Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire
Promoting human rights from Salisbury UK
The minutes of the September meeting are now available thanks to Lesley. We discussed North Korea, the death penalty (see separate post on this), the forthcoming vigil on 17 October and agreeing to write to John Glen concerning his failure to reply to our letter of 5 August.
The death penalty report for September is now available thanks to Lesley for compiling it. Links to other blog posts and in particular the continuing correspondence with John Glen MP concerning the government’s policy change on the death penalty.
Death penalty report, September
Report on possible reductions in the use of the death penalty by India and China. This is to be welcomed although we cannot verify the situation in the latter country because the numbers executed are a state secret.
We attach an urgent action on behalf of a man called Glossip (52) who is due to be executed on 16th of this month. The case against him is circumstantial and seems quite flimsy. He has been on death row since 1998 – around 17 years. If you can find time to write or email, that would be appreciated. Full details are here: Case file (pdf)
There is also a web site the accuracy of which we cannot warrant:
See also USA death penalty site with further information and a petition [You will find it on their Facebook page and there is a wealth of statistical information on the site as well. There is a permanent link to the site at the bottom of this site]
This month’s #deathpenalty report is attached thanks to Lesley. It makes depressing reading especially concerning countries in South East Asia and #Pakistan.
This is the monthly report on the use of the death penalty around the world thanks to Lesley for compiling it. A particularly grim month and of course there are no statistics for China which stills leads the world in the use of the penalty.
The botched execution this week of Clayton Lockett in #Oklahoma has shocked many people around the world. The focus has mainly been on the time it took for him to die – 43 minutes – during which he was seen to writhe in agony and struggle against the straps of the gurney. Towards the end, the curtains were drawn across the execution chamber and it was reported later that he had died from a ‘reported heart attack.’
The southern states of the USA have a particular devotion to the death penalty with #Texas in the lead. The penalty has a high degree of support from sections of the public despite the lack of any evidence that it has a deterrent effect. On the blog posts of an Oklahoma newspaper there is a selection of comments both against and for the execution. There are many Americans who find the process barbaric and the fact that it took Lockett 43 minutes to die is especially upsetting. But there are plenty who relish it, for example;
‘how can people feel pity for these cons?’
‘I am glad he died a slow and painful death. I only wish he suffered more.’
‘NO SYMPATHY from me.’
‘I only hope this happens to each and every other inmate where the death sentence is carried out.’
And so on and so forth. This is a selection and there are people who found it repugnant. Although the particular circumstances of this man’s death has caused a storm of outrage, the fact remains that many people are being executed and in the southern states at least, it remains in rude health. The posts show that a significant number of people relished the suffering and were not afraid of expressing this, albeit anonymously. On another blog post we reported on the governor of Texas’s use of the penalty as a draw for people to come to his state – a kind of promotional tool.
Although slow progress is being made with abolition, it will be many years before it is removed from states like Oklahoma and Texas. But why focus on this when the level of executions in China (a state secret but known to thousands) and Iran are at very much higher levels? The difference is that the USA is a leading nation and sets the moral tone in all sorts of situations. It is hard to persuade other countries in the world to stop this practice if the USA is still very publicly using it.
Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 