World Day Against the Death Penalty
Puck78
Posts: 737
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
10 October 2006
The fourth World Day Against the Death Penalty: Executions as a failure of justice
Thousands of people in numerous countries will mark the fourth World Day Against the Death Penalty today by calling for a world without executions.
The theme for this year’s day, organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, is “The Death Penalty: A Failure of Justice”.
Amnesty International said that the countries that use the death penalty do so in a manifestly unfair manner in violation of international laws and standards.
Amnesty International and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty want to bring attention to the appallingly low standards of justice used in the application of capital punishment in many countries. This is another compelling reason why the world must turn its back on state judicial killings.
The day highlights failures in the judicial systems of China, Iran, Nigerian, Saudi Arabia and the USA; all of which are failing to meet the standards required by the international community – via numerous international treaties – when using the death penalty.
Amnesty International believes the death penalty is never acceptable and every execution constitutes an extreme violation of the right to life. The organization also said the violation is exacerbated when human life is taken by the state via an unfair judicial process.
China has executed persons who later transpired to be innocent after the alleged murder victim reappeared alive and well.
Iran is one of only two countries which currently execute child offenders -- the other being Pakistan.
In Saudi Arabia foreign nationals face discrimination and disadvantage from the judicial system, often being tried in a language they do not understand.
The USA has sentenced individuals to death who clearly suffered from mental health disabilities.
In Nigeria a woman was sentenced to death after a trial at which she had no legal representation.
To take human life after such appallingly low standards of justice makes the case for the abolition of death penalty all the more compelling and urgent.
However, the momentum for a world free of executions gathers pace and 2006 has witnessed further progress towards a death penalty free world, with the Philippines and Moldova having abolished the death penalty. This takes to 129 the number of countries that no longer have capital punishment in law or practice.
Once abolished, very few countries consider reintroducing executions. However, the authorities in Peru and Poland are currently considering attempting the retrograde step of amending their laws to bring back the death penalty.
Amnesty International said that the World Day provides advocates of the death penalty the opportunity to re-examine their support for this outmoded form of punishment. The movement away from the death penalty has been dramatic and the small minority of states that continue to execute should ask themselves what is achieved by such a brutal act as the killing of a defenceless prisoner.
The World Day Against the Death Penalty will be marked by the launch of the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) at events and activities across Asia Pacific, including in Seoul, South Korea, where a parliamentary bill to abolish the death penalty is currently being considered. The network of activists, NGOs, civil society groups and lawyers from many countries across the region -- including India, Singapore and Japan -- aims to draw attention to the inequities and unfairness inherent in the administration of the death penalty by appealing on individual cases and campaigning to support national and regional initiatives to end capital punishment
In relation to the situation in Asia Pacific, Amnesty International said that it is a region that has bucked the worldwide trend to abolish the death penalty. The organization is working with ADPAN to urge Asia Pacific countries to abolish the death penalty and warned that even periods without executions can quickly and apparently easily be ended – as seen in Indonesia where a state firing squad executed three men in September 2006 after fifteen months with no known executions.
Asian countries that have taken a lead on the death penalty include the Philippines, which abolished the death penalty in June. ADPAN will campaign for other countries in Asia to make real their pronouncements to respect human rights, through the protection of the most fundamental right of all: the right to life.
Background Information
The World Day is organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) a coalition of over 53 organisations, including Amnesty International, bar associations, trade unions and local and regional authorities which have joined together in an effort to rid the world of the death penalty.
The World Day will be followed by the Cities for Life event which takes place on 30 November. Cities for Life is an annual event involving the illumination of public buildings or other localities that symbolically represent the community in cities and towns around the world, as an affirmation of the value of life and a sign of opposition to the death penalty. Cities for Life is organized by the Rome-based Community of Sant Egidio, with the endorsement of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
Public Statement
10 October 2006
The fourth World Day Against the Death Penalty: Executions as a failure of justice
Thousands of people in numerous countries will mark the fourth World Day Against the Death Penalty today by calling for a world without executions.
The theme for this year’s day, organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, is “The Death Penalty: A Failure of Justice”.
Amnesty International said that the countries that use the death penalty do so in a manifestly unfair manner in violation of international laws and standards.
Amnesty International and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty want to bring attention to the appallingly low standards of justice used in the application of capital punishment in many countries. This is another compelling reason why the world must turn its back on state judicial killings.
The day highlights failures in the judicial systems of China, Iran, Nigerian, Saudi Arabia and the USA; all of which are failing to meet the standards required by the international community – via numerous international treaties – when using the death penalty.
Amnesty International believes the death penalty is never acceptable and every execution constitutes an extreme violation of the right to life. The organization also said the violation is exacerbated when human life is taken by the state via an unfair judicial process.
China has executed persons who later transpired to be innocent after the alleged murder victim reappeared alive and well.
