j u s t c r i m

Death penalty: Former California prisons leader joins fight against death penalty - latimes.com

Jeanne Woodford is joining Death Penalty Focus, a nonprofit group that works to abolish the death penalty. She brings to the job her experience as the warden of San Quentin State Prison in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she oversaw four executions. (David Butow / Redux)

As the clock ticked past midnight and the death chamber phone refused to ring, San Quentin State Prison Warden Jeanne Woodford would calmly signal the executioners to inject a lethal dose of chemicals into the condemned man's veins. Reared in a Roman Catholic family, she grew up believing that only God had the right to take a life. But four times in her 30-year career in California corrections, the soft-spoken mother of five carried out executions of notorious killers ...

Woodford resigned as director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation four years ago, dismayed over state authorities' clinging to policies such as the death penalty that she had concluded are wasteful, discriminatory and fail to make the public safer.

Now, as the state tries to restart the execution machinery after a five-year legal hiatus, Woodford has crossed to the other side of the contentious debate over capital punishment. 

On Thursday, the abolitionist nonprofit Death Penalty Focus will announce Woodford's appointment as executive director, a new role that will see her standing on the other side of the walls of San Quentin should any of the 713 death row inmates meet his or her end at the hands of the state. "I never was in favor of the death penalty, but my experience at San Quentin allowed me to see it from all points of view. I had a duty to carry out, and I tried to do it with professionalism," Woodford, 56, said in explaining how she had to put her personal abhorrence of execution aside to do her job. "The death penalty serves no one. It doesn't serve the victims. It doesn't serve prevention. It's truly all about retribution." Woodford says she sees an opportunity to get rid of the death penalty in the current quest for budgetary restraint. If the public can be educated about the true costs of capital punishment — at least $200 million a year, she says — as well as its potential for irreversible error, support for the ultimate penalty would wither, Woodford predicts.

via www.latimes.com

No more death penalty? | OneNewsNow.com

No more death penalty - As California officials have halted death row executions at least until next year, a former prosecutor says the state may be considering pulling the plug on the death penalty.

 

via www.onenewsnow.com

just do it

LATIMES.COM (May 5, 2011) - Death row's delays -- California should take a cue from other states that have dealt with the issue of capital punishment: Just abolish it.

"Last year, California added 28 inmates to the state's death row, eight of whom were sentenced in Los Angeles County. They aren't in much danger of an early demise, however, thanks largely to legal delays, including a decision Tuesday by state officials not to pursue executions in 2011. The seemingly never-ending court battles mean that convicts in capital cases are far more likely to die of natural causes than by lethal injection. But that won't stop them from costing taxpayers an estimated three times more than other inmates...."

S.F's district attorney on the death penalty | SFGate

"... When I was appointed district attorney by Mayor Gavin Newsom on Jan. 9, I stated that I was not categorically opposed to the death penalty and would consider it in appropriate cases. I have also stated that I do not personally believe the death penalty is a good tool. These remarks have been closely analyzed by many and have caused concern from some quarters, so I want to explain my position....

via www.sfgate.com

[ this is how a simple, logical groundswell to abolish capital punishment in California begins ... and it's about time ]

PUBLIC OPINION: Californians Strongly Support Commuting All Death Sentences to Save Money | Death Penalty Information Center

A recent poll conducted by David Binder Research found strong support for commuting all of the sentences of California's 712 death row inmates to life in prison without parole and requring them to pay restitution to the victims' families. Of the 800 voters surveyed, 63% supported the commutations, which would save the state $1 billion over five years. California currently faces a $13 billion budget gap. Voters from across the political spectrum favored the idea of commuting all the state's death sentences and putting the money saved towards public education and law enforcement. Support was highest among independents (70%), followed by Democrats at 64% and Republicans at 58%. The proposal was also popular throughout the state, with Bay Area voters expressing the most support (70%).

