Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
“Death Sentences” Against Three Foreign Members of Ukrainian Forces by Separatists’ “Courts” a Blatant Violation of International Law
Responding to the news that a separatist “court” in Russia-occupied Donetsk ordered the death of two captured two British nationals and a captured Moroccan national, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:
June 9, 2022
Report
Death Penalty 2021: State-Sanctioned Killings Rise as Executions Spike in Iran and Saudi Arabia
2021 saw a worrying rise in executions and death sentences as some of the world’s most prolific executioners returned to business as usual and courts were unshackled from Covid-19 restrictions, Amnesty International said today in its annual review of the death penalty.Â
May 23, 2022
Press Release
Oklahoma Seeks to Revive Machinery of Death Despite Unanswered Legal Questions
Today, an Oklahoma District Court held a hearing on the preliminary injunction to halt upcoming executions scheduled from October 2021-February 2022 for four people on the state’s death row.
October 25, 2021
Press Release
The Moratorium on Federal Executions Highlights Need to Abolish the Death Penalty, Once and For All
Responding to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland imposing a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department reviews its policies and procedures on capital punishment, Kristina Roth, the Senior Advocate for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA, said:
July 2, 2021
Report
Death penalty 2020: Despite Covid-19, some countries ruthlessly pursued death sentences and executions
The unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic were not enough to deter 18 countries from carrying out executions in 2020, Amnesty International said today in its annual global review of the death penalty. While there was an overall trend of decline, some countries pursued or even increased the number of executions carried out, indicating a chilling disregard for human life at a time when the world’s attention focused on protecting people from a deadly virus. 2020 executioners included Egypt, which tripled its yearly execution figure compared to the previous year; and China, which announced a crackdown on criminal acts affecting…
April 20, 2021
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Applauds Virginia for Abolishing the Death Penalty
Reacting to news that Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed a bill to abolish the death penalty in the Commonwealth, Kristina Roth, Senior Advocate for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA, released the following statement:
March 24, 2021
Press Release
Missouri plans to execute Walter Barton, as he maintains his innocence
The planned execution of Walter Barton demonstrates why the death penalty is far too flawed to ever fix. Barton maintains his innocence after it took five trials which lasted over a decade to convict and sentence him. He faces execution despite the existence of expert opinion and evidence, never heard by a trial jury, which counters key elements that led to his conviction. This is not justice, it is cruelty.
May 18, 2020
Report
Death penalty 2019: Global executions fell by 5%, hitting a 10-year low
Saudi Arabia executed a record number of people in 2019, despite an overall decline in executions worldwide, Amnesty International said in its 2019 global review of the death penalty published today. The Saudi authorities put 184 people to death last year, the highest number Amnesty has ever recorded in a single year in the country. Meanwhile the number of executions doubled in Iraq, and Iran retained its place as the world’s second most prolific executioner after China, where the exact number of people put to death remains a state secret. However these states are bucking a global trend which saw…
April 20, 2020
Press Release
Media advisory: AIUSA to Provide Workshops on Aspects of COVID-19 and Human Rights
As COVID-19 has reached pandemic levels around the world, Amnesty International USA is piloting workshops to media on the aspects of COVID-19 and human rights. While the focus has rightfully been on individual hygiene advice, social distancing, and bolstering health care and social support systems, now, more than ever, conversation must shed light on human solidarity. This is a time when we have the opportunity to help end demonization and anger – and move forward with empathy and kindness. Amnesty International USA is ramping up response efforts to advocate for those most at risk and working to ensure that all…
March 23, 2020
Press Release
Colorado’s Abolition of Death Penalty Brings Country One Step Closer Towards Eliminating this Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Punishment
Reacting to news that the Colorado Governor has signed a bill to repeal the death penalty, Kristina Roth, Senior Program Officer at Amnesty International USA, stated: “Colorado becomes the 22nd state to have abandoned the death penalty, bringing this country one state closer to joining the over two-thirds of the countries in the world that have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. This is the kind of human rights leadership this country needs, now more than ever. "The Governor must also be commended for commuting the death sentences of people currently on death row. “The death penalty is…
March 23, 2020
Press Release
Khashoggi verdict in Saudi Arabia a whitewash
Responding to a Saudi Arabian court’s sentencing of five people to death and three others to prison for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said:  “This verdict is a whitewash which brings neither justice nor the truth for Jamal Khashoggi and his loved ones. The trial has been closed to the public and to independent monitors, with no information available as to how the investigation was carried out.  “The verdict fails to address the Saudi authorities’ involvement in this devastating crime or clarify the location of Jamal Khashoggi’s remains.  “Saudi…
December 23, 2019