[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 26



GLOBAL:

EURO MPS REPEAT CALL FOR UNIVERSAL MORATORIUM


An overwhelming majority of MEPs on Thursday adopted a resolution backing
a universal moratorium on capital punishment and urging European Union
presidency to heed the parliament's call earlier this year to table an
immediate resolution at the United Nations. The EU should every seize
"every opportunity" to foster "regional abolitionist coalitions" in its
campaign for a universal moratorium that has now gathered 88 signatures
among UN countries, the parliament stated.

Lastly, the parliament called on the EU's institutions, together with the
Council of Europe, "to support the World Day against the Death Penalty by
declaring 10 October, as from 2007, a European Day against the Death
Penalty."

A total 88 countries have completely abolished capital punishment and 11
have ended the death penalty for all but exceptional crimes such as war
crimes, according to top campaign group Amnesty International.

(source: AKI)

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Death penalty poll highlights


Summary results of Associated Press-Ipsos polls in 9 countries on public
attitudes about the death penalty and Osama bin Laden.

The AP polls were conducted by Ipsos, an international polling firm, in
Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and
the United States. Of the 9, the death penalty is legal in only 2
countries: the U.S. and South Korea.

The polls were conducted in February in each country except Canada, where
it was done April 3-5. About 1,000 adults were interviewed by telephone in
each country except for Mexico, where 1,200 were interviewed in person.
Each has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 % points.

---

BRITAIN: 1/2 favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder.
However, when asked to choose between capital punishment and prison, 34 %
selected execution. 47 % said the murder rate would go down if the death
penalty were implemented in Britain and another 47 % said it would stay
the same. 54 % said they think bin Laden should receive life in prison
without parole, or a long term with a chance of parole, if the al-Qaida
chief was caught, tried and convicted as a terrorist.

---

CANADA: 1/3 felt the murder rate would decrease if the death penalty were
instituted while nearly 2/3 felt the number would stay the same. 53 % said
bin Laden should go to prison, while 42 % chose the death penalty.

---

FRANCE: 21 % of adults prefer capital punishment over prison for those
convicted of murder. When asked simply whether they favor or oppose the
death penalty for convicted murderers, more than twice that, 45 %, said
they supported executions. 38 % felt bin Laden should receive the death
penalty.

---

GERMANY: Nearly 3/4, 73 %, felt that if the death penalty were
implemented, the number of murders would stay the same. Only 22 % felt the
number of murders would go down. A majority, 70 percent, said they think
bin Laden should receive life or a long term in prison.

---

ITALY: 31 % favor the death penalty for those convicted for murder.
However, when asked which punishment they prefer for murderers, only 16 %
said the death penalty. 25 % chose execution for bin Laden. More than 1/3,
36 %, felt implementation of the death penalty would decrease the number
of murders.

---

MEXICO: 60 % said the death penalty would deter murder. 71 % favor the
death penalty for those convicted of murder. But when asked to choose
between capital punishment and imprisonment, 46 % said common murderers
should receive the death penalty while 54 % said bin Laden should be
executed.

---

SOUTH KOREA: 72 % favor the death penalty for convicted murderers, twice
the amount who prefer execution when given a choice of punishments. When
asked what would happen to the murder rate if the death penalty were
abolished, 1/2 said it would increase and 39 % said it would stay the
same. 44 % chose the death penalty for bin Laden.

---

SPAIN: Nearly 3/4, 72 %, preferred prison for bin Laden. Only 28 % favor
the death penalty for convicted murderers and just 12 % prefer it when
asked to choose a punishment for convicted murderers.

---

UNITED STATES: One third, 34 %, felt the number of murders would increase
if the death penalty were abolished while 59 % said it would stay about
the same. 69 % favor capital punishment for convicted murderers. While
over half, 52 %, prefer it to prison for convicted murderers, 62 % think
bin Laden should receive the death penalty. 1/3 said he should receive
life in prison while another 3 % chose a long prison term with a chance of
parole. An overwhelming majority, 69 %, chose lethal injection as the
method they think should be used for execution, a question that was not
asked elsewhere.

(source: Associated Press)

*****************

EP reiterates call for universal moratorium on the death penalty


Earlier this year, the European Parliament called on the EU Presidency to
submit a resolution on a universal moratorium on the death penalty to the
UN General Assembly. To no effect: to this day, no such text has been
tabled. Today, therefore, the Parliament reiterated its request, urging
the EU and its Member States to submit a moratorium resolution --
immediately.

In a text adopted by an overwhelming majority of members, the Parliament
-- having noted that an earlier (2006) EU statement on the death penalty
has by now gathered 88 signatures among UN member countries -- called on
the Union to seize the momentum by taking "every possible opportunity" to
foster "regional abolitionist coalitions" in the campaign for a universal
moratorium.

Lastly, the Parliament called on the EU's institutions, together with the
Council of Europe, "to support the World Day against the Death Penalty by
declaring 10 October, as from 2007, a European Day against the Death
Penalty."

(source: REF)