science, on 1 January 2020


2020

Article

United States


More details See the document

This review addresses four key issues in the modern (post-1976) era of capital punishment in the United States. First, why has the United States retained the death penalty when all its peer countries (all other developed Western democracies) have abolished it? Second, how should we understand the role of race in shaping the distinctive path of capital punishment in the United States, given our country’s history of race-based slavery and slavery’s intractable legacy of discrimination? Third, what is the significance of the sudden and profound withering of the practice of capital punishment in the past two decades? And, finally, what would abolition of the death penalty in the United States (should it ever occur) mean for the larger criminal justice system?

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Oral Statement: 56th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights

By FIACAT, on 8 September 2020


2020

Article


More details See the document

During the 56th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul, Gambia, 21 April – 7 May 2015, the FIACAT made an oral statement as they would like to would like to congratulate on the actions taken by the Committee for the prevention of torture in Africa since the 55th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR. Nevertheless, FIACAT remains greatly concerned by the number of cases of torture documented by its members (ACATs) and the impunity which torturers enjoy.

  • Document type Article
  • Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Death sentences and executions 2014

By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2015


2015

NGO report

rufres
More details See the document

This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2014. As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: official figures; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives; reporting by other civil society organizations; and media reports. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation.

Document(s)

Iran: The use of the death penalty for drug-related offences as a tool of political control

By Taimoor Aliassi / IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS REVIEW, on 1 January 2014


2014

Article

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

fa
More details See the document

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

Document(s)

Female executions 2000 to date

By Capital Punishment U.K., on 1 January 2015


2015

Multimedia content


More details See the document

Listing of women executed worldwide reported per year, between 2000 and 2015. The majority have been hanged or beheaded, whilst others have been shot or executed by lethal injection. Two have suffered electrocution in America and at least five have been stoned to death in Afghanistan, Iran and Somalia.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Themes list Women,

Document(s)

Stakeholder report for Iraq UPR

By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty / The Advocates for Human Rights / Iraqi Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2014


2014

NGO report


More details See the document

The Advocates for Human Rights, in collaboration with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the Iraqi Coalition Against the Death Penalty, submitted a joint stakeholder report to the U.N. Human Rights Council for its October-November 2014 Universal Periodic Review of Iraq. This submission describes Iraq’s international human rights obligations with regard to its use of the death penalty.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Themes list Minorities, Due Process , Fair Trial, International law, Transparency, Torture, Discrimination, Legal Representation, Most Serious Crimes, Hanging, Death Penalty, Statistics, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

A Matter of Life and Death: films, an assembly, lessons and information on the death penalty to inspire students aged 14+

By Amnesty International UK, on 8 September 2020


2020

Campaigning


More details See the document

Through A Matter of Life and Death lessons, assembly and films, students aged 14+ can explore the issues surrounding the use of the death penalty, one of Amnesty’s oldest and most established campaigns.

  • Document type Campaigning
  • Themes list Public opinion,

Document(s)

Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

By United Nations, on 1 January 2012


2012

International law - United Nations

rufrzh-hantesar
More details See the document

In States in which the death penalty continues to be used, international law imposes stringent requirements that must be met for it not to be regarded as unlawful. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur considers the problem of error and the use of military tribunals in the context of fair trial requirements. He also examines the constraint that the death penalty may be imposed only for the most serious crimes: those involving intentional killing. Lastly, he considers the issues of collaboration and complicity, in addition to transparency in respect of the use of the death penalty.

Document(s)

High-level panel discussion on the question of the death penalty

By United Nations / Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) , on 1 January 2019


2019

International law - United Nations

rufrzh-hantes
More details See the document

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

Document(s)

2012 Report – Moratorium on the use of the death penalty

By United Nations, on 3 August 2012


2012

United Nations report

Moratorium

aresfrruzh-hant
More details See the document

The present report is submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to its resolution 65/206. It discusses the trend towards abolition of the death penalty and the establishment of a moratorium on execution. The report also reflects on the application of international standards relating to the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty. It further discusses the importance of making available relevant information with regard to the use of the death penalty, which can contribute to transparent national debates and international and regional initiatives for the promotion of the universal abolition of the death penalty.

Document(s)

Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance

By United Nations, on 1 January 2012


2012

International law - United Nations

arrufrzh-hantes
More details See the document

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, provides an overview of his mandate activities since the submission of the previous report to the General Assembly (A/66/156), including his country visits, communications and other activities.

Document(s)

Death sentences and executions in 2015

By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2016


2016

NGO report

rufres
More details See the document

This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2015. As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: official figures; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives; reporting by other civil society organizations; and media reports. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation.

