Death Penalty

2 Facts and Figures s76 countries - for all crimes s15 countries - for all but exceptional crimes (e.g. wartime crimes) s20 countries can be considered abolitionist in practice (they retain the DP in law, but have not carried out executions for the past 10 years) Ô111 countries have abolished DP in law or practice Ô84 other countries retain and use the DP Over half of the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

Death Penalty 3 Facts and Figures 2 Trends sProgress towards worldwide abolition: more than 3 countries a year on average have abolished the DP for all crimes in the past decade sMoves to reintroduce the death penalty: once abolished, the DP is seldom reintroduced (since 1985, only 4 abolitionist countries reintroduced DP vs. abolitions in over 40 countries)

Death Penalty 4 Offences ?

Death Penalty 5 Offences For any reason sometimes a pretext for persecuting political opponents

Death Penalty 6 Executions 2001 sat least 5,265 sentences to death in 69 countries sat least 3,048 executions in 31 countries TRUE FIGURES ARE HIGHER!

Death Penalty 7 Executions Countries 90 percent of all known executions took place in sChina (at least 2,468 executions - true figure much higher) sIran (at least 139 executions) sSaudi Arabia (at least 79 executions) sUSA (66 executions)

Death Penalty 8 Executions in the USA s71 executions in the year 2002, sbringing to 820 the total number executed since the use of the DP was resumed in 1977 sover 3,700 prisoners were under sentence of death as of 1 January 2002 s38 of the 50 US states provide for the death penalty in law

Death Penalty 9 Executions of Juvenile Offenders sInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights sAmerican Convention on Human Rights sConvention on the Rights of the Child prohibit anyone under 18 years old at the time of crime being sentenced to death. International Human Rights Treaties, such as

Death Penalty 10 Executions of Juvenile Offenders More than 100 countries whose laws still provide for the DP for at least some offences have laws specifically excluding the execution of juvenile offenders. BUT: Since 1990, 7 countries are known to have executed juvenile offenders: Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, USA and Yemen (Pakistan and Yemen have now abolished executions of juvenile offenders in law) The USA carried out the greatest number of known executions of child offenders (17 since 1990).

Death Penalty 11 Executions of Juvenile Offenders »I don’t think we should be proud of the fact that the United States is the world leader in the execution of child offenders.« (U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, November 11, 1999) »I don’t think we should be proud of the fact that the United States is the world leader in the execution of child offenders.« (U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, November 11, 1999)

Death Penalty 12 Mental Retardation / Illness sNot to impose it on those under the age of 18 at the time of the crime. sNot to impose it on a person suffering from any form of mental disorder (mentally ill and/or mentally retarded). In April 2000, the UN Commission on Human Rights urged all states that maintain the DP:

Death Penalty 13 Mental Retardation / Illness sJapan sKyrgyztan sUSA (35 executions of people with mental retardation ) U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has received reports of the executions of people with mental retardation in only 3 countries:

Death Penalty 14 USA: Racial Discrimination »... a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty...« »... i.e. those who murdered whites were found more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murdered blacks.« (U.S. General Accounting Office, Death Penalty Sentencing, 1990) »... a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty...« »... i.e. those who murdered whites were found more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murdered blacks.« (U.S. General Accounting Office, Death Penalty Sentencing, 1990)

Death Penalty 15 USA: Racial Discrimination sSince 1977, over 80% of the death row defendants have been executed for killing whites (nationally only 50% of murder victims are white). Several studies concluded: In the US, holding all other factors constant, the single most reliable predictor of whether someone will be sentenced to death is the race of the victims.

Death Penalty 16 USA: Racial Discrimination Race of the defendants sA study on the city of Philadelphia (1998): the odds of receiving a death sentence in Philadelphia are nearly 4 times higher if the defendant is black sDifferential treatment of Afro-Americans at every turn: from initial decisions to plea bargaining to jury sentencing sAll-white juries are still commonplace. Prosecutors may, in most states, remove potential black jurors - without giving any reasons. s98% of chief District Attorneys (=responsible of overseeing the decision on whether to seek a death sentence) are white.

Death Penalty 17 Socio-Economic Discrimination »Race, ethnic origin and economic status appear to be key determinants of who will, and who will not, receive the death sentence« in the United States. (UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Abritary Executions, 1997) »Race, ethnic origin and economic status appear to be key determinants of who will, and who will not, receive the death sentence« in the United States. (UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Abritary Executions, 1997) USA: s95% of death row inmates cannot afford a lawyer spoor people are subjected to convictions and death sentences that equally or more culpable but more affluent people would not have received

Death Penalty 18 Executions of Innocent ssince 1990, 350 people have been wrongfully convicted of capital crimes sof these, 23 were executed sbetween 1973 and 2002, 99 people in 24 US states have been released from death rows after evidence of their wrongful convictions emerged sinadequate defense spolice and prosecutorial misconduct sfalse testimony / mistaken eyewitness testimony sracial prejudice ssuppression of evidence / misinterpretation of evidence scommunity pressure Factors leading to wrongful convictions Situation in the USA:

Death Penalty 19 Cost sA New York study estimated the cost of an execution at 3 times than of life imprisonment. sIn Florida, each execution costs the state $3.2 million, compared to $600,000 for life imprisonment. USA: Capital punishment is a far more expensive system than one whose maximum penalty is life in prison:

Death Penalty 20 Why is it so expensive? sunder a DP system, trials have 2 separate phases (conviction and sentencing) - they are typically preceded by special motions and extra jury selection questioning smore investigative costs are generally incurred in capital cases The greatest costs of the DP are incurred prior to and at trial (not in post-conviction proceedings):

Death Penalty 21 Deterrance »Research has failed to provide scientific proof that executions have a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment and such proof is unlikely to be forthcoming.« (Roger Hood, The Death Penalty: A World-Wide Perspective,1996) »Research has failed to provide scientific proof that executions have a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment and such proof is unlikely to be forthcoming.« (Roger Hood, The Death Penalty: A World-Wide Perspective,1996) People who murder are rarely rational at the time they commit the crime: sinfluence of drugs/alcohol sin the grip of fear or rage ssuffering from mental illness/retardation

Death Penalty 22 Deterrance sStudies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime. sOn the contrary: DP has a brutalization effect.

Death Penalty 23 Brutalization sStudy on Texas: high number of executions, high murder rate sStudy on California: after the 1st execution in 1992 (after 25 years) - increases in homicides in the year following the execution sAmerican-wide study: higher crime rates in countries with DP Studies found incidence that DP has a brutalization effect. New Times survey (Sept. 2000): homicide rate in states with DP has been 48% to 101% higher than in states without the DP Falling of homicide rates in abolitionist countries (e.g. Canada)

Death Penalty 24 WHY DO YOU KILL PEOPLE TO SHOW THAT THE KILLING OF PEOPLE IS WRONG?

Death Penalty 25 It’s up to you! Contact: amnesty international Österreich Arbeitsgruppe für verfolgte GewerkschafterInnen Moeringgasse 10/1 A-1150 Wien Speaker: Sabine Vogler Tel.: