The death penalty violates the right to life, a fundamental right that should be respected at all times. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent even in the most competent systems of justice.

There has been global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty over the past 50 years. Many states have ratified international and regional instruments that provide restrictions on the use of death penalty and its ultimate abolition.

However, despite the encouraging trend, a large number of executions are still being carried out and many countries retain death penalty de facto or in their legislation. There are numerous laws, policies and practices that are incompatible with international standards, such as safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty.

The death penalty is imposed disproportionately on the society’s 'other', such as the poor, indigenous people, ethnic, sexual and religious minorities, and other vulnerable groups such as those with mental health problems or learning disabilities.

Prisoners on death row are often detained in conditions that far worse than those of other prisoners, including isolation for long and indeterminate periods of time, inactivity and inadequate basic physical provisions.

International standards

International human rights law does not expressly prohibit the death penalty. However, it limits the categories of person who may be sentenced to death and the circumstances under which capital punishment may be imposed or carried out.

The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for the abolition of the death penalty, but permits states to retain the death penalty in wartime as an exception.¹

States must observe a number of restrictions and limitations on the use of death penalty, including that it may be imposed only for the most serious crimes prescribed by law at the time of its commission. It may only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court. There are also guarantees that must be observed, including the right to a fair hearing, the presumption of innocence, the minimum guarantees for the defence, and the right to review by a court of higher jurisdiction and right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.

Articles six and 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child require that the death sentence shall not be imposed for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women.

PRI’s work on the death penalty

PRI has undertaken a number of initiatives at the national, regional and international level to support the abolition of the death penalty. This has included organising conferences, study tours, workshops and training sessions, as well as conducting research and advocacy work.

As part of its Commonwealth Caribbean Death Penalty Project, PRI  with its partner Simons Muirhead and Burton has promoted the abolition of mandatory death sentences in the region by organising litigation at the national and international level, training local lawyers and providing legal aid. As a result, mandatory death penalty has been removed in eight out of 12 Caribbean countries, saving the lives of over 200 prisoners.

In collaboration with the Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort, PRI organised the Second World Congress against the Death Penalty in Montreal, Canada, in 2004.

PRI has also undertaken research into alternatives to the death penalty in Central Asia, looking in particular at good practice and recommendations relating to life imprisonment and long-term custodial sentences from outside the region.

PRI has recently launched a two-year EC-funded programme to support governments and other stakeholders in progressing towards the abolition of the death penalty. The programme is being carried out through PRI’s offices in Almaty, Amman, Moscow and Tbilisi. This project aims to positively challenge society’s attitudes in relation to the effect and efficacy of the death penalty and to support governments and other stakeholders in progressing towards abolition. It also aims to challenge the unacceptable forms of life imprisonment as an alternative sanction.

PRI resources and publications

A Rare and Arbitrary Fate: conviction for murder, the mandatory death penalty and the reality of homicide in Trinidad and Tobago

Penal Reform Briefing No 1: alternatives to the death penalty  

1. States parties may make reservation at the time of ratification or accession that provides for the application of the death penalty in time of war pursuant to a conviction for a most serious crime of a military nature committed during wartime.