Civil and Human Rights Groups Urge United States to Support Global Death Penalty Moratorium

Human Rights News, Justice Reform News 12.13,22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rachel Hooper, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after nearly 50 civil and human rights groups urged the United States to vote in favor of, or to abstain from voting on, a UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty:

“The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has made it clear that state-sanctioned killing as a form of criminal punishment is cruel and unusual and is almost impossible to administer without violating the human rights of defendants. At least 190 individuals in our criminal-legal system have been sentenced to death and subsequently exonerated. Perpetuating patterns of racial disparity, higher rates of Black people are on death row and put to death for lesser offenses than White people. National and international organizations have condemned the use of the death penalty in the United States. To respect the dignity and humanity of all, we must address the systemic racism and inequality embedded in the laws and norms of our criminal-legal system.

“The United States remains an international outlier on this important human rights issue. In November 2022, more than 126 UN member states voted in support of adopting a draft resolution on a universal moratorium on the use of the death penalty. It is imperative that the United States reverse its “no” vote from last month. We call on President Biden to instruct the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to abstain from or to vote in favor of the resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.”

Read The Leadership Conference’s letter, signed by 48 other organizations, to President Biden on the upcoming UN vote on a resolution on a global death penalty moratorium.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 230 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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