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

Saudi Arabian man beheaded and crucified

8 December 2009

Amnesty International has condemned an execution in Saudi Arabia that saw a 22-year-old man beheaded and then crucified.

Iran must stop imminent execution of juvenile offender

8 December 2009

The Iranian authorities must halt Wednesday's planned execution of a juvenile offender, Amnesty International has urged.
Hanging rope at execution gallows, Baghdad, Iraq, 15 December 2006

Over 900 people on death row in Iraq face imminent execution

4 December 2009

The prisoners, who include 17 women, are said to have had their death sentences ratified by the Presidential Council, the final step before executions are carried out.
Chinese police assemble opposite protestors, Urumqi, Xinjiang region, 5 July 2009

China must halt death sentences against Uighurs

3 December 2009

China’s supreme court must carefully review reported death sentences imposed today on five individuals by a court in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of northwest China, Amnesty Inte
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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.
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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.