In countries around the world that continue to hand down death sentences and execute citizens, there are a few common justifications for retaining the punishment: 1️⃣ To dissuade other individuals from committing serious crimes; 2️⃣ To satisfy a public desire for executions; 3️⃣ And to meet the needs of victims of crime and their families. Existing research has countered widespread beliefs that the death penalty effectively deters people from offending, uncovered the complexities of public opinion on the death penalty and laid bare the cruelty of the punishment, including how it discriminates against the most marginalised people in society. But, until now, very few studies have explored whether death sentences and executions actually satisfy the needs of victims of crime and their loved ones in the aftermath of a traumatic event. A new report conducted by Dr Amelia Inglis at the University of Oxford addresses this critical gap through examining victim experiences of the death penalty. The research findings show that the death penalty can in fact inflict further harm and retraumatise victims and their families. It also uncovers that victims do not share the same views, and their feelings can shift over time. A death penalty does not account for this diversity and evolution of needs, and can ultimately tie families – including those who are undecided, have changed their minds or have always been against death sentences – to a long, painful legal process that often disrupts and delays the recovery journey. Read the full report 👉https://deathpenaltyproject.org/knowledge-resource/understanding-victim-experiences-in-capital-punishment-cases/ (fb)

Taiwan is renowned for its respect for the rule of law and steady progress in advancing human rights. Despite this, over the last year the Taiwanese State has taken extremely regressive steps when it comes to its use of the death penalty. On a recent trip to Taipei, our Co-Executive Director, Saul Lehrfreund was interviewed in Deutsche-Welle alongside senior researcher Catherine Appleton They shared their observations on Taiwan's stalling progress towards abolition and how cruel punishments have no place in Taiwan's democratic society. Read the full piece here (for English, click the translate icon that appears in the top left corner): (fb)