NCJ Number
117220
Date Published
1987
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This survey of international conventions governing the death penalty and U.S. adherence to such standards concludes that an international trend toward abolition of capital punishment is emerging.
Abstract
Provisions of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2857 (1971), international human rights treaties, and the American Convention on Human Rights demonstrate a growing consensus that the death penalty is incompatible with these standards. The article explains how reintroduction of capital punishment into State legislatures, Federal legislation extending the death penalty to military personnel convicted of peacetime espionage, and laws allowing the execution of minors all conflict with international conventions. Specific standards discussed include a resolution passed by the U.N. Economic and Social Council in 1984 and 1986 and ethical principles laid down by the World Medical Association in 1981. Death penalty laws in Western Europe and Latin America are reviewed. Footnotes.