California Governor Jerry Brown announced last week that he was cancelling plans to build a new death row. The decision will save the state $356 million. In a press release, Brown said, “At a time when children, the disabled and seniors face painful cuts to essential programs, the State of California cannot justify a massive expenditure of public dollars for the worst criminals in our state. California will have to find another way to address the housing needs of condemned inmates. It would be unconscionable to earmark $356 million for a new and improved death row while making severe cuts to education and programs that serve the most vulnerable among us.”

via www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

[ just do it ]

"where the executions are"

"Where the executions are" - Frank R. Baumgartner, Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Full or Part Time Heathens ... Good Friday - Wikipedia

Good Friday (from the senses pious, holy of the word "good"),[1][2] is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday or Easter Friday,[3] though the latter normally refers to the Friday in Easter week.

Based on the details of the Canonical gospels, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most probably on a Friday (John 19:42).[4] The estimated year of Good Friday is AD 33, by two different groups, and originally as AD 34 by Isaac Newton via the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon.[5][6][7][8][9][10] A third method, using a completely different astronomical approach based on a lunar Crucifixion darkness and eclipse model (consistent with Apostle Peter's reference to a "moon of blood" in Acts 2:20) points to Friday, 3 April AD 33.[11][12]

Contents1 Biblical accounts2 In the Roman Catholic Church2.1 Day of Fasting2.2 Services on the day2.3 Liturgy2.4 Stations of the Cross2.5 Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ2.6 Malta2.7 The Philippines3 In Eastern Christianity3.1 Matins of Holy and Great Friday3.2 Royal Hours3.3 Vespers of Holy and Great Friday3.4 Matins of Holy and Great Saturday4 Anglican Communion5 Lutheran Church6 Other Protestant traditions7 Associated customs7.1 Canada7.2 Hong Kong and Macau7.3 United States7.4 Scandinavia7.5 England and Wales7.6 Ireland7.7 France7.8 Germany7.9 South Africa7.10 India7.11 Indonesia7.12 Other8 Calculating the date9 See also9.1 Related days10 Notes and references11 External links

via en.wikipedia.org

[ Abolish capital punishment ]

"Death penalty ineffective, too expensive, racially biased" - Winston-Salem Journal

North Carolina should repeal the death penalty because it is expensive, ineffective and racially biased, an Appalachian State University professor says in a new study.

The study was done by Matthew Robinson, a professor of government and justice studies. Robinson analyzed data from more than 20 studies on the death penalty and released his findings Monday at a news conference in Raleigh.

"In the past six years, three states have abolished the death penalty: Illinois, New Mexico and New Jersey," Robinson said in an interview after the news conference. "They did it for the same reason. They found racial bias, they found it to be costly, they found it to be ineffective and a threat to innocent people."

via www2.journalnow.com

[ Via Crime Report feed ]

U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from Georgia death row inmate - CNN.com

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a condemned Georgia inmate's request that his execution be delayed as he attempts to prove his "actual innocence."

The justices without comment on Monday turned aside two separate appeals from Troy Davis, likely setting the stage for the state to set another execution date.

Davis has gained international support for his long-standing claim he did not murder an off-duty Savannah police officer more than two decades ago. Monday's ruling is the latest in a case that is procedurally complex but, legally, a simple claim of innocence.

via www.cnn.com

Gil Garcetti: California's death penalty doesn't serve justice

Gil Garcetti, district attorney of Los Angeles County from 1992 to 2000, responds to a March 25 Times Op-Ed article on California's death penalty. If you would like to share your thoughts on a recent Times article, editorial or Op-Ed and would like to participate in Blowback, here are our FAQs and submission policy.

