Key reason 'inhuman' death penalty 'must be abolished', according to experts
The leading human rights organization, founded more than 60 years ago, has shared six reasons why capital punishment should be banned worldwide.
Leading human rights organization Amnesty International has explained why the death penalty ‘must be abolished’.
The group, which was founded in the 1960s and operates in 155 countries, has shared six reasons for why capital punishment should be outlawed around the globe. The charity describes the act of killing prisoners as “an irreversible and violent punishment that has no place in any criminal justice system.” This comes amid a series of particularly brutal executions have taken place in recent weeks.
It adds: “No matter what the crime, who the alleged criminal is, or the method proposed to execute them – we will always stand against it.” Amnesty has backed up its argument in a recent editorial post that offers specific reasons for why the practice should be resigned to the history books.
The charity's key point is that the death penalty is the “ultimate denial of human rights”. It cites the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the United Nations, which states that individuals should have ‘the right to life’ and ‘the right not to be tortured or subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment’. Amnesty says the death penalty “violates” these two principles.
The group also claims that the death penalty “does not deter crime”. It quotes a report by independent researchers at America’s National Research Council of the Academies that suggested US states with capital punishment had a similar murder rate to those without it. Amnesty further cautions that the death penalty is “irreversible” and “mistakes happen”. The charity reports that 195 US death row prisoners have so far been exonerated completely for their crimes. It further adds that more may have been killed for crimes they “did not commit”.
Amnesty goes on to say that the death penalty is frequently used by countries that do not have ‘fair justice systems’. The group states: “‘Top’ executing countries such as – China, Iran and Saudi Arabia – are all guilty of issuing death sentences under circumstances that are far from transparent.”
Amnesty says that capital punishment is also used to “discriminate” against certain groups of people. It states: “You are more likely to be sentenced to death if you are a member of a minority group within a state that executes. The death penalty disproportionately affects members of racial, ethnic and religious minorities, as well as those living in poverty.”
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Following on from this, Amnesty also says that the death penalty can be used as a “political tool”. It suggests: “You are more likely to be sentenced to death if state authorities see you as a threat.
Authorities in Iran, Sudan and Saudi Arabia all have a track record of issuing death sentences to opposition activists or potential threats to those in power.”
The comments come after a second South Carolina death row inmate chose to die by firing squad just five weeks after the state carried out its first execution using the controversial method.
Mikal Mahdi, who pleaded guilty to murder for killing a police officer in 2004, is scheduled to be executed April 11. Mahdi, 41, had the choice of dying by firing squad, lethal injection or electrocution.
He will be the first inmate to be executed in the state since Brad Sigmon chose to be shot to death on March 7. A doctor pronounced Sigmon dead less than three minutes after three bullets tore into his heart.