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World News
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of World News
See all CADP World News links and excerpts
from the years 2000 | 2001 | 2002
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2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007.
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- China
Switching from Gunshots to Lethal Injections
China, which executes more people each
year than any other country, will expand
the use of lethal injections instead
of gunshots for death sentences, a state-run
newspaper reported Thursday. ... China
does not officially release capital punishment
figures, but it is believed to execute
more people each year than the rest of
the world combined. Death penalty recipients
include some people convicted of nonviolent
crimes such as fraud. The human rights
monitoring group Amnesty International says
China executed at least 1,770 people in 2005
about 80 percent of the world's total. The
true number is widely believed to be many
times higher, however. (1/2/08, ABC News)
- UN
General Assembly Adopts Landmark Text
for Death Penalty Moratorium
The General Assembly today adopted 54
resolutions and 12 decisions recommended
by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian
and Cultural), including a landmark text
calling for a moratorium on executions
to be established in all States that
still maintain the death penalty, as
well as a resolution strongly condemning
rape against women and girls in all its
forms, including in conflict situations.
The resolution calling for “a
moratorium on the death penalty”,
was passed by a vote of 104 in favour to
54 against, with 29 abstentions. It called
on all States that still allowed capital
punishment to “progressively
restrict the use of the death penalty and
reduce the number of offences for which
it may be imposed”. Those countries
were also called on to provide the Secretary-General
with information on their use of capital
punishment and to respect international
standards that safeguard the rights of
condemned inmates. (12/18/07, United Nations)
- European Union and World Leaders Mark
Day Against the Death Penalty
Member nations of the European Union and
the Council of Europe marked October 10th
as "European Day Against the Death
Penalty," an action to underscore
the continent's firm commitment to ending
executions throughout the world.
(10/15//07, DPIC Update)
- Britain
Pardons Soldiers Executed in WWI
Britain's lawmakers Tuesday granted
posthumous pardons for soldiers executed
during World War I, ending years of campaigning
by the families of men condemned to death
for cowardice. Around 300 soldiers, who
were executed during the 1914-1918 conflict
for failing to return to the front lines,
were included in the pardon. The government
has said it is continuing research to identify
other soldiers who were brought before
firing squads after only summary trials.
... "(The act) recognizes that execution
was not a fate that the servicemen deserved," the
Defense Ministry said. (11/7/06, ABC
News)
- France Amends Constitution to Ban the
Death Penalty
The French parliament voted to amend the
country's Constitution to include an explicit
ban on the death penalty. In a special joint
session held at the Palace of Versailles
(pictured), France's National Assembly and
Senate passed the amendment by a vote of
828-26. The death penalty has been outlawed
in France since 1981, but the recently passed
amendment officially inscribes the prohibition
into the constitution. "We are accomplishing
the wish of Victor Hugo in 1848, the pure,
simple, irreversible abolition" of the
death penalty, former Justice Minister Robert
Badinter told lawmakers.
(3/12/07, DPIC Update)
- Japan Lifts Secrecy on Executions
Japan hanged three murder convicts on
death row Friday and for the first time
publicly disclosed their names in a new
policy that lifts Tokyo's cloak of secrecy
surrounding executions.
... One of the few industrialized nations
to retain the death penalty, Japan had routinely
been criticized by human rights activists
for keeping details of its executions secret.
Amnesty International lauded the decision
to release more information about the convicts,
but strongly condemned the executions, which
increased the country's total for the year
to nine. "Executions were again carried
out suddenly, without advance warning to
either the convicts or their families," Amnesty
said in a statement. "We hope Japan
will take steps in the near future to abolish
the grave offense that the death penalty
is to human rights." (12/7/07, CNN.com)
- Iraq: Latest Hangings Pose a Dilemma
BAGHDAD - Iraq's leaders grappled
Thursday over the death sentences for three
former Saddam Hussein regime heavyweights
- including the notorious enforcer known
as "Chemical Ali" - amid warnings
the hangings could inflame sectarian violence
and derail efforts at reconciliation.
(10/19/07, The Denver Post)
- Italian Premier Calls for Worldwide Death
Penalty Moratorium
Italian Premier Romano
Prodi called for a worldwide moratorium
on the death penalty in an address to world
leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.
Prodi advocated passage of a U.N. moratorium
resolution, saying, "If genuine politics
means showing foresight, we shall perform
a great political act through the adoption
of this resolution. It will demonstrate
that humankind isn't capable of making
progress only in science but also in the
field of ethics."
(10/1/07, DPIC Update)
- U.S.
Diplomats Told to Compare 9/11 Trials
to Nuremberg
The Bush administration has instructed U.S. diplomats abroad to defend its decision
to seek the death penalty for six Guantanamo Bay detainees accused in the Sept.
11 terror attacks by recalling the executions of Nazi war criminals after World
War II. ... The decision to seek the death penalty for these defendants is likely
to draw criticism from the international community. A number of countries, including
U.S. allies, have said they would object to the use of capital punishment for
their nationals held at Guantanamo. (2/12/08, Newsday.com)
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