Iran is one of only two countries which currently execute child offenders -- the other being Pakistan.
In Saudi Arabia foreign nationals face discrimination and disadvantage from the judicial system, often being tried in a language they do not understand.
The USA has sentenced individuals to death who clearly suffered from mental health disabilities.
In Nigeria a woman was sentenced to death after a trial at which she had no legal representation.
To take human life after such appallingly low standards of justice makes the case for the abolition of death penalty all the more compelling and urgent.
However, the momentum for a world free of executions gathers pace and 2006 has witnessed further progress towards a death penalty free world, with the Philippines and Moldova having abolished the death penalty. This takes to 129 the number of countries that no longer have capital punishment in law or practice.
Once abolished, very few countries consider reintroducing executions. However, the authorities in Peru and Poland are currently considering attempting the retrograde step of amending their laws to bring back the death penalty.
Amnesty International said that the World Day provides advocates of the death penalty the opportunity to re-examine their support for this outmoded form of punishment. The movement away from the death penalty has been dramatic and the small minority of states that continue to execute should ask themselves what is achieved by such a brutal act as the killing of a defenceless prisoner.
The World Day Against the Death Penalty will be marked by the launch of the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) at events and activities across Asia Pacific, including in Seoul, South Korea, where a parliamentary bill to abolish the death penalty is currently being considered. The network of activists, NGOs, civil society groups and lawyers from many countries across the region -- including India, Singapore and Japan -- aims to draw attention to the inequities and unfairness inherent in the administration of the death penalty by appealing on individual cases and campaigning to support national and regional initiatives to end capital punishment
In relation to the situation in Asia Pacific, Amnesty International said that it is a region that has bucked the worldwide trend to abolish the death penalty. The organization is working with ADPAN to urge Asia Pacific countries to abolish the death penalty and warned that even periods without executions can quickly and apparently easily be ended – as seen in Indonesia where a state firing squad executed three men in September 2006 after fifteen months with no known executions.
Asian countries that have taken a lead on the death penalty include the Philippines, which abolished the death penalty in June. ADPAN will campaign for other countries in Asia to make real their pronouncements to respect human rights, through the protection of the most fundamental right of all: the right to life.
Background Information
The World Day is organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) a coalition of over 53 organisations, including Amnesty International, bar associations, trade unions and local and regional authorities which have joined together in an effort to rid the world of the death penalty.
The World Day will be followed by the Cities for Life event which takes place on 30 November. Cities for Life is an annual event involving the illumination of public buildings or other localities that symbolically represent the community in cities and towns around the world, as an affirmation of the value of life and a sign of opposition to the death penalty. Cities for Life is organized by the Rome-based Community of Sant Egidio, with the endorsement of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
www.amnesty.org
www.amnesty.org.uk
www.amnesty.org.uk
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Comments
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
how so? the "right wing" is for personal accountability. we may disagree on the amount of accountability, but it's really just a matter of opinion.
naděje umírá poslední
the more we can fry the better!
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!
- Benjamin Franklin
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.
-Will Rogers
_____________________
But, for the most part, the debate over the death penalty has been divided between liberals and conservatives, with the liberals representing "godless" america, and conservatives representing the almighty.
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
if that's how you want to see it that's fine; i'll concede a lot of it can come across that way. But there are also many christians who are not for the death penalty. I'm just not a fan of labels esp when you throw in religious affiliation with them. But i know why you say it.
So, I guess that means the religious right have their heads way up their asses and still can't smell their own shit.
it's not really a fantasy world...read the news, people aren't running around and being nice to each other. Why is it such a surprise when people do evil things? I will agree that innocent people have died on death row that's not up for debate. If you make the decision to end someones life there had better be no doubt about it; it's not like you can say oops 5 years later and revive them and say "my bad".
Crime is a function of society but crime is committed by individual people who decide to commit the crime. You can only blame society so much at some point it is the persons responsibility.
why do you have to bring in the religious right and saying that shit. There are many christians who don't agree with the death penalty and there are those who aren't religious who are for the death penalty.
There is no such thing as evil outside of the mind. Once you realize that you will know what I'm talking about.
My point about religious right is that they are always sniffing around to smell other people's shit, but can't smell their own.
You aren't Foley are you?
I agree that people for the most part are nice, but i reject any thought to the contrary that we aren't inherently evil; I believe we have the ability and wherewithall to be nice and to not be evil (hence wonderful people that everyone knows) and MANY people do that very well. When i say people are inherently evil, i don't mean that everyone is a charles manson just waiting to get out.
