[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 11



USA:

U.S. Human Rights Network calls for renewed opposition to fatally flawed
death penalty system


More than 30 years after the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital
punishment, problems with the administration of the death penalty across
the country continue to plague the system. Many of these problems have
human rights components, including execution of the mentally ill and
racial and economic discrimination. Despite piecemeal efforts by the
courts and state governments to remedy these flaws, they persist unabated
- accounts of exonerations and commutations based on unfair and
unconstitutional proceedings appear weekly in the media. Given that
imperfections in the criminal justice system can never be fully
eradicated, any attempts to "fix" the system will inevitably fall short.
"We as a society must recognize that the death penalty invariably leads to
violations of the most fundamental human right, the right to life," says
Ajamu Baraka, Executive Director of the US Human Rights Network.

Supporters of capital punishment cling to their belief that the practice
serves as a deterrent to murder - though most studies discredit that
notion - or some other useful purpose that cannot ultimately be proven.
But the well-documented violations of human rights that have attended one
capital case after another across the country are indisputable, and should
not be tolerated under any circumstances. "Human rights must trump
whatever mythical objectives the death penalty allegedly achieves," Baraka
says.

Death penalty opponents have made progress in recent years. The death
penalty has been eliminated for juveniles and those deemed mentally
retarded, and public opinion has been steadily shifting away from the
unqualified acceptance of executions. These gains, while insufficient,
were the direct result of public education and public pressure on
legislatures and the courts. Therefore, on October 10, World Day Against
the Death Penalty, the US Human Rights Network urges activists to reject
complacency and redouble their efforts toward the only solution that
guarantees human rights across the board: abolition.

>From a human rights perspective, education means furthering the
understanding that human rights are interlinked across issue boundaries
and should be considered as an inviolable whole, not in isolation.
Accepting human rights violations in one arena but not others leads to a
fractured, incoherent vision. "The concept that human rights are universal
is a fundamental rationale for opposing the death penalty," says Baraka.

(source: United States Human Rights Network)