International trend to abolish death penalty makes continued US support untenable Commentary
International trend to abolish death penalty makes continued US support untenable
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Richard C. Dieter [Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center]: "The fact that fewer countries employ the death penalty and that the number of executions worldwide declined last year should serve as a wake-up call to the United States. On many issues, the US is seen as a leader in the field of individual rights, but with the death penalty we could be one of the last countries standing. The US is already isolated from its closest allies in Europe, North America, Australia, Israel, and parts of Africa where capital punishment has already been abandoned. The death penalty is clearly part of the international stream of human rights, and it is flowing towards abolition. In many ways, the issue of capital punishment is similar to the struggle against apartheid. Eventually, a worldwide consensus left South Africa in an embarrassing and untenable position. It is doubtful that the US would want to find itself in the same spotlight.

There are signs that the death penalty is losing ground here as well. In the past two years, three states have abandoned the death penalty: New York, New Jersey and New Mexico. Executions declined last year to their lowest level in 14 years. This is a distinct reversal from the 1990s when new states were adopting the death penalty and executions were increasing. But all signs are not in the same direction. After the Supreme Court approved the ordinary use of lethal injections, the number of execution dates rose, and there will be an increase in executions in 2009. The federal death penalty is also a concern, having been expanded during the Bush administration. The policy is currently under review in the new administration.

Perhaps more than any other reason, Americans are rethinking the death penalty because of the revelations of so many wrongful convictions. Since 1973, 135 people have been exonerated and freed from death row. This problem is not going away. There have been 5 exonerations in just the first half of 2009. This risk, exacerbated by the extremely high costs of the death penalty in an imperiled economy, may eventually lead the US to join the international trend away from the death penalty."

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