Document(s)

Growing up on death row. The death penalty and juvenile offenders in Iran

By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2016


NGO report

fr
More details See the document

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

Document(s)

Film “THE ROAD TO LIVINGSTON”

By The Austin Film Society / Chelsea Hernandez, on 8 September 2020


2020

Academic report

United States


More details See the document

Delia Perez-Meyer, an elementary school teacher, has taken a weeklyjourney from the classroom to death row for the past 12 years. She tells of her personal voyage, beginning from a place of frustration to acceptanceand hopeful activism.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Women, Innocence,

Document(s)

German : Was ist das ODIHR?

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on 8 September 2020


Academic report

enenenrufr
More details See the document

Das OSZE- Demokratische Institutionen und Menschenrechte (ODIHR) ist weltweiteine der wichtigsten regionalen Menschrechts institutionen. Das ODIHR hat seinen Sitz in Warschau (Polen) und ist in Europa, im Kaukasus, in Zentralasien und in Nordamerika. Das Bro fordert demokratische Wahlen, Respekt Menschenrechte, Toleranz und Nicht diskriminierung, sowie Rechtstaatlichkeit. Das ODIHR ist die Menschenrechts institution der Organisation Sicherheit und Zusammenarbeit in Europa (OSZE). Die OSZE ist eine zw ischenstaatliche Organisation, die Stabilitt, Prosperit und Demokratie in ihren 56 Teilnehm erstaaten arbeitet. Die OSZE um fasst eine Region, die sich von Vancouver im Westen bis Wladiwostok im Osten erstreckt, und ist damit weltweit die grûte regionale Sicherheits organisation. Menschenrechte und Demokratie sind Grundpfeiler des um fassenden Sicherheitskonzeptes der OSZE.

Document(s)

MADP 2015 Annual Report: Infographics

By Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2015


2015

Multimedia content

United States


More details See the document

Missouri has had a surge in executions since 2008. The following data shows just how arbitrary and discriminatory Missouri’s death penalty system is. Such disparities in race, geography, and gender, are causes for concern that this system is broken and applied capriciously.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Discrimination, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in the U.S. in 2015: infographic

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2015


Multimedia content

United States


More details See the document
  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Article: “Viedo Darryll Stallworth, Former Prosecutor supports SAFE California”

By SAFE California, on 8 September 2020


2020

Academic report

United States


More details See the document

Short video of Darryl Stallworth, a former California Deputy DA who once sought the death penalty as a prosecutor — and now wants to replace the death penalty with life without parole. Darryl believes Prop. 34 is right step for California, and I wanted to share his story with you, too

  • Document type Academic report
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Public debate, Trend Towards Abolition,

Document(s)

Infographic: Death Sentences in the USA in 2012

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2012


2012

NGO report


More details See the document

DPIC collects information on the number of death sentences in the United States. We only count the number of “new sentences,” i.e., we do not recount individuals who were sentenced to death in a previous year, had their sentenced overturned, and were resentenced in the current year.

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

Document(s)

Travelling abroad? Beware the death penalty

By Reprieve / Emmanuelle Purdon , on 1 January 2011


2011

Campaigning


More details See the document

Many Britons abroad think that the local death penalty cannot be applied to them. Most would not know what to do if they got arrested. Yet well-meaning Britons can indeed find themselves facing execution, even if they are innocent.

  • Document type Campaigning
  • Themes list Foreign Nationals,

Document(s)

Entrenchment and/or Destabilization? Reflections on (Another) Two Decades of Constitutional Regulation of Capital Punishment

By Death Penalty Information Center / Carol S. Steiker / Jordan M. Steiker, on 1 January 2012


2012

Article

United States


More details See the document

A recent law review article by Professors Carol and Jordan Steiker examines two decades of attempts to regulate capital punishment and concludes that this process may have paved the way to a finding that the death penalty is unconstitutional

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

A global approach to human rights case law

By HURIDOCS, on 1 January 2013


2013

Working with...


More details See the document

Our vision is to build a database that brings together all the case law of international human rights bodies. It will be the first to make human rights case law available in a coherent manner, break new grounds in terms of accessibility and on top of that will encourage sense-making by adding tools that help the user to go beyond the text.

  • Document type Working with...
  • Themes list Public opinion,

Document(s)

Evidence Does Not Support Death Penalty As Deterrent

By Sacramento Bee, on 1 January 2012


2012

Article

United States


More details See the document

Ever since California added the death penalty to its penal code in the 1870s, supporters have argued that the threat of executions would make potential murderers think twice before committing heinous crimes.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Trend Towards Abolition, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Index of Paralegal Services in Africa

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2012


Book


More details See the document

This Index of Paralegal Services in Africa is the latest resource in PRI’s paralegal series. It lists paralegal services, paralegal networks and university legal clinics in 21 African countries and, where the information was available, provides contact details, a summary of the main services offered, a list of donors and examples of important results achieved.

