INDEX
Article(s)
Abolition of the death penalty for terrorism in Chad
By FIACAT, on 30 April 2020
On 28 April 2020, the Chadian National Assembly unanimously voted to abolish the death penalty for crimes of terrorism.
2020
Chad
Article(s)
How Colorado became the 22nd abolitionist State in the USA
By Aurélie Plaçais, on 30 March 2020
On March 23 2020, the Governor of the State of Colorado, Jared Polis, signed legislation abolishing the death penalty. The bill SB20-100 had passed the Senate by a 19-13 vote on January 30 and the House by a 38-27 vote on February 26. He also commuted the sentences of the three people on death row […]
2020
United States
Article(s)
Armenia and Angola Commit to Irreversible Abolition
By Aurelie Placais, on 4 October 2019
Following the United Nations Treaty Event in New York, two more states have committed to irreversible abolition of the death penalty by signing and ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (OP2-ICCPR). The Protocol was highlighted by the United Nations […]
2019
Angola
Armenia
Article(s)
New Hampshire: 21st State to Abolish the Death Penalty in the USA
By Aurelie Placais, on 12 June 2019
On 30 May 2019, the NH state Senate voted to override the governor’s veto. The death penalty repeal took effect immediately.
2019
United States
Article(s)
10 years with no hanging in the Caribbean
By Greater Caribbean for Life, on 19 December 2018
The Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL) notes that 19 December, 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the hanging of Charles la Place in St Kitts and Nevis. He was the last person who was hanged in the English-speaking Caribbean.
2018
Article(s)
Death penalty: Global abolition closer than ever as record number of countries vote to end executions
By Amnesty International, on 17 December 2018
A record number of States – 121 out of 193 member states – voted in favour of a moratorium on the death penalty at the United Nations General Assembly on December the 17th. A world without the death penalty may become a reality according to Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International’s Death Penalty Expert.
2018
Moratorium
Article(s)
Washington State Abolishes Death Penalty
By Nicolas Chua, on 26 October 2018
On 11 October 2018, Washington became the 20th US state to abolish the death penalty: the court ruling, written by Chief Justice Mary E. Fairhurst, cited the “arbitrary and racially biased manner” in which the death penalty was applied as a violation of the state’s constitutional prohibition of “cruel punishment”.
2018
United States
Article(s)
Gambia commits to full abolition of the death penalty
By Nicolas Chua, on 26 October 2018
On 28 September 2018, during the UN Treaty Event in New York, Gambia ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the irreversible abolition of the death penalty, alongside the Convention Against Torture.
Gambia
Article(s)
Caribbean Court of Justice strikes down mandatory death penalty in Barbados
By Death Penalty Project, on 27 June 2018
In probably the most significant judgment to arise from the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) so far, the region’s highest court has unanimously declared the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional in Barbados, finally settling an issue which has occupied domestic and international tribunals for almost 15 years.
2018
Barbados
Article(s)
Burkina Faso has joined the global trend toward abolition of the death penalty in Africa
By International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), on 6 June 2018
On 31 May, the Burkinabe Parliament abolished the death penalty by adopting a new criminal code that excludes it from the arsenal of sentences regardless of crimes considered and circumstances in which they were committed. Thus, Burkina Faso become the 144th States in the World and the 40th African State abolitionist in law and in practice. Our organizations welcome this major step which strengthens the Burkinabe legal framework for the protection of human rights and is part of regional and international movement in favour of the abolition of this inhuman, ineffective and irreversible punishment.
2018
Burkina Faso