The
Death Penalty: An International Perspective The
Death Penalty: An International Perspective
DPIC's
presentation on the U.S. death penalty and international law
at the Ford Foundation
Foreign
Nationals on U.S. death rows
Executions
around
the world
International
Developments More
than half the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in
law or practice.
The number of abolitionist and retentionist countries as of December 18,1999:
TOTAL-Abolitionist in law or practice: 106
Retentionist Countries: 90
ExecutionsIn 1998, there were 1,625 known executions in 37 countries, 80% of which took place in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the USA and Iran. Because these figures include only documented cases; the true figures are likely to be much higher. (Source: Amnesty International)
Below is a list of the countries with the most executions
in 1998. The United States carried out 68 executions during this time period.Countries
with the Most Executions in 1998
| China | 1,067 |
|
28 |
|
6 |
|
2 |
|
1 |
| Congo (DR) | 100 |
|
24 |
|
6 |
|
2 |
|
several |
| USA | 68 |
|
24 |
|
6 |
|
1 |
|
?* |
| Iran | 66 |
|
18 |
|
5 |
|
1 |
|
? |
| Egypt | 48 |
|
17 |
|
4 |
|
1 |
|
? |
| Belarus | 33 |
|
10 |
|
4 |
|
1 | ||
| Taiwan | 32 |
|
9 |
|
2 |
|
1 | ||
| Saudi Arabia | 29 |
|
6 |
|
2 |
|
1 |
* Hundreds of executions were reported in Iraq, although Amnesty International was unable to confirm most of the reports.
The
U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari to Michael Domingues (Domingues
v. Nevada, 98-8327) who argued that his execution would violate the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because he was only 16 years
old at the time of his crime. The treaty, which prohibits the execution
of juvenile offenders, was ratified by the United States in 1992. However,
the U.S. attached a reservation in order to allow the execution of those
who committed crimes while under the age of 18. The Court's decision not
to review the case is not a decision on the merits of Domingues's claim,
which may be raised in other courts.
A new
report by the Bureau
of Justice Statistics, "Crime and Justice in the United States and
in England and Wales, 1981-96," highlights some remarkable differences
between the U.S. and England. Comparing 1996 murder rates, the report found
the
U.S. murder rate to be nearly six times higher than England's. In addition,
the use of firearms in violent crimes is more prevalent in the U.S. than
in England. Based on 1996 statistics, "firearms were used in 68% of U.S.
murders but 7% of English murders, and 41% of U.S. robberies but 5% of
English robberies." England abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes
in 1973. In crimes for which the death penalty is not used, the U.S. crime
rates are similar to or even lower than England's. See Deterrence.
The U.N.
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
has issued a report on the death penalty in the U.S. at the meeting of
the U.N. Commission on Human Rigths. The report found a "significant degree
of unfairness and arbitrariness" in the U.S. death penalty, and
particularly faulted the execution of juvenile
offenders and the mentally
retarded. The report called for a moratorium on executions. (N.Y.
Times, 4/7/98).(full
text of report)
The
United
Nation's Commission on Human Rights approved a resolutionin
April, 1998 co-sponsored by 63 nations which calls
for a moratorium on the death penalty. Among those voting
against
the resolution, were U.S., Bangladesh, China, South Korea and Rwanda.
For more information, see Hands
Off Cain.
Amnesty
International recently published its "Report 1998", covering
the period January to December 1997. In the report, Amnesty recounts its
efforts in 1997 to protect the human rights of people worldwide. The report
documents human rights abuses that occured in countries and territories
throughout the world during, including information on the use of the death
penalty.
European
Parliament official Alan Donnelly warned of possible economic consequences
for U.S. states that continue use of the death penalty. In a letter to
Texas Governor George Bush, Mr. Donnelly pointed to the European Parliament's
condemnation of the death penalty and stated that "Many companies, under
pressure from shareholders and public opinion to apply ethical business
practices, are beginning to consider the possibility of restricting the
investment in the U.S. to states that do not apply the death penalty."
