On 16 May, Amnesty International released its annual Death Sentences and Executions report which documents the global developments on the use of the death penalty in 2022. US exceptionalism on the death penalty was also perpetuated as the country was the lone executing country in the Americas for the 14th straight year. Nearly all of the 27 states* that allow the death penalty require unanimous sentencing votes by juries. Legislators in Iowa, an abolition state, once again reintroduced legislation to reinstate the death penalty for certain crimes. However, all is not lost regarding progress on the death penalty in Alabama and for a sliver of individuals on that state’s death row.

Source: The Guardian August 08, 2023 02:46 UTC