Zambia’s death penalty can be traced back to the colonial era, with the administration led by former president Frederick Chiluba (1991-2002) being the last post-independence government to sign an execution...
The Death Penalty and its Arbitrary Use to Punish LGBTIQ Persons
Image Description: In the photograph, there are many hangman’s nooses/knots in a room. Through one of these nooses, one can observe an empty chair. This photograph is clicked by Vusala...
Shinn v Martinez Ramirez: Making a Mockery of the Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel
Image description: Lawyer addresses jury in a US courtroom. Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that federal courts cannot consider evidence of ineffective trial lawyering if...
Maitreyi Misra on Deathworthy
The Colonial and Casteist Undertones of Policing in Madhya Pradesh, India
The Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project studied two sets of data to examine the criminal justice system through excise policing under the Madhya Pradesh Excise Act, 1915 (‘the Act’)....
The Lens of Reformation in Death Penalty Cases: A Complex Enquiry
As per the guidelines laid down by the Indian Supreme Court in Bachan Singh v. The State of Punjab and subsequent cases, the idea of reformation of the offender is...
Supreme Court of Pakistan prohibits execution of condemned prisoners with mental illnesses: A promising start towards reforming Pakistan’s death penalty problem?
On 10 February, 2021, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) delivered its landmark judgement in Safia Bano v. Home Department (along with 2 consolidated cases). This...
RBG: Advancing Justice in the Criminal Legal System
Over the course of her 27-year tenure as a United States Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg consistently voted to protect the rights of the marginalized and dispossessed, reflecting an...
The Broken State of Capital Sentencing in India’s Trial Courts
Project 39A at National Law University, Delhi analysed judgments of all capital cases (215 in total) across trial courts of three Indian states, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, decided over...
UK Supreme Court finds evidence sharing in death penalty case unlawful
On 25 March 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the case of Elgizouli v SSHD [2020] UKSC 10. At issue was the legality of a UK...
Bringing Back the Death Penalty in South Africa for Crimes Against Women
September is the start of spring in South Africa, marked by warmer weather and blossoming trees. However, this September was marred by brutal xenophobic attacks and lootings, child abductions and...
US Supreme Court Affirms that there is No Right to a Painless Death
On 1st April, a 5-4 majority of the United States Supreme Court reiterated that while the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, this does not...