Retired Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin expresses clear and persuasive reasons why California should abolish the death penalty. I was the Los Angeles County district attorney for eight years and chief deputy district attorney for four years. During those years, I was responsible for my office's decision to seek the death penalty in dozens of cases. In each case, the facts were so horrific and compelling that I permitted the prosecutors to pursue the ultimate punishment.  Part of a prosecutor’s responsibility is to seek justice and retribution for the victim of a murder. Of special concern throughout my 32 years as a prosecutor was the effect of a particular crime on the family and close friends of the victim. To me, those family members and friends also became victims of the crime. Many of these victims were happy when my office sought the death penalty and if the jury returned a death verdict, a result that never came quickly. It was unusual for a capital case to be resolved within a year from the date of the original crime; two to three years was not uncommon. The living victims of a particular crime might think that a death verdict provides closure, but for most, there was no such closure. These victims instead faced years of torment thanks to the incredibly lengthy legal review process required for all cases in which the death penalty is imposed.  A case in point is the punishment imposed on Rodney James Alcala, whom Judge McCartin sentenced to death more than 30 years ago. What is the reason to have a death penalty when Alcala still sits on death row awaiting execution for murders he committed decades ago? Is this justice? Is this really fair to the family and friends of the murdered 12-year-old Robin Samsoe and his four other victims? California's death penalty does not and cannot function the way its supporters want it to. It is also an incredibly costly penalty, and the money would be far better spent keeping kids in school, keeping teachers and counselors in their schools and giving the juvenile justice system the resources it needs. Spending our tax dollars on actually preventing crimes, instead of pursuing death sentences after they've already been committed, will assure us we will have fewer victims such as Robin Samsoe.

via opinion.latimes.com

Texas Moratorium Network: Hearing on Moratorium, Abolition and Law of Parties Tuesday March 29 Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

 

 

 

The Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence has set a hearing for Tuesday March 29, 2011 on several death penalty related bills, including a moratorium on executions, abolition of the death penalty, and prohibiting death sentences in Law of Parties case.

Please make plans to attend the meeting and sign in to show your support for bills that would stop executions in Texas. The meeting will be held in

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

via stopexecutions.blogspot.com

On Order: Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong

Harvard University Press:   Convicting the Innocent:  Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong Brandon L. Garrett

"On January 20, 1984, Earl Washington—defended for all of forty minutes by a lawyer who had never tried a death penalty case—was found guilty of rape and murder in the state of Virginia and sentenced to death. After nine years on death row, DNA testing cast doubt on his conviction and saved his life. However, he spent another eight years in prison before more sophisticated DNA technology proved his innocence and convicted the guilty man.

DNA exonerations have shattered confidence in the criminal justice system by exposing how often we have convicted the innocent and let the guilty walk free. In this unsettling in-depth analysis, Brandon Garrett examines what went wrong in the cases of the first 250 wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated by DNA testing.

Based on trial transcripts, Garrett’s investigation into the causes of wrongful convictions reveals larger patterns of incompetence, abuse, and error. Evidence corrupted by suggestive eyewitness procedures, coercive interrogations, unsound and unreliable forensics, shoddy investigative practices, cognitive bias, and poor lawyering illustrates the weaknesses built into our current criminal justice system. Garrett proposes practical reforms that rely more on documented, recorded, and audited evidence, and less on fallible human memory.

Very few crimes committed in the United States involve biological evidence that can be tested using DNA. How many unjust convictions are there that we will never discover? Convicting the Innocent makes a powerful case for systemic reforms to improve the accuracy of all criminal cases.

____________________________

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The Amazon.com Excerpted Reviews:

"For six years now I have worked diligently within the innocence movement, and I often hear the question: 'How do wrongful convictions happen?' Convicting the Innocent gives all the answers. It is a fascinating study of what goes wrong, and it clearly shows that virtually all wrongful convictions could have been avoided."
--John Grisham

"DNA testing is revolutionizing our system of criminal justice: this book shows why. By digging deep into the case files of exonerees, Brandon Garrett uncovers what went wrong in those cases and probably in many more we simply can't know about. Garrett makes a powerful case for how to improve criminal justice so that we dramatically reduce the number of wrongly convicted."
--Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, The Innocence Project

"This is an invaluable book, a comprehensive, highly readable but well-researched work examining the hows and whys of the law's ultimate nightmare--convicting the innocent."
--Scott Turow, author of Innocent

