The Death Penalty in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia

Both the Litvinenko and Skripal cases illustrate the tendency to eliminate the ‘enemies’ of the State in Modern Russia. This widespread habit during the Communist era had a lasting impact. If the assassination techniques have been upgraded from firing squads to radioactive poisonings, they should still be regarded as a form of capital punishment without trial.

The Injustices of an All-White Jury

By Navjot Kahlon If you were to be put on trial for the death penalty, you would want a jury that is representative and impartial; that should be a given. So why are black people being put on trial in front of an all-white jury in the US? There is an evident racial bias in…

The Death Penalty Has a Sexism Problem

By Anne Lee Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the United States has executed 1490 people. Here’s the gender breakdown:         Men: 1,474         Women: 16 Just sixteen women, out of over fourteen hundred put to death — that’s a mere 1%. This shocking statistic can be partially accounted for by the fact that…

The Death Penalty: The Penultimate Punishment

By Ariana Foley  In 2017, 2817 people were recorded on death row in the United States (Criminal Justice Project 2017).  Of this number, nearly half have been confined for at least 15 years and the average amount of time from sentencing to death has risen from six years in 1984 to 16.5 in 2011 (Bureau…

Capital Punishment: India’s Roulette Wheel

By Mahin Bhabutta Global abolition of capital punishment is the apex. But, we have not yet reached this summit; around 30% of the world still relies on this cruel punishment. Bearing this in mind, it is necessary to examine the varied approaches which states across the globe take when deciding to impose the death penalty….

Right to be forgotten – pros and cons of U.S. adoption for Amicus work

By Karen Kandelman   The right to be forgotten has been accepted by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In 2014, the ECJ ruled that a Spanish man had the right to remove his financial debts from Google when he argued that it was impeding him from improving his life, a decade after having gotten…

Understanding Death Row as a Global Health Issue

By Aesha Baral  When people think of today’s world global health issues, topics such as malaria , malnutrition and natural disasters tend to be a first thought. However, as people are still being placed on death row, with the process of abolition being slow, we need an understanding of how this has become an important…

Flirting with death — why the UK must be more careful than ever

By Eliška Stroehlein In Britain, we have long gazed across the pond with a slight air of morbid fascination, confusion and at times disgust. Yet, if we are being completely honest with ourselves, we also see the United States as a model to follow in many ways. This is true from celebrity culture and cars…

The perils of peremptory challenges

The right of the accused in a criminal prosecution to a trial by jury is enshrined in the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. It is not only a declaration to the defendant that he has a right to a fair trial through the formation of an impartial jury composed…

‘Killing for votes’. A President’s strategy for success: George W. Bush

The American Dream; success determined by your own hard work – blood, sweat and tears. George W. Bush apparently missed the memo and appropriated the blood and tears of others to pave his path to political prosperity. His commitment to the death penalty enhanced his political career, as it enabled him to successfully campaign as…

Born in flames: social justice and the death penalty

It’s in the news: last week, a man ruthlessly murdered an entire family. The details of the crime are sickening, and the victims were innocent and well-loved. As you look at the murderer’s mugshot in the paper, you can’t help but wonder to yourself: how could someone commit such a cold-blooded crime? How could someone…

8 things I’ve learned from the Amicus death penalty training

At this year’s Autumn Amicus Death Penalty Training, 10 of us from King’s College London had the opportunity to take part in a course which was truly inspiring. Speakers from a number of backgrounds – barristers, solicitors and even exonerees – came together throughout two weekends at Pinsent Masons, to discuss the death penalty system…