(Source: Catholics Against Capital Punishment News Notes/ July 20, 1998).
The world's
nations approved by a vote of 120 to 7 the establishment of an international
criminal court to address such offenses as genocide or crimes against
humanity. The countries voting in opposition to the court were: United
States, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, Yemen, China and Israel.
Estonia's
parliament voted to ratify an international treaty which obliges the country
to end its death penalty. The head of the parliament's legal committee,
Daimar Liiv, noted: "This is not 1956 and the evil empire, it's 1998 and
we are striving to become one of the cultural nations of the world."
(Reuters, 3/18/98).
Azerbaijian's
parliament approved a proposal by its president to abolish the death penalty.
All 128 people on death row will be given lengthy prison terms. Albania
is
committed to abolishing the death penalty by June, 1998. On the other hand,
Guatemala is imitating the U.S. in using lethal injection for the
first time. A peasant, Manuel Martinez was executed on Feb. 10, 1998.
The
40-nation Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg called for a ban
on the death penalty. The Ukraine, formerly one of the world's leaders
in executions, has now halted the death penalty and has been admitted to
the Council. Russia suspended all executions in August 1996. South
Africa's parliament voted to formally abolish the death penalty, which
had earlier been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.
Eduard
Shevardnadze, President of Georgia, a former republic of the Soviet
Union, announced on July 24, 1997 that all 54 people on that country's
death row will have their death sentences commuted. This will expedite
Georgia's entry into the Council of Europe which requires its members to
end the death penalty.
The
President of Malawi recently announced a moratorium on all executions
in that country and the commutation of all existing death sentences. He
said: "As long as I am in office I will never sign an order of execution.
. . . Life is sacred. It is only for God to take, not for me." The announcement
followed a high level visit from Amnesty
International.
Latvia
moved
closer to abolishing the death penalty with a committee vote recommending
a full parliamentary vote to adopt the section of the European Convention
on Human Rights abolishing capital punishment. (Reuters, 1/6/99). In Turkmenistan,
the President suspended the death penalty after meeting with members
of their Supreme Court. In past years, Turkmenistan has sentenced hundreds
of people to death. (Associated Press, 1/6/99).
Bulgaria
and
Lithuania recently joined the growing number of countries without
the death penalty. Lithuania's constitutional court found the death penalty
to be unconstitutional and Bulgaria's parliament voted legislation to abolish
the death penalty.
On Dec.
10, 1998, the 50th anniversary of UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
President
Clinton issued an Executive Order stating: "It shall be the
policy and practice of the Government of the United States, being committed
to the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
fully to respect and implement its obligations under the international
human rights treaties to which it is a party, including the ICCPR [International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights], the CAT [Convention Against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment], and the
CERD [Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination]."
(Sec.1(a)). For an analysis of how well those treaties are being respected,
given the U.S.'s ongoing executions of juvenile offenders, the mentally
retarded, those not informed of their rights under the Vienna Convention,
and executions influenced by racial discrimination, see DPIC's
recent report at the Ford Foundation.
The head
of the presidential pardons commision in Moscow announced that all of
Russia's death row inmates will have their sentences commuted. There
have been no executions in Russia since 1996 when President Boris Yeltsin
imposed a moratorium following admission to the Council of Europe. In order
to secure membership in the Council of Europe, Russia had promised to abolish
the death penalty. (Agence France Presse, 2/13/99).
