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

Background: Foreign nationals on death row in Saudi Arabia

6 November 2009

Amnesty International is aware of at least 137 people currently on death row in Saudi Arabia, of which 106 are foreign nationals. The true figures are believed to be much higher.

Saudi Arabia executes three more foreign nationals

5 November 2009

Amnesty International has strongly condemned the beheading of two Sri Lankan nationals and one Indian national in the city of Jeddah this week.
World Day Against the Death Penalty, South Korea, 10 October 2009

South Korea must establish an official moratorium on executions

30 October 2009

Since the beginning of 2009, Amnesty International has been concerned that the South Korean government is taking steps towards resuming executions. Sixty prisoners currently remain under sentence of death.
Death row cell, Minsk, Belarus.

Belarus man loses death sentence appeal

29 October 2009

Andrei Zhuk becomes the second person to have his death sentence upheld in Belarus within the last month.

Death row prisoner in Sudan bore marks of torture

28 October 2009

Amnesty International said that the Sudanese government was responsible for the death and ill-treatment of Ahmed Suleiman Sulman, who died from tuberculosis in police custody last week.
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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.