Charles Manson isn't evil.
if your first statement is how you view life then we don't have a discussion we'll have a yelling match and it's not worth it.
thank you for enlightening me about the religious right and "shit smelling" and for the record, no I'm not Foley...but why should you be concerned b/c he isn't evil afterall, b/c evil is only in the mind.
sadly many (not all my brothers and sisters) pick and choose what's convenient in their respective religions.....that's probably the thing that bothers me the most about religion. Course I've had conversations with Christians (and not picking on them...just that's all I know) "freinds" that will quote scripture supporting the death penalty. I really do need to read the bible...thoroughly...cause I get peace love and protecting the innocent from what I've read and heard....go figure.
:rolleyes: life's too short for this.
It was just an example.
Evil is a concept and nothing more. In later years it's becoming synonymous with wrong. But by historical account Evil is a force regulated by Satan. So a person with dementia who claims to be a messenger of god would be labelled Evil, a medical practioner that discovers a healing secret would also be Evil, witches, etc..
But what are we really talking about? a dysfunction of the frontal cortex? A deep psychological problem? Some other unexplained condition?
Did the individual really make a concious decision, having the same knowledge as you or I, to commit acts against his fellow humans for the sole purpose of inflicting pain and suffering?
How exactly do you diagnose an individual as Evil? What criterion must be met to label a person Evil? Historically it's what the church has labeled people it doesn't agree with.
correlate the right wing with the death penalty because of George..and I live in Texas home of the death penalty and the Idiot (sorry...couldn't help it..very unprofessional ...I know) The right wing supports George and George supports the death penalty..and all the Christians in Texas I've spoken to support "killing all those bastards". Now for those Christians that don't believe in the death penalty, don't support George and are Christians..cool.....but unfortunately.....they seem to be rare (from my experience)..sooo its not a stretch to tie the religious right and the death penalty.
I agree that evil is a subjective assessment of an objective occurrence, that is no doubt. And I agree that the church plays a role in what may be "evil". Maybe evil is a little strong and I'll say that people are inherently flawed. The semantic range of evil may include that but for the purpose of this discussion perhaps flawed is a better term as to not polarize the discussion.
I truly feel that most people make a conscious decision in the way they act. Let's use the foley example. You would say, i assume, that what he did is flawed / wrong. I believe he knew exactly what he was doing and it was a conscious decision. I know that historically the church has labelled people it doens't agree with as evil, but i think the church is at fault if they don't quickly say that everyone is just as bad as everyone else. Taht's where I feel most people take offense is that a lot of times the church doesn't admit there mistakes. And that is a shame. The worst thing the church can do is point out everyone's flaws. But I think if you talk to most christians they'll tell you they are no better than anyone else AND they truly mean it. If they don't, that's a shame.
this song kinda represents my feelings against the death penalty:
(--although many of the potential prisoners to be executed have done such horrific, unimaginable, undeserving of forigiveness things---I still somehow manage to feel a small ounce of sympathy/empathy for the bastards---perhaps just because it would be nice to see them convert from evil to good--AND STAY THAT WAY. There are so few stories of this kind of rehabilitation--its a shame. At any rate, there isn't much justice in killing someone purposely as their punishment for killing. I still believe that we don't have the right to play God by taking someone's life.---however, the world is so overpopulated, so I suppose I still remain in a state of indecision about the whole matter. just my two cents anyway. )
Ellis Unit One
by Steve Earle
I was fresh out of the service
It was back in ‘82
I raised some Cain when I come back to town
I left to be all I could be
Come home without a clue
Now, I married Dawn and had to settle down
So I hired on at the prison
Guess I always knew I would
Just like my dad and both my uncles done
And I worked on every cell block
Now, things're goin' good
But then they transferred me to Ellis Unit One
Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home
Well, my daddy used to talk about them long nights at the walls
And how they used to strap ‘em in the chair
The kids down from the college and they'd bring their beer ‘n all
‘N when the lights went out, a cheer rose in the air
Well, folks just got too civilized
Sparky's gatherin' dust
‘Cause no one wants to touch a smokin' gun
And since they got the injection
They don't mind as much, I guess
They just put ‘em down at Ellis Unit One
Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home
Well, I've seen ‘em fight like lions, boys
I've seen 'em go like lambs
And I've helped to drag ‘em when they could not stand
And I've heard their mamas cryin' when they heard that big door slam
And I've seen the victim's family holdin' hands
Last night I dreamed that I woke up with straps across my chest
And something cold and black pullin' through my lungs
‘N even Jesus couldn't save me though I know he did his best
But he don't live on Ellis Unit One
Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home
Swing low
Don't let go
Swing low and carry me home
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
www.amnesty.org.uk
Isn't that old testament?
Since when is the bible American law?
And also, thou shalt not kill. Guess where I read it?
naděje umírá poslední
www.amnesty.org.uk
Werd. I was gonna say that, but I wasn't sure. King David's deal, wasn't it?
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
Your death is honourable!
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
what does the bible have to do with anything?
The bible is being brought up because it is practically synonymous with right wing america. And it is right wing america that makes up a majority of death penalty supporters.
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825