"How can we stop sending innocent people to our prisons? As you turn the pages of this important and startling book, you will come to realize that wrongful convictions are not accidents. They are the tragic result of a criminal justice system in deep need of reform."
--Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

"It's common to say that DNA exonerations of innocent defendants provide a unique window on the weaknesses in our system of criminal investigation and trial. But what exactly do we see when we look through that window? Until now the answer has been pretty sketchy. Brandon Garrett has produced a far more detailed and complete picture of the lessons of DNA exonerations than anything else to date. This is an indispensable book for anyone wanting to understand or improve American criminal justice."
--Samuel R. Gross, Thomas and Mabel Long Professor of Law, University of Michigan

 

 

 

Students to learn about death penalty while in Texas | Daily Trojan

"Five USC students will head to Austin, Texas during spring break to learn about the death penalty and how to start their own anti-death penalty groups on campus.

The anti-death penalty alternative spring break was started by the Texas Moratorium Network in 2004 and was first held in 2005. Now entering its seventh spring session, the program is also sponsored by national organizations like Students Against the Death Penalty, Witness to Innocence and Amnesty International.

Approximately 30 students from around the country will attend the program, according to event organizers...."

via dailytrojan.com

STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR PAT QUINN

"I have found no credible evidence that the death penalty has a deterrent effect on the crime of murder and that the enormous sums expended by the state in maintaining a death penalty system would be better spent on preventing crime and assisting victims’ families in overcoming their pain and grief..."

via www.illinois.gov

[ California? Are you listening? ]

Ill. gov. commutes sentences of condemned inmates

Quinn acted Wednesday moments after he abolished Illinois' death penalty. By changing their sentences to life in prison, Quinn emptied the state's death row, meaning that Illinois may never execute another person.

This is the second time an Illinois governor has cleared death row. Republican George Ryan did it a decade ago because of concerns that an innocent person might be put to death.

Since then, prosecutors have occasionally still sought death sentences, leading to a slow build-up on death row. But no one has been executed because of the state's moratorium on carrying out death sentences.

via www.washingtonpost.com

[ Abolition is a logical step along the path of our collective "evolving sense of decency" ... which state will abolish capital punishment next? ]

Illinois Governor to Sign Bill to Repeal Death Penalty - Law Blog - WSJ

"The Land of Lincoln, it appears, will soon become the latest state to abolish the death penalty. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (pictured) has said he will sign legislation today to repeal the state’s death penalty, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

'... I think we'll be on the right side of history,' state legislator Karen Yarbrough, the bill’s chief House sponsor, told the newspaper.

via blogs.wsj.com

Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break

"The dates for this year's alternative spring break are March 14-18, 2011. You can register here. Now is an important time in the fight to end the death penalty. After 11 years of a moratorium, Illinois may soon abolish the death penalty if the governor signs the abolition bill he has been sent. Attend our alternative spring break and help us end the death penalty in Texas - the number one execution state in the United States. 

We are excited about the 2011 program, which includes attending the World Premiere at the SXSW Film Festival of a new documentary about the Todd Willingham case, plus great panelists including several people exonerated from death row, including Anthony Graves who was released in October 2010 after 18 years on death row in Texas. The six exonerees scheduled to attend as specal guests spent more than 50 years on death row for crimes they did not commit: Anthony Graves, Clarence Brandley, Shujaa Graham, Ron Keine, Gary Drinkard and Albert Burrell.

