Abolish the
Death Penalty

Introduction      Abolish Capital Punishment      Supreme Court      Moving towards Abolition      Action Alerts!

Introduction

Internationally Amnesty International reports that at least 527 prisoners in 23 countries are known to have been executed in 2010; this figure does not include China, which refuses to release its figures. Besides China, the greatest number of executions took place in Iran, Irq, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Yemen.

Globally, capital punishment is largely considered a human rights issue. In April 1999, the United Nations Human Rights Commission voted in favor of a resolution supporting a worldwide moratorium on executions. The United States voted against the resolution, along with 10 other countries including China, Pakistan, Rwanda, and Sudan. However, in December 2007, the U.N. General Assembly voted to ratify a resolution calling for a moratorium on executions "with a view to abolishing the death penalty." The U.S. continued to vote against the resolution.

International human rights treaties prohibit the execution of anyone under the age of 18 at the time a crime was committed. In spite of this, seven countries -- China, Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, U.S., and Yemen -- have executed juvenile offenders. However, in an historic decision on March 1, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the execution of juveniles to be unconstitutional.

Nationally In the U.S., the majority of states do not actively use the death penalty. Since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, the total number of executions in the U.S. (as of January 26, 2012)is 1,279: 1,105 by lethal injection, 157 by electrocution, 11 in a gas chamber, 3 by hanging, and 3 by a firing squad. There are 43 examples of botched executions.

Since 1973, 140 people in 26 states have been freed from death row when evidence of innocence emerged. The average time spent on death row before release is 9.8 years.

An Amnesty International U.S.A. report states that those who murder whites are much more likely to be executed than killers of blacks. According to this report, 80 percent of the people executed since the U.S. resumed the death penalty in 1977 were put to death for killing whites.

Given the uncertainties with and unfair application of the death penalty, U.S. public support for the death penalty has dropped to a 30-year low. Declining support is reflected in the number of state moratorium campaigns. Also, state legislatures are gradually banning the execution of mentally retarded prisoners. There is a growing "crisis of confidence" in using the death penalty.

Abolish Capital Punishment

While the death penalty continues to be vigorously debated, the global movement to abolish it grows steadily. (See Death Penalty Information Center's fact sheet -- updated every 2 weeks.)

Supreme Court

Change of Hearts For many of the above reasons, Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackman moved from supporting the death penalty to opposing it, after witnessing it applied inconsistently and unfairly. In Callins vs. Collins, his arguments that the death penalty is unconstitutional provided a strong foundation for the growing U.S. abolitionist movement:

In a 2001 speech, Supreme Court Justice Sandra O'Connor questioned whether the death penalty is being fairly administered in the United States. She said, "The system may well be allowing some innocent people to be executed." Noting that Minnesota does not have the death penalty, she commented: "You must breathe a big sigh of relief every day."

Supreme Court justices are rethinking capital punishment and are more in favor of stricter scrutiny of death penalty cases. There have been significant rulings:

Moving toward Abolition

Historic Actions Prior to leaving office early in 2003, Illinois Governor George Ryan courageously commuted the death sentences of the remaining 157 death row inmates in Illinois and granted clemency to 10 inmates who were awaiting sentencing or resentencing. He also granted four pardons to death row inmates whose convictions, Ryan was convinced, were part of the state's failed justice system and "shameful scorecard" of wrongful convictions. Ryan's decision was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court in January 2004.

On April 3, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a stay and allowed Oklahoma to execute a man who killed two people when he was 17. However, on August 26, 2003, in a precedent-setting case, the Missouri Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of Christopher Simmons (who murdered a young woman when he was 17) to life in prison.

In May 2004, Governor Brad Henry took an historic step by commuting the death sentence of a convicted murderer from Mexico to life without parole. In an historic August 2007 judgement, Governor Perry of Texas, who has overseen more executions than any other governor, commuted the sentence of Kenneth Foster. In February, 2006, California (home to the largest death row population) indefinitely postponed Michael Moreles' execution because of questions about the lethal injection process. In 2007, the Supreme Court Justices blocked the execution of a delusional Texas killer.

Religious Statements Most major religions oppose the death penalty. Pax Christi USA has issued an appeal calling for an end to the death penalty. The National Jewish/Catholic Consultation issued a powerful statement in December 1999, calling for abolition. In March 2005, the U.S. Catholic Bishops started a campaign to end use of capital punishment.

Other Movements Forward In light of overwhelming evidence that race and poverty are key elements in deciding who lives and dies, the American Bar Association called for a death penalty moratorium. In November 2005, a bill to reinstate the death penalty in Massachusetts was rejected by the House of Representatives; also, Governor Warner of Virginia commuted the death sentence of Robin Lovitt to life in prison. In 2007, New Jersey became the first state in 30 years to repeal the death penalty! In 2008, Nebraska effectively ended the death penalty when the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled the electric chair cruel and unusual punishment. Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and New Mexico are the latest states to end the death penalty.

In September 2011, the high-profile execution of Troy Davis, despite evidence of innocence, undermined its validity of the death penalty in the public mind. Later in 2011, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaben placed a moratorium on all executions.

Countless groups and organizations are working to end capital punishment. Momentum for repeal is growing nationwide. Up-to-date U.S. information is provided by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) and by the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty (NCADP). The Moratorium Campaign spearheads a worldwide effort to unite individuals and organizations in calling for a global moratorium. Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, known as the Angel on Death Row (because of the book Dead Man Walking, along with the movie, opera, and play with the same name) is one of its leaders.

Action Alerts

Choose one or more of the following ways to work for elimination of capital punishment:

• Sign PFADP's abolition pledge.
• Contemplate these compelling stories:
• • Students protesting the death penalty during spring break, find purpose
  • Video Story of Tim Masters, a 15-year-old falsely accused of murder, and only exonerated after years in prison when DNA was finally used to prove his innocence
  • Video of prosecutor who now opposes the death penalty; a DVD about Carroll Pickett, who served as a death row prison chaplain in Texas; an audio of Hector Black's moving story of forgiving his daughter's killer; and a video of Ron McAndrew, a former prison warden
  • Craig Watkins, a Texas proscecutor defending the innocent
  • The Death of Innocents, a book by Helen Prejean and Choosing Mercy by Antoinette Bosco, a mother of murder victims, who chose forgiveness to "free herself from the hurt"
  • A Saint on Death Row by Thomas Cahill, an unforgettable book on transformation of, friendship with, and advocacy for an inmate on death row
  • Death at Midnight: The Confessions of an Executioner by Don Cabana, whose experience with death row inmates changed his beliefs
• Reflect on the Pew Forum debate on the death penalty.
• Stop expansion of the federal death penalty. Use resources that are part of the Catholic bishops' to end the death penalty.
• Read the inspirational story of forgiveness of Juan Melendez and Bud Welch, who chose forgiveness -- from opposite sides of the death penalty issue. Also reflect on Mary Johnson's moving story of forgiveness and reconciliation.
• Sign and have notarized a Quaker Declaration of Life.
• If your state has the death penalty, urge your church, city council, civil group, and other organizations to pass a resolution calling for a moratorium on executions.

Modified January 27, 2012.