World Day against the Death Penalty

[susanreads]

10th October is World Day against the Death Penalty. Here are some death penalty facts:

• More than two-thirds of the world (139 countries) has abolished the death penalty in law or practice


• China executes more people every year than all other countries in the world put together


• There are over 3,000 prisoners on death row in the United States. In Pakistan there are an estimated 7,000


• The world's longest-serving death row prisoner is Hakamada Iwao, who has been on death row in Japan since 1968


• Troy Davis has been on death row in the US for 19 years; 7 of the 9 witnesses against him have changed their testimony, but a judge in Savannah recently rejected his appeal

You can read more about Amnesty International's work on the death penalty on the AIUK site.