fmdh - death penalty usa2104 : elizabeth a. zitrin, jd
TRANSCRIPT
Death Penalty USA2104
Elizabeth A. Zitrin, JD
Vice President
World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
WorldCoalition.org
Presented at World Forum on Human Rights
Marrakech, Morocco
November 28, 2014
Bad Companyfor at least the past five
years, the USA has executed more people
than all but four countries
Death Penalty World
a shrinking minority in the worldAs of 2013
Total Abolitionist in law or practice: 140 Abolitionist for all Crimes: 98 Abolitionist for Ordinary Crimes only: 7 Abolitionist in Practice: 35
Retentionist Countries: 58
In 1976, only 16 nations had abolished the death penalty
Source: Amnesty International
Who Opposes the Death Penalty
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
1948
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The “modern” death penalty USAIn 1976, only 16 nations had abolished the death penalty.
1972: Furman v. Georgia. Death penalty effectively ended by SCOTUS as arbitrary and a violation of the 8th Amendment.
1976: Gregg v. Georgia. Death Penalty is constitutional again. “Guided discretion”
1976 is the beginning of the modern death penalty in the US.
Death Penalty USA Blue: No current death penalty statuteOrange: Death penalty statute declared unconstitutionalYellow: No one executed since 1976Red: Has performed execution since 1976
Death Sentences since 1976
1389 executed in the US since 1976
Source: Death Penalty Information Center
2013
Source: Death Penalty Information Center
Why Must We End the Death Penalty
THE INNOCENT
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
Maryland
Innocence
Room for Error
DNA evidence has resulted in 321 exonerations in 34 states
since 1989.
20 of those exonerees served time on death row.
DNA is available in only 5-10% of cases
Wrongful convictions: 75% involve bad ID, 50% involve “junk science,” 25% false confessions
Cost
Race
Source: Death Penalty Information Center
Public Safety Requires an End to Death Penalty
LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS
THE INNOCENT
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
Police, Prosecutors, Wardens, Judges
Deterrence
The study, Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates? The Views of Leading Criminologists, published in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, concluded, “There is overwhelming consensus among America’s top criminologists that the empirical research conducted on the deterrence question fails to support the threat or use of the death penalty.”
“Closure” is a Fantasy
VICTIMS’ FAMILIES
LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALSTHE INNOCENT
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
Robert “Renny” Cushing, Jr.
Politicians who oppose the death penalty are elected
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALSVICTIMS’ FAMILIES
LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALSTHE INNOCENT
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
Robert “Renny” Cushing, Jr.
One Life at a Time
LAWYERS
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALSVICTIMS’ FAMILIES
LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALSTHE INNOCENT
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
Lawyer and Prophet Bryan Stevenson
“The opposite of poverty is not wealth. In too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice.”
What is the Right Thing to do?RELIGIOUS AND MORAL
LEADERS
LAWYERSGOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
VICTIMS’ FAMILIESLAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS
THE INNOCENTHUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
Sister Helen Prejeanwith Dr. Arthur Zitrin
It is a Small World
THE WORLD COMMUNITYRELIGIOUS AND MORAL LEADERS
LAWYERSGOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
VICTIMS’ FAMILIESLAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS
THE INNOCENTHUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES
We are the World
November 28, 2014World Forum on Human Rights
Marrakech MOROCCOElizabeth ZitrinVice President
World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
WorldCoalition.org