  • Document type Book
  • Themes list Fair Trial,

Document(s)

The State of Criminal Justice 2012

By American Bar Association / Ronald Tabak, on 1 January 2012


NGO report


More details See the document

The American Bar Association recently published The State of Criminal Justice 2012, an annual report that examines major issues, trends and significant changes in America’s criminal justice system.

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

Document(s)

Life after death: What replaces the death penalty?

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2012


NGO report


More details See the document

Report from PRI that analyzes how there has been a global trend towards the universal abolition of the death penalty and a restriction in the scope and use of capital punishment over the last fifty years.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,

Document(s)

Facilitation manual: A guide to using participatory methodologies for human rights education

By Amnesty International, on 1 January 2014


2014

NGO report


More details See the document

This guide is part of Amnesty International’s Education for Human Dignity project and is intended to be used with the project’s substantive modules on poverty and human rights issues. This facilitation manual has been developed, however, with the necessary flexibility to be used alone as a general resource in a diversity of settings.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Themes list Public opinion, Public debate,

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area 2012

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on 1 January 2012


2012

International law - Regional body


More details See the document

This paper updates The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2011. It is intended to provide a concise update to highlight changes in the status of the death penalty in OSCE participating States since the previous publication and to promote constructive discussion of this issue.

  • Document type International law - Regional body
  • Themes list Trend Towards Abolition,

Document(s)

Resolution 67/176 – Moratorium on the use of the death penalty

By United Nations General Assembly, on 8 September 2020


2020

International law - United Nations

aresfrruzh-hant
More details See the document

Resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 2012 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/67/457/Add.2 and Corr.1)] 67/176. Moratorium on the use of the death penalty

Document(s)

Ten myths and facts about the death penalty

By Reprieve / Clive Stafford Smith , on 1 January 2011


2011

Campaigning


More details See the document

Every 3 hours someone is put to death by their government. Is this justice? Watch first-hand testimonies by Reprieve lawyers and clients. Read ten hard facts about the death penalty. Decide for yourself.

  • Document type Campaigning
  • Themes list Public debate, Death Penalty,

Document(s)

Practice guide for defense counsel representing individuals facing the death penalty in Uganda

By Penal Reform International, on 1 January 2019


2019

Working with...


More details See the document

This Practice guide offers guidance to defense counsel in Uganda for the accused person facing a criminal trial of a capital offence involving a death penalty. The best practices are intended to ensure effective legal representation in order to mitigate the potential of imposition of the death penalty. The best practices detailed in the Practice guide intend to enhance the performance of criminal defense counsel in all stages of the criminal trial proceeding to mitigate the adverse effect of an erroneous conviction and sentencing of the accused person to death.The Practice guide was developed in recognition of the unique nature and effect of the death penalty compared to other criminal penalties, and therefore defense counsel in a capital case should take extraordinary efforts on behalf of the accused to review and ensure compliance with these best practices throughout the proceedings.

  • Document type Working with...
  • Themes list Legal Representation,

Document(s)

Myth #2 – The death penalty reduces crime

By Reprieve / Clive Stafford Smith , on 8 September 2020


2020

Academic report


More details See the document

MYTH: The death penalty acts as a deterrent to potential criminals. FACT: The death penalty does not deter crime. It stimulates it.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Themes list Deterrence ,

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2017

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on 1 January 2017


2017

International law - Regional body


More details See the document

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

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

Document(s)

Failed Justice: Innocent on Death Row

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 1 January 2018


2018

Multimedia content

United States


More details See the document

This video tells the story of one prisoner, Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent 30 years on death row in Alabama for a crime he did not commit.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Innocence, Death Row Conditions,

Document(s)

Courtroom Contortions: How America’s application of the death penalty erodes the principle of equal justice under law

By Anthony G. Amsterdam / American Prospect, on 8 September 2020


2020

Article

United States


More details See the document

One cost this country pays for the death penalty is that its courts are constantly compelled to corrupt the law in order to uphold death sentences. That corruption soils the character of the United States as a nation dedicated to equal justice under law.This is not the only price we pay for being one of the very few democracies in the world that retains capital punishment in the 21st century. But it is a significant item on the cost side of the cost-benefit ledger, something that each thinking person ought to balance in deciding whether he or she supports capital punishment. And it warrants discussion because this cost is little understood. I have spent much of my time for the past 40 years representing death-sentenced inmates in appeals at every level of the state and federal judicial systems, and I am only lately coming to realize how large a tax the death penalty imposes on the quality of justice in those systems.

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

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area – Background Paper 2018

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on 8 September 2020


NGO report


More details See the document

OSCE participating States have made a number of commitments regarding the death penalty, including to consider the potential abolition of capital punishment. In light of these commitments and its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) monitors trends and new developments regarding human rights standards and practices among OSCE participating States related to the death penalty. The findings are presented each year in the Background Paper on the Status of the Death Penalty in the OSCE Area. The background paper is based on the information provided by participating States, in the form of responses to ODIHR questionnaires.

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