Often used within skewed justice systems. Some of the countries executing the most people have deeply unfair legal systems. The ‘top’ three executing countries – China, Iran and Iraq – all issue death sentences in murky and unclear circumstances. Many death sentences are issued after ‘confessions’ that have been obtained through torture.
Discriminatory. You are more likely to be sentenced to death if you are poor or belong to a racial, ethnic or religious minority because of discrimination in the justice system. Also, poor and marginalised groups have less access to the legal resources needed to defend themselves.
Used as a political tool. The authorities in some countries, for example Iran and Sudan, use the death penalty to punish political opponents.
Amnesty is calling for
• Countries who still use the death penalty must immediately halt all executions.
• Countries who have already stopped executing people, need to take this punishment off their legal books, permanently.
• All death sentences should be changed to prison sentences.