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World News Archive from 2008
- Archive
of World News
See all CADP World News links and excerpts
from the years 2000 | 2001 | 2002
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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)
- European Union Reasserts Its Opposition
to the Death Penalty in All Countries and
All Cases
On June 16, 2008, the Council of the European
Union (EU) meeting in Luxembourg released
a statement on General Affairs and External
Relations. The document contained a restatement
of its 1998 Human Rights Guideline on the
death penalty. The Council, consisting of
almost all Foreign Ministers in the EU, stated
that it "reaffirms that working towards
universal abolition of the death penalty
constitutes an integral objective of the
EU's human rights policy." The
Council reasserted the "opposition
of the European Union to the death penalty
in all cases and in all circumstances. The
abolition of the death penalty contributes
to the enhancement of human dignity and the
progressive development of human rights."
(6/23/08, DPIC Update)
- Execution
of Foreign Nationals Raises Legal Concerns
In a 5-4 vote on August 5, the U.S.
Supreme Court rejected a stay of execution
for Jose Medellin, a Mexican citizen,
who was then executed in Texas that night.
On August 7, Heliberto Chi, an Honduran
citizen, was also executed in Texas.
Medellin's case had come before the Supreme
Court on two previous occasions because
the International Court of Justice had
ruled that the U.S. had violated the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
by not informing him and other foreign
nationals of their rights under that
treaty. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that, without further action by Congress,
Texas was not bound to hold up the execution,
despite the treaty violation. In the
most recent majority opinion rejecting
Medellin's stay, the Court said that
the prospect of Congress acting soon
on this issue was remote. The four Justices
who dissented from the denial of the
stay each wrote separately about their
concerns. (8/11/08, DPIC Update)
- International Law Experts Question Supreme
Court Decision in Medellin Case
Notable international law experts
cited in a recent article in the Washington
Lawyer criticized the Supreme Court’s
2008 decision on whether an international
treaty was binding on Texas in the case
of death row inmate Jose Medellin.
(10/6/08, DPIC Update) - International
Court of Justice Orders US to Stay 5
Executions
The International Court of Justice has granted
Mexico's request for an order to stay
the execution of five Mexican citizens on
death row in the U.S. Mexico had requested
the U.N.'s highest court, commonly referred
to as the World Court, to intervene because
the United States has failed to comply with
an earlier ICJ judgment ordering a hearing
to review the trials of the Mexican citizens.
The World Court ruled in 2004 that the U.S.
violated the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations because it had not provided the
Mexican inmates access to their home country's
consular officials prior to their trials.
(7/21/08, DPIC Update)
- International Organizations and Countries
Mark Day Against the Death Penalty
As many countries prepare to mark the
international World Day Against the
Death Penalty on October 10, recent
trends indicate that the world is shifting
away from capital punishment. According
to a report published by Reprieve, an
organization that represents death row
prisoners around the world, 91 countries
had abolished the death penalty for
all crimes by the end of 2007, followed
by three more so far in 2008. Even in
Central Asia where executions are part
of a long tradition, several countries
have restricted or placed moratoriums
on the use of the death penalty.
... Since 2003, the United States has been
the only country in the Americas to
carry out executions. However, 2007
saw the lowest number of executions
in over a decade and death sentences
continue to drop across the nation.
(10/13/08, DPIC Update)
- Iran Executes 29 Convicts
TEHRAN, Iraq
(AP) - Iranian state television's Web
site says 29 people convicted of murder,
drug trafficking and other criminal charges
have been hanged in Tehran's Evin prison.
The Web site says the convicts included
people found guilty of murder, rape,
armed robbery and drug trafficking.
... The hangings bring to more than 100
the number of people executed in Iran
so far this year. (7/27/08, CNN.com)
- Mexican
National Executed by Texas
A Mexican-born condemned killer whose
case drew international attention has
been executed over the objections of
an international court and the Mexican
government, which contended he was denied
access to legal help from his consulate.
(8/6/08, ABC News)
- Mexico Asks World Court to Stay U.S.
Executions of Foreign Nationals
Mexico has returned to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) in seeking a stay
of execution for Mexican-born inmates in
the U.S. Mexico requested the U.N.'s highest
court, commonly referred to as the World
Court, to intervene because the United
States has failed to comply with an earlier
ICJ judgment ordering a review of the trials
of the Mexican citizens. The World Court
ruled in 2004 that the U.S. violated the
1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
because it had not provided the Mexican
inmates access to their home country’s
consular officials prior to their trials.
The ICJ held that the convictions and death
sentences of these death row inmates required
further review. President Bush acknowledged
the judgment of the ICJ and ordered state
courts to review the cases. Texas, however,
refused, and the issue of the President's
power went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jose
Medellin, a death row inmate and Mexican
citizen, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court
to enforce the ICJ's ruling. The Supreme
Court rejected the appeal on March 25.
(6/16/08, 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)
- Why Some Countries Have the Death Penalty
and Others Do Not
"In part, a country's death
penalty status is linked to its general
punitiveness towards criminals. Countries
that imprison more convicted criminals
are also more likely to kill them." Interestingly,
the data showed that "a country's
population has no significant direct or
indirect effect on its death penalty status.
Nor does its homicide rate. Countries with
fewer political rights are more likely
to have the death penalty." The link
between political rights and abolition
of the death penalty was illustrated by
the fact that countries with higher literacy
rates and developed economies were least
likely to have the death penalty. (6/23/08, DPIC Update)
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