Also speaking will be Sam Millsap, a former elected District Attorny in Texas who now opposes the death penalty because he believes an executed person named Ruben Cantu whom he prosecuted may have been innocent. Judge Charlie Baird, formerly a judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas' highest criminal appeals court, will also speak."

via springbreakalternative.org

via Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) - Execution List 2011

 

Available at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/execution-list-2011

Ohio Catholic Bishops Seek To End Death Penalty (NPR)

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati and Bishop Frederick Campbell of Columbus are among 10 Catholic church leaders in Ohio who have signed a statement urging the state to stop using the death penalty, weeks after an Ohio Supreme Court justice issued the same call.   Ohio put eight people to death last year, the most since 1949, The Columbus Dispatch reported.   The statement signed by the Catholic bishops said they believe capital punishment is wrong in nearly all cases and that "just punishment can occur without resorting to the death penalty."

www.npr.org

Kicking the death penalty out of Illinois | Campaign to End the Death Penalty

By: Marlene Martin

Both the state House and Senate have passed legislation that will abolish the death penalty. As of mid-January, that bill sat on the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn. With his signature—and it was still not certain as the New Abolitionist was being produced that Quinn would sign the legislation—Illinois would become the 16th state without the death penalty.           

Exonerated Illinois death row prisoners like Nathson Fields feel the significance of this moment, even before Quinn had announced his decision. “I feel elated, full of hope,” said Fields. “I spent eleven and a half years on death row for a crime I did not commit. Illinois being on the verge of tossing out the death penalty—this will affect other states. This will send the message that it can be done, it should be done.”           

via nodeathpenalty.org

Federal judge set to tour new San Quentin death chamber - San Jose Mercury News

Nearly five years ago, a San Jose federal judge went on a highly unusual expedition to San Quentin's aging death chamber, eventually finding that the converted eerie green gas chamber was outdated and replete with potential problems for carrying out executions.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel will return to San Quentin, this time for a tour of the state's new and untested death chamber, built for nearly $900,000 and designed solely for lethal injections. With the visit, California will take a step toward resolving whether it can resume executions on a death row now brimming with nearly 720 inmates.

But it may prove to be a small step.

via www.mercurynews.com

Capital punishment in Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Capital punishment has been illegal in the U.S. State of Michigan since 1846, making Michigan's death penalty history unusual in contrast to other States. Michigan was the first English-speaking government in the world to abolish totally the death penalty for ordinary crimes. [1] The Michigan State Legislature voted to do so on May 18, 1846, and this has remained in law since.[2] Although the death penalty was retained on the books for treason until 1963, Michigan has not executed any person since statehood.

Quinn refuses to be pinned down on death penalty repeal - Chicago Tribune

Quinn also said the opinions of legislators are "very serious indeed. These are men and women who went before the voters and got elected in their districts, and they voted their conscience."

In Chicago, Mayor Richard Daley made his position clear, saying certain crimes "should be handled" by the death penalty.

"I have met parents, that their child has died, and this person has been out of prison," Daley said on Wednesday. "I mean, how do they live with that?"

via articles.chicagotribune.com

State of Illinois - Come on, Man- Abolish Capital Punishment

Illinois Death Penalty Repeal Awaits Gov. Quinn's Signature (ACLU Blog of Rights)

On Tuesday, January 11, the Illinois Senate acted to address a national embarrassment for the state — our failed death penalty system. By a vote of 32 to 25, the Senate passed Senate Bill 3539, which repeals the death penalty in Illinois. The bill is now sitting on Gov. Pat Quinn's desk waiting for his signature to become law.

Illinois House Votes to Repeal Death Penalty; Senate Vote Next

As you know by now, the House passed a death penalty abolition bill on the second try yesterday. Democratic state Rep. Pat Verschoore voted against the bill the first time, then changed his vote after the bill’s sponsor appealed to him…

“I’d been back and forth on this since they started talking about abolishing it,” Verschoore said. State Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood, the proposal’s sponsor, asked him to reconsider his vote, he said.

“She’s helped me on some legislation I’ve had through the years, and so I said I’d give her the vote,” Verschoore said.

via standdown.typepad.com

Can Ending Capital Punishment Help States Cut Costs? - ABC News

In 2003, Seattle resident Robert Kerr was abducted from his apartment and found dead 30 miles from his home, with his bank account emptied and without clothes or identification. At the end of 2010, the state of Washington has yet to arrest or convict anyone for his death.

