Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Amnesty International USA Will Continue Its Fight for New Hampshire to Abolish the Death Penalty
Reacting to news that the New Hampshire state legislature has failed to override the Governor’s veto, which would have ended the death penalty in New Hampshire once and for all, Kristina Roth, Senior Program Officer at Amnesty International USA stated: “The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. By vetoing this bill, which had broad bipartisan support, the Governor defends a practice that serves no legitimate public interest, neither deterring crime nor improving public safety. “Amnesty International and New Hampshire citizens who believe in the illegitimacy of the death penalty…
September 13, 2018
Report
Florida’s diehard pursuit of the death penalty is a blot on the Sunshine State
Florida’s approach to the death penalty is deepening its outlier status on this human rights issue and has now added an extra layer of arbitrariness to its already discriminatory and error-prone capital justice system, Amnesty International said in a new report released today.  “While several US states have embraced abolition in recent years, Florida remains a diehard proponent of the death penalty and one of a handful of states that account for the bulk of executions in the USA,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International. “Despite its capital sentencing law being found unconstitutional two years ago, Florida still has the second largest…
August 23, 2018
Press Release
Nebraska Set to Carry Out Its First Execution in 21 Years
Amnesty International USA urges the state of Nebraska not to resume executions, ahead of plans by the state to carry out its first execution in 21 years on August 14. “The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights,” stated Kristina Roth, Senior Program Officer for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA. “The U.S. capital justice system is fundamentally broken. Rather than joining those states that have turned against this cruel and irrevocable punishment, Nebraska chooses to take a backward step that provides no constructive solutions to the challenges posed by violent crime.” The last execution in Nebraska…
August 13, 2018
Press Release
Ahead of Defense Department Recommendation Deadline, Amnesty International USA for Closure of Guantanamo Bay Prison
Ahead of the April 30 deadline for the Defense Department to comment on President Trump’s January order to allow the prison at Guantanamo Bay to remain open, Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA stated: “Each day that this administration keeps the prison at Guantanamo open is an affront to human life. The unlawful detentions of those currently there must not be permitted to continue. No more prisoners should be transferred there, all those cleared for transfer should be transferred out immediately, and those remaining should either have their day in federal court, or be…
April 26, 2018
Report
Research Shows a Global Trend Towards Abolition of the Death Penalty, But More Work Remains
In its annual assessment of the death penalty, Amnesty International’s research points to a further global decrease in 2017, down from the high peaks recorded for total executions in 2015 and death sentences in 2016. According to the report that was published today, 106 countries had abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes by the end of 2017 and 142 countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice. These figures reaffirm the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty. Only a few countries carry out executions. Just four countries were responsible for 84% of all…
April 11, 2018
Press Release
The Death Penalty Is Never an Appropriate Response to a Public Health Crisis
Responding to an initiative announced by President Donald Trump on the use of the death penalty as a means to address the opioid crisis, Amnesty International’s Senior Program Officer for Criminal Justice, Kristina Roth stated: “We are deeply concerned about the administration’s plans to address the United States opioid crisis, by ramping up the use of the death penalty. The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. All people have the right to life, and we all have the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment. These are human rights that people have, regardless of…
March 19, 2018
Press Release
Iran: New evidence of appalling treatment of women human rights defenders held in Shahr-e Rey prison
Two women human rights defenders jailed for defending women’s rights and opposing the death penalty are being subjected to escalating ill-treatment in Shahr-e Rey prison, a former industrial chicken farm in Varamin, a town on the outskirts of Tehran, Amnesty International revealed. The organization is calling for the women’s immediate and unconditional release. Atena Daemi and Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee are being held in unsanitary conditions in the quarantine section of the prison and their access to the outside world is being severely restricted. People detained in this section are given inadequate food and provided with salty water to drink. Golrokh…
March 9, 2018
Press Release
Upcoming Executions Demonstrate Irreparable Failings of the Death Penalty
Three executions set for this week all demonstrate the irreparable failings of the death penalty, experts from Amnesty International USA said today.
November 7, 2017
Press Release
Supreme Court Stays Death Sentence of Keith Tharpe
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the death sentence today of Keith Tharpe, a black man who was on death row for 26 years despite the fact that one of his white jurors later recounted the case using slurs when referring to black people and said that “because a black person doesn’t have a soul, giving one the death penalty was no big deal.” Tharpe was scheduled to be executed this evening.
September 26, 2017
Press Release
U.S. National Faces Execution in Saudi Arabia Despite Unfair Trial
The sentence of a U.S. national facing execution after unfair legal proceedings in Saudi Arabia must be rescinded and a new, fair trial must be held in accordance with international human rights standards and without recourse to the death penalty, Amnesty International has said.
September 13, 2017
Press Release
Ohio Executes Second Prisoner After Three-Year Hiatus
The state of Ohio executed Gary Otte this morning, marking the second execution following a three-year hiatus that ended on July 26 with the execution of Ronald R. Phillips.
September 13, 2017
Press Release
Saudi Arabia: Execution looms for teen tortured to “confess” to protest-related crimes
A young Saudi Arabian Shi’a man who claims he was tortured to “confess” alleged crimes committed when he was 16 years old faces imminent execution, in the latest shocking example of Saudi Arabia’s ruthless clampdown on dissent, said Amnesty International today.
September 12, 2017