For a World Free from Death Penalty

As today is the World Day Against the Death Penalty, it is important to understand the extent to which the death penalty acts as a denial of the human right to life in its inherently cruel, unjust, and inhumane methods of execution. No matter the way in which the execution is carried out, such as by stoning, electrocution, beheading, or even lethal injection, the death penalty remains a violent act that should not be a part of any country’s judicial system. Those who are innocent may be wrongly convicted by an imperfect justice system. Those who are tortured into confessing a crime may die as innocent persons as a result of a politically motivated trial. Those who are only children may still be executed despite international human rights treaties that prohibit the execution of those under the age of 18.

To this day however, many countries continue to utilize the death penalty. These countries include: China, USA, Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Korea, among others. Despite its on going use, 174 out of the 193 member states of the UN were execution free in 2012, revealing that there has been progress in the global abolition of the death penalty. But what stops countries from outlawing the death penalty? Numerous proponents justify the punishment as a way to deter crime, though there remains no evidence to support this argument. Supporters also argue that there are humane methods in carrying out an execution, such as by lethal injection. However, the use of lethal injection does not guarantee a painless death. One mistake in giving the lethal injection could lead to a paralyzed, but not yet unconscious person who would experience pain by not being able to breathe as he or she went into cardiac arrest. By justifying the death penalty as a punishment as “eye for an eye”, one would also have to justify the death penalty’s disproportionate use on the poor, minorities, and ethnic and religious groups and its use a political tool to suppress dissent.

As Amnesty International continues its fight to help to end the death penalty around the world, it will be interesting to see the improvements that the world makes in the coming years. Though, without a constant effort to campaign against the death penalty by all different kinds of people from around the world, human beings will still be subjected to this inhumane punishment in the 21^st Century.

Justin 

Volunteer at Amnesty International Morocco

Boston University, Class 2015