Abolish the death penalty

DEATH PENALTY IN 2008-The journey towards abolition continues

Amnesty International recorded that at least 2390 people were executed and at least 8864 sentenced to death around the world in 2008. Read more

The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice.

It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner.

News & actions

News & actions

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Russia moves one step closer to death penalty abolition

20 November 2009

Amnesty International has welcomed a decision by Russia's Constitutional Court that brings the country a step closer to abolishing the death penalty.

Ohio moves to resume executions under new protocol

20 November 2009

Amnesty International is appealing to the authorities in the state of Ohio not to resume executions, following their adoption of a new lethal injection protocol.
Barack Obama speaking in Mexico City on Friday, 17 April

Obama must press China to uphold human rights

13 November 2009

President Obama must use his first official visit to China to urge the authorities to reverse the sharp rise in human rights violations in the country, Amnesty International said on Friday.

Iranian authorities must stop imminent execution of Kurdish man

13 November 2009

The Iranian authorities must halt the imminent execution of Sherko Moarefi, a Kurdish man convicted of "enmity against God" over his alleged membership of a proscribed Kurdish organization.
Kurdish man Ehsan (Esma’il) Fattahian, executed in Iran, 11 November 2009

Iran executes Kurdish man

11 November 2009

Ehsan Fattahian was hanged in connection with his alleged membership of an illegal opposition group. Two other Iranian Kurdish men also feared to be at imminent risk of execution.
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Trend towards abolition

Trend towards abolition

No of countries that carried out executions

Amnesty International monitors developments around the application of the death penalty worldwide. The graph above is based on figures that Amnesty International publishes every year.

Watch and Listen

Watch and Listen

The death penalty in the Americas in 2008

Video: The death penalty in the Americas in 2008

Sam Millsap, former District Attorney in Texas, USA, sentenced to death Ruben Cantu for capital murder. In 2005, thirteen years after his execution, as serious questions were raised concerning Cantu’s guilt, Millsap acknowledged that he made an error in seeking the death penalty on the basis of the testimony of a single eyewitness. Sam Millsap is now actively campaigning against the death penalty.
The death penalty in Asia in 2008

Video: The death penalty in Asia in 2008

Forty years ago, judge Kumamoto Norimichi convicted and sentenced to death Iwao Hakamada, despite believing he was innocent. When arrested, Iwao Hakamada was tortured until he confessed to the crime. He then retracted his confession. He remains on death row, facing imminent execution.
The death penalty in Europe and Central Asia in 2008

Video: The death penalty in Europe and Central Asia in 2008

Interview with Oleg Alkaev: he carried out executions in Belarus between 1996 and 2001.
The death penalty in Middle East and North Africa in 2008

Video: The death penalty in Middle East and North Africa in 2008

Dr Mohammed Al-Tarawneh worked in the court of appeal in Jordan for 25 years. He has first hand knowledge about the application of the death penalty in Jordan.