End the death penalty
1 November 2008, 07:39AM
In the seven years since China won its bid to host the Olympic Games, the government has executed thousands of people. Few people sentenced to death get a fair trial. The Chinese system doesn't presume innocence. It uses evidence extracted under torture. It restricts access to lawyers. It’s common for trials to last under an hour. Often there is political inference.
Among the victims are people like Nie Shubin, a young farmer put to death for a murder which someone else later confessed to.
Statistics kept a secret
Credible sources estimate China executes around 8,000 people a year. That’s 22 people every single day.
Some are paraded through the streets before being shot. Others are given a lethal injection in a ‘mobile execution chamber’.
Around 68 crimes are punishable by death including non-violent crimes such as tax fraud, bribery or prostitution.
It’s inhuman and the worst violation of human rights. And it’s never been proven to deter crime more than other punishments.
Amnesty International is campaigning for an end to the death penalty in China and around the world.
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