While Kerr's killers have never been found, the state will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the coming year on the death penalty for people already behind bars -- a situation that has reformers, and Kerr's family, clamoring for change.

Kerr's case is one of thousands of unsolved murders, and it's the reason his sister, Judy Kerr, supports her state, California, in abolishing the death penalty and reallocating the millions of dollars it spends on death row inmates each year to solving cold cases.

via abcnews.go.com

(via Sentencing Law and Policy)

Harris County Hearing Convenes

Capital punishment in Texas will go on trial Monday, as lawyers for an accused killer prepare to argue that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it carries high risks that innocent people could be executed.

Lawyers for John E. Green Jr., who is charged with killing a woman in front of her children, are not challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty, only how the punishment is applied by the state.

At the hearing before State District Judge Kevin Fine in Houston, Mr. Green's lawyers are expected to argue that he should not be prosecuted for capital murder, which is punishable by death.

via standdown.typepad.com

Deep in the Heart of Texas, Death Penalty Goes on Trial - Law Blog - WSJ

Some statistics on the application of the death penalty in Texas: In the last 30 years, the state has executed 464 people, far more than in any other state.

The Lone Star state has also exonerated a dozen death-row inmates during that time period.

The question, then: At what point do the false-positives (so-to-speak) reach an unacceptable level? If 100 death-row inmates were exonerated, many would likely say without equivocation that something was seriously wrong. If only one had been exonerated, many would call it an aberration, the exception that proves the rule.

via blogs.wsj.com

A justice’s blind eye to the truth - The Boston Globe

I’M NOT a regular reader of The New York Review of Books, but I wasn’t going to miss newly-retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens’s essay on capital punishment in the latest issue. Last Sunday, The New York Times spotlighted the Stevens article as a “remarkable’’ piece of writing that finally settled a “legal mystery’’ — namely, why Stevens had changed his original view on the death penalty, and announced in 2008 that he now considered it to be unconstitutional.

via www.boston.com

[thru Sentencing Law  & Policy and How Appealing]

Stevens' Death Penalty Case Lets Himself Off Too Easily - TIME

Suppose that you hired a highly regarded architect to design a fancy house. He comes up with the most impressive and elaborate plans, but all the basic calculations about stresses and loads are completely wrong, and from the moment you first open the front door, the place starts falling apart.

Still, you have a lot invested in the house, and you don't want to tear it down, so you bring in an engineer who proposes that you jack up the north wing, and when that doesn't work you hire a contractor who advises you to instead lower the south wing. One expert suggests reinforcing the foundation. Another expert tells you to redesign the roof.

You try them all, and more. And this goes on for years, plunging you into debt, baffling your neighbors, and never coming close to fixing your house, which looks more and more hopeless with each new "repair." Then one day, the original architect comes by, sees the ruin, shakes his head sadly and asks why, oh why, did you let all those butchers tinker with his beautiful design.

via www.time.com

with or without you

"See the stone set in your eyes | See the thorn twist in your side  | I wait for you |  Sleight of hand and twist of fate | On a bed of nails she makes me wait | And I wait without you | With or without you  |  With or without you ... "

Death Row U.S.A. Winter 2009 - A Quarterly Report by the Criminal Justice Project of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

JURISDICTIONS WITH CAPITAL PUNISHMENT STATUTES: 38

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina,Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming, U.S. Government, U.S. Military.

JURISDICTIONS WITHOUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT STATUTES: 15

Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, WestVirginia, Wisconsin.

amnesty international | executions & death sentences

" ... Death Sentences and Executions in 2009 summarizes Amnesty International's global research on the use of the death penalty in 2009. More than two-thirds of the countries of the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. While 58 countries retained the death penalty in 2009, most did not use it.

"Eighteen countries were known to have carried out executions, killing a total of 714 people; however, this figure does not include the thousands of executions that were likely to have taken place in China, which again refused to divulge figures on its use of the death penalty."