The Ultimate Denial of Human Rights
The death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state.
It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Over two-thirds of the countries in the world – 139 – have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice. In the U.S., 16 states have put an end to state-sanctioned killing.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner.
