I have reached the conviction that the abolition of the death penalty is desirable. Reasons: 1) Irreparability in the event of an error of justice, 2) Detrimental moral influence of the execution procedure on those who, whether directly or indirectly, have to do with the procedure.
From Amnesty International’s report: Amnesty International recorded a 37% decrease in the number of executions carried out globally in 2016 as against the previous year. At least 1,032 people were executed − 602 fewer than in 2015 when the organization recorded the highest number of executions in a single year since 1989.2 Despite the significant decrease, the overall number of executions in 2016 remained higher than the average recorded for the previous decade. These numbers do not include the thousands of executions carried out in China, where data on the use of the death penalty remained classified as a state secret.3 Iran alone accounted for 55% of all recorded executions. Together with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan it carried out 87% of the global total. Iraq more than tripled its executions and Egypt and Bangladesh doubled theirs. New information about the number of executions carried out in Malaysia and particularly in Viet Nam provided an insight into the magnitude and true extent of their use of the death penalty. The overall number of executions carried out in Iran, however, dropped by 42% (from at least 977 to at least 567) compared to the previous year. A significant decrease in the implementation of death sentences was also recorded in Pakistan, by 73%. Executions also noticeably fell in Indonesia, Somalia and the USA. For the first time since 2006, the USA did not feature among the world’s top five executioners, due partly to litigation and challenges in sourcing chemicals used in lethal injection procedures. Amnesty International recorded executions in 23 countries, two fewer than in 2015. Belarus and authorities within the State of Palestine resumed executions in 2016 after a year’s hiatus, while Botswana and Nigeria carried out their first executions since 2013. In 2016, Amnesty International did not record executions in six countries − Chad, India, Jordan, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Yemen − that carried out executions in 2015. The organization was unable to confirm whether judicial executions took place in Libya, Syria and Yemen.
