65000 people support anti-death penalty campaign in India

19 September 2013

G Ananthapadmanabhan, Chief Executive, Amnesty International India, submits a petition with signatures from 65000 people supporting the Anti-Death Penalty campaign, to V Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the PMO, on 18th September, 2013 in New Delhi

Over 65,000 people have supported an Amnesty International India campaign seeking abolition of the death penalty in India.

G. Ananthapadmanabhan, Chief Executive of Amnesty International India, delivered the campaign petition with all signatures to V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, on 18 September 2013.

“This campaign shows that there are thousands of people in this country who believe that the use of death penalty is arbitrary, flawed and biased,” said Ananthapadmanabhan. The campaign was launched in April 2013.

"There is no evidence to prove that the death penalty is a particular deterrent to crime. It is indeed the government’s responsibility to ensure public safety and address rising crime. But this will require sustained commitment and action from the police andthe judiciary to ensure that the justice system responds promptly and effectively at every level,” said Ananthapadmanabhan.

For years, the death penalty has been awarded in India in ways the Supreme Court has described as inconsistent, subjective and judge-centric. Convicts who commit similar crimes are given the death penalty by some judges and life imprisonment by other judges.

The Supreme Court has also pointed out that courts have made mistakes in using the ‘rarest-of-rare’ test to determine if the death sentence should be given. At least 13 people have been sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in judgements that did not apply the test correctly, and at least two – Ramji Rao and Surja Ram – have been subsequently hanged.

“The use of the death penalty has a class bias and discriminates against powerless people in our society. The poorer a person is, the more likely he is to be sentenced to death,” said Ananthapadmanabhan.

Sinceassuming office in 2012, President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected the mercy petitions of at least 20 people. At least 23 people are now at risk ofexecution.

In July 2013, a nationwide survey in India conducted by the Centre for Study of Developing Societies, a prominent research institute, found that 40 per cent of those surveyed favoured ending the death penalty, 30 per cent disagreed and 30 per cent were unsure.

Amnesty International India urges the government to take immediate steps to commute all death sentences to terms of imprisonment, and impose a moratorium on executions as a step towards abolishing the death penalty in India.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.

Amnesty is a movement of ordinary people from around the world standing up for humanity and human rights
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