Should the U.S. Abolish the Death Penalty?

Should the U.S. Abolish the Death Penalty?

The death penalty has provoked heated discussion since biblical times, and today the debate remains as controversial as ever. Is such a sentence ever justified? Capital punishment is an intensely emotional topic for everyone involved because it sits at the intersection of life, death and the very definition of the word 'justice.'

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Amnesty

The Death Penalty is a Denial of Human Rights

Amnesty International

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the U.N. in 1948, proclaims the right of every individual to protection from deprivation of life. It states that no one shall be subjected to cruel or degrading punishment. The death penalty violates both of these fundamental rights and perpetuates a cycle of violence. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and has no place in a modern criminal justice system. Over two thirds of countries in the world – 137 – have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice. 

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  • Josh Marquis
    Josh Marquis has been District Attorney of Clatsop County (Astoria) Oregon, since 1994. He is a former president of the Oregon District Attorney's Association... More

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