Mobilisation Kit

DEATH PENALTY AND POVERTY 15 th World Day against the Death Penalty MOBILISATION KIT - 1 - CONTENT [1] PRESENTATION 3 • The Main Objective of the 2017 World Day 3 • Secondary objectives for the 2017 World Day 4 [2] ARGUMENTS 5 [3] 15 th WORLD DAY: POVERTY 6 [4] WORLD DAY: TAKE ACTION! 7 • Call for initiatives! 7 • 10 things you can do to end the death penalty 7 • 10 Practical Worksheets to help you: 8 • 10 Tips for a successful event: 13 [5] WORLD DAY: TOOLS 14 [6] ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 15 • Websites on the death penalty 15 • Filmography 15 • Exhibitions and Art work 18 [7] JOIN THE WORLD COALITION 20 [8] CONTACT DETAILS 20 For more information: www.worldcoalition.org - 2 - [1] PRESENTATION • The World Day against the Death Penalty: 10 October 2017 Every year, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty calls for local initiatives worldwide. The events involve citizens and organisations supporting the abolition of capital punishment and comprise debates, concerts, press releases or any other action which would give the global abolition claim an international boost. This Day is aimed at both political leaders and public opinion in countries where the death penalty has or has not yet been abolished: people have to remember the meaning of abolition and pass it down through the generations. The World Day also unifies the abolitionist movement and gives a global support to the sometimes-isolated action taken by its abolitionist on the ground. It encourages and consolidate the political and general awareness of the movement against the death penalty. Every year, Word Day focuses on a different problematic aspect of the death penalty. Including failures of justice (2006), mental health (2014), terrorism (2016) and poverty for 2017. • The Main Objective of the 2017 World Day Since the 1980s, there has been a global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty, a trend which continues to this day. According to Amnesty International, 16 countries had abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes in 1977. Forty years later, two-thirds of all countries (141) are now abolitionist in law or in practice. However, an ongoing feature on the application of the death penalty is that it is inextricably linked to poverty. Social and economic inequalities affect access to justice for those who are sentenced to death for several reasons: defendants may lack resources (social and economic, but also political power) to defend themselves and will in some cases be discriminated against because of their social status. The main objective of the 2017 World Day is to raise public awareness of the reasons people living in poverty are at greater risk of the death penalty, and to thereby build support for abolition. To achieve it, the World Coalition has developed several tools (poster, leaflet, facts and figures, detailed factsheet and mobilization kit) and will coordinates the mobilisation for 10 October all over the world. - 3 - • Secondary objectives for the 2015 World Day Enrich the knowledge on the socio-economic condition of people sentenced to death all over the world One of the observations by the World Coalition while doing research for the 15 th World Day was the lack of data on the socio-economic status of the people on death row worldwide. ► In order to fill in this gap, the World Coalition would like to encourage its member organisations to conduct a fact-finding research on death row in their countries by providing them with a methodology which includes recommendations and a step by step guide to conduct a study on the topic. Strengthen advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty by mobilising the argument of socio- economic discrimination The research on the socio-economic status of people sentenced to death around the world, as well as the distribution of the tools developed by the World Coalition and its partners for World Day will help to strengthen advocacy for abolition: No one can ignore the often discriminatory aspect of the application of the death penalty. This data and the stories collected will make it possible to confront the governments of the retentionist countries to a reality that they can’t deny. ► To this end, the World Coalition developed a model letter to call on governments of retentionist countries on the application of the death penalty, which is often applied to the most economically vulnerable population. Although the World Coalition opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and calls for its complete and final abolition, it calls upon governments to ensure that the socio-economic status of the defendant is taken into account as a mitigating factor during the trial. Contributing to strengthen the defense of the people sentenced to death As long as the death penalty continues to exist, people living in poverty are the most likely to be sentenced to death. The effectiveness of the defense that these people will have access to will often determine their fate. Often defense lawyers in retentionist countries work under difficult conditions and face many obstacles, including financial ones. Several members of the World Coalition are lawyers and encouraged the Coalition to support them. ► To this end, the World Coalition in partnership with the Paris Bar Association developed a new tool to help lawyers to build the defence of people sentenced to death, focusing on their socio-economic status and by providing practical guidance on how to work to defend the people living in poverty who are sentenced to death. - 4 - [2] ARGUMENTS - 5 - th [3] 15 WORLD DAY: POVERTY On 10 October 2016, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and abolitionists worldwide mark the 15 th World Day Against the Death Penalty by drawing attention to the death penalty and poverty. • Overview of the death penalty and poverty In India , a study conducted by the National Law University of New Delhi found that 74.15% of those sentenced to death (370) belong to the economically vulnerable population. In the United States, in 2007, according to the Equal Justice Initiative, 95% of people on death row have disadvantaged economic backgrounds. A study led by Amnesty International and the Legal Defense and Assistance Project (LEDAP-Nigeria) in October 2008 suggests that the overwhelming majority of the death row population in Nigeria is also comprised of economically disadvantaged people. In Saudi Arabia , according to Amnesty International, foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia —particularly migrant workers from disadvantaged economic backgrounds from the Middle East, Asia and Africa— are at great disadvantage in their experience of the criminal justice system. In Belarus , according to the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, individuals with limited financial resources have difficulty keeping their court-appointed lawyer because the lawyer may refuse to participate in hearings if the accused has not paid the lawyer during prison visits. • The right to a fair trial and to a legal assistance: issues at the core of the death penalty and poverty. The right to a fair trial includes the right to equality before tribunals and courts of justice, the right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial court, the right to be informed promptly of the charges against the accused, the right to be legally defended and tried without delay, and the right of a convicted person to have his or her verdict re-examined. (Articles 14 and 15, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Fair trial guarantees must be respected from the time of arrest and throughout the trial and appeals. However, the expenses related to access to justice are a major obstacle for people living in poverty, as they simply can’t cover the costs. These obstacles are amplified in capital cases, where each stage of the legal process involves an additional cost, such as hiring a competent lawyer to handle legal and evidentiary matters specific to capital proceedings. These accumulated expenses are one of the main reasons people living in poverty have trouble making use of the remedies available to them in the criminal justice system. In addition, the legal representation for defendants from vulnerable backgrounds is often of lesser efficacy; appointed attorneys are often underpaid, lack adequate means to lead their own investigations, and lack the trial experience required for death penalty cases. The inferior effectiveness of legal representation places defendants living in poverty at a serious disadvantage, thereby increasing their likelihood of being sentenced to death. - 6 - [4] WORLD DAY: TAKE ACTION! The main objective of the World Day is to encourage organisations to create events in as many countries as possible and especially in those states that maintain the death penalty. • Call for initiatives! Wherever you are: in Africa, America, Asia, Oceania or Europe Whoever you are: NGO, teacher, lawyer, local representative, member of parliament, artist, reporter, religious leader, citizen Whatever your plans are: Debates, concerts, press conferences, demonstrations, petitions, educational and cultural activities… • 10 things you can do to end the death penalty 1. Organize a public debate or a movie screening with exonerees, murder victims’ families, and experts, to raise awareness on the reality of the death penalty See Practical Worksheet n°1, 3, 4 and 5 2. Conduct a fact-finding study on the socio-economic status of the people on death row in your country See Practical Worksheet n°2 3. Organise an art exhibition (photos, drawings, posters) or a theatre performance See Practical Worksheet n°6 4. Organise a public demonstration , a ‘sit-in’, a ‘die-in’, a ‘flash mob’… See Practical Worksheet n°7 5. Join events prepared for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide To know what has been organized, visit: www.worldcoalition.org/worldday 6.

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