Walter
LaGrand was executed in Arizona's gas chamber on March 3rd,
one week after his brother Karl LaGrand was executed by lethal injection.The
brothers are foreign
nationals from Germany, which has vigorously protested these
executions. Neither brother was informed of his rights under the Vienna
Convention to consult with his embassy at the time of arrest. The World
Court at The Hague issued a unanimous opinion stating: "The United
States of America should take all measures at its disposal to ensure that
Walter LaGrand is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings,
and should inform the Court of all the measures it has taken in implementation
of this Order." (International Court of Justice, No. 104, March 3, 1999)
The Philippines
executed Leo Echegaray on February 5, 1999, the first execution in the
nation since 1976. The death penalty was re-introduced in the Philippines
in 1994. The execution follows a lengthy debate throughout the country
which is mainly Roman Catholic. (Reuters, 2/5/99)
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. The resolution
calls on countries to restrict the use of the death penalty including not
imposing the death penalty for juvenile offenders and limiting the number
of offenses for which the death penalty can be imposed. (New York Times,
4/29/99)
Yeltsin
Commutes All Russian Death Sentences. Boris Yeltsin signed a decree
commuting
the death sentence for all of the convicts on Russia's death
row. Yeltsin issued the decree today after the presidential commission
for pardons reviewed the cases of all 716 convicts on death row and recommended
that they be given either life sentences or 25-year prison terms. This
move puts additional pressure on the lower house of parliment, the Duma,
to pass a long-delayed bill to ban capital punishment. (Associated Press
6/3/99).
The
U.N.
Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights adopted a
resolution that condemned the imposition of the death penalty on
juvenile offenders,
i.e., those who committed crimes when they were under age 18. The resolution
called on countries that carried out the practice to end it. In a preambular
paragraph, the resolution specifically mentioned the United States, Iran,
Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Yemen, as six countries who executed
juvenile offenders in 19 cases since 1990. Ten of those executions occurred
in the United States. The preambular paragraph led to extensive debate
and statements in vigorous opposition by several of the countries. (Resolution
E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.16) (United Nations Press Release, 8/24/99) See also,
Statements on the
Death Penalty
Germany announced that it would sue the United States in the
International Court of Justice in The Hague for violating international
laws and treaties by executing two German foreign nationals earlier this
year in Arizona. Germany maintains that brothers Karl
and Walter LaGrand were denied consular access, as required by the
Vienna Convention. Germany also says that Arizona prosecutors violated
the Convention because they knew the defendants were foreign nationals
and did not inform German authorities of the arrests and convictions for
the 1982 crimes until 1992.
In a rare and open criticism of the
United States, German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin said, "The
obligation to respect international laws is valid for everyone.... Respecting
international law cannot be a one-way street." (Reuters 9/16/99) See also,
Foreign Nationals
on Death Row.
(photo:
by Scanpix, Norway)
In Botswana, in a critical death penalty test case, the court overturned the capital convictions of Mr. Maauwe and Mr. Motswetla, opening the way for a new trial. Raising issues that mirrored death penalty problems in the U.S., the defendants challenged the adequacy of their assigned counsel, but their letter was never placed before the proper court. The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, Ditshwanelo, which represented the defendants on appeal, noted the extremely low pay and lack of experience among lawyers assigned to capital trials. (Botswana Centre for Human Rights, Press Release, Oct. 29, 1999)
On December 27th,
Turkmenistan
became the first of the five former Soviet Central Asian republics
to abolish the death penalty. The people's council passed a resolution
amending the constitution and removing the death penalty. "Now in our country
neither the government nor anyone else has the right to take away human
life," said Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov. (Reuters, 12/27/99)
Amnesty
International
600 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, 5th
Floor
Washington, DC 20003
phone: 202/675-8582
fax: 202/546-7142
e-mail: aidp@igc.apc.org
International Centre for Criminal Law & Human Rights
European Office
Helmstraat 16C, Suite D2NL-6211
TA Maastricht, The Netherlands
Phone: +31-43-350-0074
Fax: +31-43-350-0075
American Office:
110 East D Street, Suite A
Benicia, CA 94530
Phone: 707-745-1362
Fax: 707-745-1116
The Centre is prepared to write amicus briefs in
death penalty cases emphasizing international human rights issues. Contact
them at:
28A Breakspears Road
London SE4 1UW
United Kingdom
Phone: 44-181-692-3717
Fax: 44-181-694-2424
rmlofton.icclhr@mcmail.com