Forgotten Victims: Children of Parents Sentenced to Death or Executed
According to recent figures from Amnesty International, at least 1,634 executions took place worldwide last year—the highest reported number in more than 25 years. Given the secrecy surrounding many cases,...
The UK and Saudi Arabia: Human Rights and the Perils of Petrodollar Morality – Part I
The Human Rights and Democracy Report (2015) recently released by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office carries a curiously worded statement by Prime Minister David Cameron: “We condemn and do...
UN Human Rights Council Adopts Belgian Resolution on Capital Punishment
On 1 October 2015, the UN Human Rights Council (‘UNHRC’) in Geneva adopted a resolution on capital punishment (‘the resolution’) drafted by Belgium. Belgium took the initiative to draft the...
Law Commission of India Recommends Abolition of the Death Penalty: A Historic First Step
In what can be termed as a watershed moment in the fight against death penalty in India, the Law Commission in its 262nd report (‘2015 report’) has recommended the abolition...
The Death Penalty Lives on in Zambia Despite the Country’s Constitutional Reform
Zambia, like most countries in Africa, has retained the death sentence on its criminal law statutes for a limited number of offences. Recently, though, and against the tide of death...
Asia Bibi’s “Unfair Trial”
The week before last, the Pakistani Supreme Court admitted Asia bibi’s appeal against her conviction and death sentence for blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. Even if...
India, the Land of Ironies: A Constitutional Democracy’s Dance with the Death Penalty
India is a country of ironies. Barely a fortnight ago, we had a consultation on the death penalty organised by the Law Commission of India where participants advocated for the...
Glossip v Gross: Taking Up Justice Breyer’s Call to Question the Death Penalty
Last month the United States Supreme Court ruled in Glossip v. Gross 135 S. Ct. 2726 (2015) that the use of midazolam in Oklahoma’s injection protocol was not unconstitutional under...
The Mandatory Death Penalty and Narratives of the Common Law
Some people say the common law is all about narrative. A story gets told, then retold and retold and with each retelling it changes a little. Most of the work...
Glossip v. Gross: SCOTUS Affirmation of Underdeveloped Science for the Lifeline of the Death Penalty
On 29 June 2015, in Glossip v. Gross 576 U. S. ____ (2015), Justice Alito gave the majority opinion (joined by Roberts C.J., and Scalia, Kennedy and Thomas, J.J.), which...
The Death Penalty for Foreign Nationals and Migrant Workers
On 16th and 17th June, 2015, a group of experts met in Geneva to address the issue of foreign nationals, including migrant workers, facing the death penalty abroad. The meeting...
Eight Executed: The Price for Drug Offences in Indonesia
Over the last two days the media and human rights groups around the world have expressed repulsion and anger over Tuesday’s execution of eight people in Indonesia for drug offences....
