The worst country as far as the death penalty is concerned is, by far, China. My reason for concentrating on the United States, though, is that the US is the only country in the Western world that still has the death penalty (other than for treason). All of Western Europe has abolished it. All of Eastern Europe has abolished it (except for Russia and Ukraine). Australia and New Zealand have got rid of it. So has Canada. So has much of Latin America. In terms of developed countries and international human rights standards, the US is out on a limb.
I have found that even within the USA, many people are not aware of what conditions are really like on death row. Even opponents of the death penalty tend to neglect some of its implications.
1. The death penalty does not deter offenders. More
2. Innocent people are frequently sentenced to execution, and occasionally the execution goes ahead. More
3. The United States executes mentally retarded people, in defiance of international law. More
4. The United States executes juveniles, in defiance of international law. More
5. About twice a year, an execution is seriously botched, resulting in the physical torture, sometimes for many minutes on end, of the prisoner. More
6. Conditions on death row are not a holiday camp. They are inhuman. More
7. The majority of countries of the world have abandoned the death penalty. More
8. The death penalty is not a serious weapon in the fight against crime. More
9. The death penalty is motivated by revenge and politics. More
10. It is disproportionately applied to blacks. More
11. It is more expensive than life imprisonment. More
12. Most people think life without parole would be better than the death penalty. More
Links:
Amnesty International
Amnesty USA
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
American Civil Liberties Union
(C) 1998 Richard Pond
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