The increase in the number of countries that have abolished the death penalty since the end of the Second World War shows a steady trend towards worldwide aboli

Capital punishment is irrevocable. It prohibits the correction of mistakes by the justice system and leaves no room for human error, with the gravest of consequ

Today, two-thirds of the world's nations have abolished the death penalty, either officially or in practice, due mainly to the campaign to end state executions

In recent years the death penalty has sharply declined across Africa, but this trend belies actual public opinion and the retributivist sentiments held by polit

It is not immediately apparent why a state would willingly abolish the death penalty and thereby lose a powerful political instrument. The fact that some states