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Activists Call on President Biden to End the Federal Death Penalty Before Leaving Office

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A conversation with Death Penalty Action Co-founder and Executive Director Abe Bonowitz. Now that Joe Biden is a lame duck president, activists are holding him accountable to make good on his promise to end the federal death penalty during his remaining six months as president. Biden’s election campaign in 2020 had pledged to end the federal death penalty and incentivize the remaining 27 states that still allow executions to do the same. While he made history as the first president in the United States to openly oppose the death penalty, there has been no movement to actually end federal executions during his nearly four years in office.

Five children reportedly executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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Iran executes juvenile offenders
Amman, 2 May 2019 – “UNICEF is alarmed at frequent reports of the execution of children in the Middle East and North Africa region. 

Such reports include five children who were executed in two separate incidents in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the past two weeks.

“In the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to reports, two 17-year-old boys were executed in a prison- where they were allegedly held- in Shiraz, south of the country. The children’s families and lawyers were reportedly not informed of the sentencing in advance.

RELATED | Saudi Arabia beheaded a pro-democracy protester set to attend college in U.S.

“Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reports were received of three children who were sentenced to death and allegedly executed on 23 April. 

“This is a clear violation of children’s rights.

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“As stated in the Convention of the Rights of the Child: “no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age. If accused or guilty of breaking the law, children must be treated with dignity and respect, and in a manner, which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. They have a right to legal assistance and a fair trial.

RELATED | Iran: Two 17-year-old boys flogged and secretly executed in abhorrent violation of international law

“As we mark 30 years since the Convention of the Rights of the Child, UNICEF continues to reiterate the importance of state parties to the Convention to adhere to the Convention’s core principles in relation to detention, punishment, and death penalty. UNICEF stands ready to support governments and judiciaries for promoting the establishment of alternative measures to detention.”

Source: UNICEF, Geert Cappelaere, May 2, 2019. Geert Cappelaere is UNICEF Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa. UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.


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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
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