When Amnesty International started its global campaign against the death penalty in 1977, the use of this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment was rife in sub-Saharan Africa. Not one country in the region had abolished the punishment for all crimes. 40 years on, the region has witnessed remarkable progress against the death penalty. Starting with Cape Verde, in 1981, some 20 countries have abolished the punishment for all crimes. Fifteen more can be considered abolitionist in practice because they have not executed anyone over the past 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions. DECLINE This has established sub-Saharan Africa as the beacon of hope in the struggle for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. Globally, the use of the death penalty went down last year, according to a new AI report. AI recorded 993 executions in 23 countries in 2017, a reduction of 4 % from 2016 (1,032) and do...
Striving for a World without Capital Punishment