Executions in the USA: arbitrary, racist and cruel More than 350 people have been executed in the USA since 1990. They have been killed by the US authorities in premeditated and deliberate acts of punishment. Execution — the cold-blooded taking of life by the state — is a violation of human rights; rights that belong to every human being, even those convicted of serious crimes. Spurred by revulsion at the atrocities of the Second World War, in 1948 the international community adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At its heart lie the rights of every human being to life and to freedom from cruel treatment. The death penalty is a calculated denial of these rights. The USA played a leading role in the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet 50 years on, it has the highest known death-row population on earth. More than 3,000 people languish on the assembly line of death. Some are innocent. More than 70 people have been released from death row in the past 20 years after evidence of their wrongful conviction came to light. A few had come within hours of being executed. How many innocent people have been executed will never be known. Some are juvenile offenders. International law bans the use of the death penalty on people who were less than 18 years old at the time of the crime, recognizing that children have not yet reached a full understanding of their actions. The USA is one of only a handful of countries that continue to execute juvenile offenders, in defiance of international law. Some are mentally impaired. The USA has executed more than 30 mentally ill or disabled prisoners since 1994. Many did not receive a fair trial because the lawyers defending them were inexperienced, incompetent or hostile to their clients. Kenneth Mosley's lawyer told the jury he was a "pitiful, hollow, insignificant, snivelling human being" during his trial in 1997. Most are poor, and a disproportionate number come from ethnic minorities. Whether or not a defendant is sentenced to death often depends on whether they can afford a good lawyer, whether they are black or white, whether the prosecutor or judge is up for re-election and wants to appear tough on crime.

Death-row cell, Arizona © Doug Magee     'Race, ethnic origin and economic status appear to be key determinants of who will, and who will not, receive a death sentence' UN expert who visited the USA in 1997

The application of the death penalty in the USA is racist: a study showed that a black person convicted of killing a white was 15 times more likely to be condemned to death than a black who had killed a black. Many of those on death row have been convicted of brutal crimes, and the desire for retribution can be understood. But the state cannot condemn and outlaw murder by itself resorting to killing. By executing those it considers to have lost their right to live, the state sends a message to the public at large that killing a defenceless prisoner is acceptable. That message brutalizes society as a whole. The death penalty has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments. In the USA it is imposed arbitrarily, unfairly and in a racist manner. It denies any possibility of rehabilitation. The cruelty of execution is inescapable, despite attempts to "modernize" it. Luis Mata spent 70 minutes strapped down for execution, the lethal injection needle already inserted in a vein, while his case was argued in court. He lost. Others have spent their last hour with the executioner trying unsuccessfully to insert the needle. Many have suffered prolonged deaths. The USA is increasingly isolated in its determination to carry out executions. Just four countries — the USA, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia — accounted for more than 84 per cent of the world's recorded executions in 1997. It is time for the USA, a self-proclaimed leader in the protection of human rights, to join the 100-plus nations which have abandoned the death penalty.

An execution chamber in Ohio showing the witness room, the electric chair and the lethal injection table © Gary Gardiner/AP ‘He was strapped down but they couldn't find a vein... We had to get him to make a fist so that we could kill him' Prison warden, describing the 1996 execution of Antonio James

 
 

Turn words into action "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..." The United States of America declared its independence with this resounding affirmation of human rights. It has repeatedly proclaimed its commitment to human rights at home and abroad. The reality for many in the USA can be very different. For the poor, for Latinos, blacks and other minorities, justice and equality are often denied, the right to life and liberty frequently abused. Police brutality is a daily occurrence. Ill- treatment, even torture, takes place in prisons across the country. Condemned prisoners are executed after unfair trials. The US authorities have failed to stamp out these widespread violations of human rights. The US government uses the language of international law, human rights and democratic values to justify its policies. Yet the USA has often been reluctant to allow its own record to be scrutinized by the international community and has been selective in its defence of human rights abroad, keen to criticize its enemies but less willing to speak out about abuses by its allies. This campaign aims to support the struggle for the human rights of all in the USA. Its goal is to make the US federal, state and local authorities more accountable for human rights violations. Every voice counts Join us in our campaign

Write to: President Bill Clinton The White House Office of the President 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington DC 20500 USA Urge him to provide the political leadership to encourage states in the USA to abolish the death penalty and in particular to stop, once and for all, the execution of juvenile offenders. Amnesty International is a worldwide voluntary human rights movement that campaigns for the release of prisoners of conscience, fair trials for political prisoners, and an end to torture and the death penalty, "disappearances" and political killings all over the world. Amnesty International works impartially to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. For more information about Amnesty International and our campaign to counter human rights violations in the USA, contact Amnesty International in your country or write to: Amnesty International International Secretariat 1 Easton Street London WC1X 8DJ United Kingdom Other Appeals: Police brutality Asylum Seekers Torture of prisoners