World Day Against Death Penalty (October 10)

Australian human rights activists are voicing their opposition against the use of the death penalty around the world by educating the public and raising awareness of the facts and fallacies surrounding the use of the death penalty worldwide.

Currently 21 countries continue to use this barbaric form of punishment and approximately 23,000 prisoners are awaiting execution.

The Australian Coalition Against Death Penalty (ACADP) calls upon and urges Australian political leaders to publicly voice their opposition against this form of state-sanctioned violence disguised as justice.

ACADP cites several reasons for opposing this state-sponsored act of vengeance:

· Because the death penalty is a violation of the most fundamental universal human right – the right to life.
· Because the death penalty is a barbaric, brutal, cruel, degrading, inhumane and uncivilised form of punishment – incarceration of offenders protects the innocents from the dangerous.
· Because the death penalty is fallible – the possibility of error of judgement can never be excluded – innocent and wrongly convicted people have been executed in the past.
· Because the death penalty is extremely corruptible – some death row prisoners are chosen/selected to be executed, while others are not.
· Because the death penalty is overwhelmingly biased and discriminative - it targets the disadvantaged, the poor, the uneducated, the mentally ill, the mentally retarded, child offenders, political opponents, racial/ethnic/religious minorities, individuals deemed by governments to be 'troublesome' and offenders who commit non-violent crimes.
· Because the death penalty has a brutalising effect on society - actually inspiring more acts of violence/copycat crimes, thereby diminishing rather than increasing the deterrent effect.
· Because the use of the death penalty creates more victims in society – the innocent family members and loved ones of the executed offenders.

For more information .... http://www.acadp.com